Page 33 of Deny Me
The first name for the year was Violet Nelson.
“Violet? It’s Charlotte from Creating Families. How are you doing?” The young woman had been only seventeen last year and still living with parents who hadn’t been much better than Becky’s father. Charlotte remembered being surprised when the girl backed out of the adoption that would provide her baby boy with a safe home and family.
“Charlotte?” Violet’s voice cracked. She hastily cleared her throat.
Nervous. Every instinct Charlotte had went alert.
King must’ve seen something in her face, because he straightened.
“Hey, Violet.” Instead of launching into her spiel, she followed her intuition. “I called to check on you.”
“Why would you do that?”
Wariness dripped from every word.Oh, sweetheart, what have you done?
“Because you matter, and your baby matters.” Charlotte was ashamed to realize she only knew the baby’s name through Violet’s file. Why hadn’t she called sooner? Was she really that busy that she hadn’t taken the time to personally follow up with a young girl who’d needed them? “How is Nathan?”
She heard the sound of indrawn breath, then a quiet sob that barely reached her ears. Automatically her gaze latched on to King’s, searching for strength, for guidance.Breathe, his beautiful eyes said.You can do this.
She could. “Violet, tell me what’s wrong. Do you need help?”
A long pause. “I can’t,” she finally choked out.
“Can’t what?”
King signaled to Saint; for what, she didn’t know. All her focus was centered on Violet’s words.
“I can’t be talking to you. They’ll hurt me if I say anything.”
If Violet and Nathan needed help, Charlotte would make it happen. Hell, she had King and Saint right here at her disposal. Forget legalities—she hit the button for the speaker phone. “I can protect you and Nathan, Violet, I promise. Who is going to hurt you? Your parents?”
“Yes.”
King scooted to the edge of his chair as Saint joined them at the desk. Charlotte motioned to both of them to stay quiet. “Why would they hurt you? Where is the baby? Is Nathan in danger too?”
“They took him,” Violet said, the words broken. “They took him the minute we walked out of the hospital, and I never saw him again.”
Rage flashed through Charlotte’s body, hot and vicious. The people doing this were going to be stopped one way or another. The cruelty of stealing a baby from its mother at a day or two old…
Violet’s parents had done this, just like Becky’s dad. How many people were out there willing to sell their children and grandchildren for a buck? “Did they tell you who they gave him to? Why?”
“No.” She gave a shuddering sigh. “But I knew. All of a sudden they were throwing money around, buying fancy things and bringing home drugs they’d never been able to afford. They took money for my baby.” Another long pause came, filled with Violet’s shuddering tears. “I’m never going to see him again, am I?”
“You absolutely will,” Charlotte assured her. She didn’t care what it took, they were bringing Nathan home. “We’re going to do everything we can to find him for you, sweetheart. Where are you now? Are you still living at home?”
“Yeah.” The word held a bitter twist. “They might have gotten money for my child, but they didn’t pass any of it along. Not that I wanted it. I wanted to know Nathan was safe. I wanted him with a family I knew would treat him well.”
Charlotte had to ask, “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Violet wasn’t to blame for this; her parents were. But how difficult would it be to track the child a year later?
“They said if I told anyone, they might have to get rid of him.”
Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut hard. They’d threatened her baby’s life to keep her quiet.
She was getting Violet the hell out of there.
“Are you safe right now? Are they hurting you?” she asked.
“They’re barely home. Too busy partying.”
