The Baby Snatchers (27 page)

Would she proclaim her innocence, try and
convince him there’d been a mistake? Or would she confess all,
knowing the game was up? It was impossible to tell. The woman he
thought he knew well enough to fall for, had proved beyond a doubt
he didn’t know her at all.

* * *

Georgie heard her phone beep, indicating a
new text message. Pulling it out of the pocket of her uniform, she
glanced down at the screen and smiled. It was from Cam. She hadn’t
heard from him since he’d called that morning.

Can u get away on time?

She chuckled at his eagerness and her heart
beat a little faster. The thought that they might end the night in
each other’s arms filled her with excitement and anticipation.
Quickly, she sent off a response.

So far, so good. Should b out of here by
4.

Meet me @ Bar Luca in Phillip Street. I’ll b
there by 5.

Georgie knew the bar well. It was down the
Circular Quay end of Phillip Street and was frequented by youngish
professionals. The contemporary, elegant style suited her and the
food was first rate.

Sounds good. I’ll do my best 2 get there on
time.

C u there.

Georgie frowned at his abruptness, but sent
him a thumbs up emoji and then added two smiley faces in reply. She
couldn’t wait to see him.

In the end, it was closer to five-thirty
when she stepped across the threshold of Bar Luca. A last-minute
admission of a heavily pregnant nineteen-year-old meant that
Georgie hadn’t left on time. Now, she fought her way past the
crowds of suited professionals and looked around for Cam. Feeling a
little out of place in her uniform, she was grateful when, a moment
later, she spotted him tucked away in a private corner of the
room.

He was dressed in a tailored navy-blue suit
and a matching blue-and-white polka dot tie. The color looked good
on him. Then again, with his tall, fit physique, she was sure there
was nothing he couldn’t wear well. She caught his eye and he
acknowledged her with a nod. Reaching him, she leaned over to kiss
him and was surprised and embarrassed when he pulled away.

The last time she’d seen him was the night
they’d spent in her apartment and she couldn’t help but wonder at
his cool reaction. His behavior was odd and confusing.
What had
happened between his last text and now?
After all, he’d been
the one to issue the invitation. Refusing to play games, she
gathered her courage and asked him.

“What’s the matter?”

He averted his gaze and for the first time,
she noticed the tension in his face. His lips were compressed and
his expression was grim. He looked nothing like the carefree,
laughing, sexy man she’d recently farewelled from her bedroom. Icy
foreboding trickled through her veins and set like concrete in her
stomach. With her fists now clenched, she repeated her question.
This time, he looked at her and she almost gasped at the fury
behind his eyes.

“You tell me,” he said coldly.

She shook her head back and forth, at a loss
to fathom what had caused his change in attitude. “I don’t know
what you’re talking about.”

“Try again, honey. I’m not falling for your
sweet act again.”

Anger stirred inside her. She didn’t have a
clue what he was getting at, but he wasn’t going to speak to her
like that.

“You should know by now I’m not the kind of
girl who plays games, Cameron. Either come right out and tell me
whatever it is that’s got you so hot and bothered, or forget about
it. It seems obvious to me you’ve already made up your mind.” She
pushed back from the table and went to turn away. His arm snaked
out and grabbed her elbow, halting her in her tracks.

“Let go of me,” she said through gritted
teeth.

“Not until you answer my questions.”

They eyeballed each other. Georgie’s chest
rose and fell, keeping pace with her racing heart. “I don’t know
what you’re talking about.”

His gaze narrowed. “Let’s start with the
baby you put up for adoption.”

She gasped in shock, aghast. The icy dread
in her stomach morphed into a ball of fire that burned itself up
her chest and across her face. “H-how did you find out?”

His lips twisted into a bitter smile. “At
least you’re not going to deny it.”

Dazed, Georgie tried to get her bearings,
stunned that Cam had discovered her secret. She risked a glance in
his direction. The hurt and pain on his face tore her heart in
two.

“I… I wanted to tell you. I did. I
just—”

“Never got around to it, right? Not even
when we were talking about it, when I was baring my heart and soul.
No, not even then.”

She closed her eyes against another wave of
pain. She never meant for him to find out like this. How
did
he find out? She suddenly realized he hadn’t answered her
question.

“Who told you?” she asked quietly.

“Nobody. It was written there in black and
white. Among the files owned by the City of Sydney Adoption
Agency.”

She stared at him in confusion. She’d never
known the name of the agency that facilitated her son’s adoption.
Her mother had handled all the details. Cam stared back at her with
a cynical look in his eyes.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of it,
because I won’t believe you.”

Georgie held his gaze, determined to make
him see the truth. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“Bullshit,” he shouted. “It’s owned by your
aunt and your mother. Don’t tell me you don’t know anything about
it.”

Another wave of shock rendered her
speechless. The crowd around them disappeared. She fought back a
wave of dizziness.

“Sit down, before you fall over,” Cam
growled and pushed her into a seat.

Georgie drew in a shaky breath and stared at
him.
Could he be telling her the truth?
Did Aunt Rosemary
and her mother own an adoption agency? And if so, could her mother
have
profited
from facilitating the adoption of her own
grandson? The thought was repulsive.

“How do you know about the agency?” she
rasped.

His expression hardened. “You don’t need to
know.”

Desperation welled inside her. “Please, I
really do.”

He stared at her for another long moment.
His nonchalant shrug belied the tension in his face.

“After you told me about your father, I got
curious. I searched his name on the Internet. Then I added your
mom’s and hey, presto! I got a hit on the agency. A simple company
search gave me the rest.”

The foreboding in Georgie’s belly seemed to
grow and expand, snatching away her breath, but she forced herself
to ask the question. “Why would you be curious about my father?
You’d never heard of him before I mentioned his name.” He held her
gaze.

“I lied.”

This time, anger ignited, lightning fast and
red hot. Her jaw was clenched so tightly she could hardly speak.
“Answer the question: Why were you curious about my father?”

Cameron stared at her steadily. “We haven’t
finished discussing the fact you failed to tell me about the baby
you adopted out when you were seventeen.”

“
Tell me!
”

“Your father’s name was on all fifteen of
the death certificates issued for the babies who’d died on Ward
Seven over the past year. I have reason to believe those very same
babies didn’t die at all. They were stolen by your mother and your
aunt and offered for adoption.”

Georgie gasped in shock at his incredible
accusation and then began to cough. Her chest was so tight, she
couldn’t breathe. It felt like she was combusting from the inside
out.

Cam was at her side in an instant, his
earlier anger now replaced with concern. “Slow it down, Georgie.
Breathe. In and out. Big breaths. In and out. That’s better.” When
she was calmer, he regained his seat.

Finally able to speak again, she lifted her
gaze to his. “How… How could you even think something so
ridiculous! What you’re suggesting… It’s beyond repugnant. My
mother? My aunt? My father? Stealing
babies!
There’s
absolutely no way in the world! You’re mad! The very idea is
completely and utterly distasteful!”

“I’ve failed to mention your uncle’s also
involved.”

He shook his head back and forth and threw
her a humorless smile. “I have to hand it to them, they’ve got it
all worked out. Women of dubious backgrounds come onto the ward to
give birth. Shortly after the baby’s delivered, your aunt brings
the sad news to the new Mom that the baby has died.

“Somehow, the infant is spirited away and
offered up for adoption. I haven’t yet looked into the agency’s
financial records, but no doubt the adoption takes place for a
hefty fee. Your mother completes the reports; your father signs the
death certificate and in the meantime, arranges to register the
newborn’s birth. A birth certificate is issued and you have all you
need to effect an adoption.”

Georgie reeled from one relentless blow to
the next. The heat of her anger gave way to an icy coldness that
filled her from head to toe. She began to tremble
uncontrollably.

“No! No! No! You have it all wrong!” she
gasped weakly. “I don’t believe it! It’s not true! It
can’t
be! Do you have any evidence?”

Cam stared at her without flinching.
“Yes.”

With a horrified gasp, Georgie snatched up
her handbag and turned blindly into the crowd. Ignoring Cameron’s
shout, she plowed through the press of bodies. She pushed past a
man holding a tray of drinks and gritted her teeth when he lost his
balance and the drinks spilled everywhere.

He cursed and frowned at her, but she didn’t
pause and couldn’t even summon the wherewithal to offer an apology.
All she could think of was getting out of there and finding her mom
and dad. They would reassure her of Cameron’s ridiculousness. They
would calm her fears.

They’d always been able to do that, from the
time she was a little girl. Apart from her teenage pregnancy, she
couldn’t remember the number of times she’d gone to one or the
other of them and received comfort and understanding when life
threw an unexpected obstacle in her way. This was no different.

The seriousness of Cameron’s allegations was
completely off the scale and despite his claim that he had proof,
she was sure her parents could explain that away and her world
would once again right on its axis. Until then, she couldn’t be
around Cameron another second. No matter how much her heart
rebelled against it, there could be nothing between them until this
nonsense was sorted out.

Bursting through the double entry doors that
led outside to the street, she pushed blindly through the crowd.
Panting hard, she gulped in air and filled her lungs in an effort
to slow down her racing heart. People passed by her on the
pavement, but she remained oblivious to their curious stares. In a
daze, she started walking, barely aware of where she was going. She
flagged down a taxi and at the last minute, remembered she’d driven
into the city from work.

Lowering her arm, she turned away and
hurried in the direction of the parking station, clinging to the
fact that soon she’d have the truth from her parents. Then she
prayed she could set about repairing the damage her secret baby had
done to her relationship with Cameron. He’d been furious that she’d
kept it from him. She only hoped he’d come to understand.

Cam stared into the darkness from where he
stood out on his balcony and cursed aloud. He’d left the bar
straight after Georgie and the image of her devastated face kept
coming back to haunt him. She’d endured one shock after the other,
not the least his discovery of her secret.

The knowledge that she’d kept it from him
still angered him—after all they’d shared. She knew how he felt
about adoption and yet, she hadn’t said a word.

A shaft of guilt pricked his conscience and
he winced. He wondered just when she would have found the courage
and opportunity to bring it to his attention. He’d made it clear
how he felt about his birth mother. His attitude hadn’t exactly
invited confidences of that nature.

What could she have said?
Oh, it’s sad to
hear how much you hate your birth mother, but guess what? I gave my
baby up for adoption, too.

He remembered how she’d tried to offer up
various scenarios that might have explained his birth mother’s
actions and how he’d shot every one of them down. He hadn’t wanted
to listen to any reasoning. He’d despised the woman for too long.
Now, he couldn’t help but wonder about Georgie’s reasons.

She’d never struck him as heartless and
self-centered. In fact, just the opposite. The kindness and
compassion she’d shown Cynthia was only one example. His sister had
ceased to be Georgie’s responsibility from the moment Cynthia had
been discharged and yet, Georgie had come to his aid when he’d
called for help and was instrumental in his sister’s ongoing
emotional recovery.

And yet, she’d given her baby away… All of a
sudden he wanted to know why.

If he’d held any doubt whether or not she
was aware of the evil wrongdoings at the hospital, they’d dissolved
the moment he’d voiced his suspicions. Her reaction was one of
shock and sheer horror. Nobody was that good an actor. It was clear
she was oblivious to what her family had been up to.

He frowned at the memory of his outburst.
He’d spoken without thinking. He shouldn’t have said anything at
all. Though he was fairly sure she wouldn’t tip off his suspects,
he couldn’t be certain. A couple of days earlier, he would have
answered with a resounding yes, but his recent discoveries proved
he didn’t know her as well as he thought. The knowledge worried
him.

The problem was, he still didn’t have any
tangible proof that the babies had been stolen. He hadn’t yet found
any adoption records that pointed to the babies involved in his
investigation. But it was early days. There were hundreds of
records.