Another Love Story

Chapter 24

Daniel and his lawyers informed me that both Alyssa and Ava were to be charged with first-degree kidnapping. However, with Alyssa on the run, the only person detained at the moment would be Ava. I was told that while there is a warrant for Alyssa's arrest, Ava has already been formally indicted and is awaiting trial. All of this has happened as to be expected. What I did not expect is that Ava would remain detained in an actual jail as she waits for her court date. For sure, she has enough for bail. Nevertheless, Daniel, one of his lawyers, and I are being led by a correctional officer to an interrogation room of a Federal BOP detention center.

After being seated, we must wait for Ava and her lawyer for the meeting to begin. One of my hands remains clasped together with Daniel's while the other tries to discreetly soothe the pain radiating from the c-section cut that has recently come to life beneath my stomach. But I refuse to let on to Daniel that I am hurting because he will only force me home and into bed. Nothing will stand in the way of this meeting.

Luckily, we are not kept waiting for too long before Ava is seated in front of us beside her representative, who appears too young to be already balding. She looks tired and washed out by the dingy gray uniform she's wearing -- her skinny wrists bound together with handcuffs in front of her. Ava's lawyer is the first to speak as he ruffles around with his briefcase.

"Just so we are clear, my client has agreed to speak with you off the record. There is already a plea agreement in place with the district attorney's office regarding this case."

"There is?" I look to Daniel with my question. "What happened?"

His words come in a low his as he continues to glare at Ava. "She has agreed to a guilty plea and to give all information she has about their plans to kidnap you in return for leniency at sentencing."

"The deal is tentative because Ava has yet to offer anything useful," Daniel's lawyer continues in a less harsh tone. "It is subject to change based on how helpful the information is she has to offer before the court date."

Well, this is another something that I would have liked to have known before. So, while I am sitting at home worrying, he is making deals without telling me about it. I don't know the reason he continues to keep me in the dark, but Daniel and I need to have a talk about this because the last time I checked, I was the one who was kidnapped. However, grilling him about this will have to wait until we are alone again because he's already too riled up. Taking a slow breath, I return my attention across the table.

"Ava, what is really going on? If you have already agreed to talk to the DA's office, then what are we doing here?"

"I told Daniel I wanted to speak with you," she mumbles, lifting her head to look at me. "To apologize..."

"Your apologies are meaningless," Daniel growls. "And you have had more than enough time with her, no?"

My eyebrows bunch together as irritation builds in my chest. Really Daniel? I understand he wants to protect me, but I am an adult. I have been taking care of myself and dealing with challenging situations my entire life. It doesn't stop with Ava or her psychotic sister.

The room has dropped into radio silence, and there is a weight in the air that could quite literally require movement with a bulldozer. Daniel's hand has tightened around mine like a vise, so I try smoothing it out by circling my thumb. His gaze is making Ava nervous, and she's refusing to lift her eyes to mine. This will not do. I have to get Daniel out of the room.

I lean over closer to his ear. "She won't talk to me if you're scaring her."

"I don't care if she's afraid," his eyes blaze. "Were you not scared with her and Alyssa in that room?"

"This is not about me anymore," I snap back. "My feelings towards her don't matter, and neither do yours. I want my baby back, now."

There is a small war in our eyes until he softens in defeat. For a moment, I see that scared teenage boy again from when he thought his sister was in trouble after her sneaking out to drink with her friends. That boy who found his first love, Lily, lifeless on an abandoned building floor. Now, it's his own newborn daughter that is lost, and there isn't much he can do about it. However, dealing with traumatic situations is what I am best at. I just need him to trust me to get the information we need to bring our daughter home.

"You gave me five minutes, remember?"

He nods once, and his hand loosens around mine. "Five minutes."

"Okay," I turn to address the rest of the people in the room. "Since this meeting is off the record and Ava is clearly bound, can we please have a moment alone?"

They are hesitant, but Daniel and both lawyers arise and shuffle out of the room. The only person remaining is the guard standing silently in the corner of the room. After the door has closed, I offer my undivided attention to Ava, who has visibly relaxed in her chair.

"Daniel and I share the same level of anger." I breathe. "You need not get too comfortable and waste my time with a bunch of nonsense."

"I understand," Ava says. "I deserve all of it from both of you. And I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Why me, Ava? I thought I was your friend."

"I know. You were so nice to me, but... Alyssa is my sister. My family has always doted on her, even when I graduated valedictorian of MIT. I was never enough. I thought she might finally be proud to be my sister, but I realized too late she never would be. I saved you, hoping that maybe we could salvage whatever friendship we have left."

Just as I suspected. It's tragic, really, and I almost feel bad for her. Almost, though, because compared to what I have been through, sibling rivalry is not a good enough reason to kidnap someone and hold them hostage to steal their baby. She is still an adult who knows right from wrong. It's not like Alyssa pulled a gun on her the way she did to me. Also, she has yet to say anything about where Alyssa could be with my daughter.

"What I don't understand is why would she feel so entitled to my baby. When she left Daniel, she boasted about having her own."

"The baby was born prematurely with severely underdeveloped lungs. It never left the hospital."

"That does not answer my question."

"She went to New York to somehow win Daniel back," Ava shifts in her seat. "I told her he had moved on, but then she said she no longer wanted him, and you still had her baby. That you lied about having a miscarriage."

My mouth hangs out with a horrified whisper, "And you started planning then,"