Chapter 23
How long was this going to take? Sienna wondered as she watched Max pace. She detested hospitals; the way they smelled, the officious sense of detachment they radiated. The light dusty pall of dismal despair that all the chlorine bleach in the world couldn’t scrub away. Aside from happy births, what good ever came from places like this?
Max brushed his hair back once more, and she longed to go to him, but she’d tried before and he’d been so claustrophobic in his anxiety that it was clear he wanted some space.
She didn’t blame him. It had been a few hours since the debacle at the park, and the baby was still in the custody of the state. The rapid DNA test had confirmed the baby to be biologically his. The officials wanted to ensure that the newborn baby they’d rescued from the woman at the park was indeed Max’s biologically.
Except that protocol required the baby to receive a clean bill of health before he could be discharged to his custodian. Sienna understood, although she couldn’t help but fight back impatience as to how long the process was taking.
“It’ll be fine,” Jacyn said reassuringly, settling next to her and handing over a cup of coffee. She added apologetically, “Not much by way of coffee choices here in the hospital, so I got you black.”
“That’s fine,” she said thankfully, although as she sipped it, she flinched at the brutal taste.
Sienna felt a surge of gratitude as she looked around at all her friends gathered there in the hospital waiting room. Jacyn, Naisha, Chantelle and Shaundra, as well as their husbands, were seated in various spots around the room. They’d arrived just a few minutes ago to offer Maxim their support. Within hours of learning what had happened with Max and the baby in London, each one of these precious friends had put their lives on hold. They’d all probably canceled and postponed important business dealings as well as placed their parental responsibilities on hold to offer their support.
Chantelle who hated hospitals because of the amount of time she spent in one last year and had recently learned she was carrying not one but two babies was making huge sacrifices of time and effort, and Sienna didn’t think she could find better friends in the whole world.
Max’s parents were seated at the other end of the room, having what looked like a friendly conversation with William.
Chantelle came and sat on the other side of her and hugged her. “You must trust that it will be okay.” Somewhere deep inside her, Sienna knew this to be true. There might be a lot of bureaucratic tape and officialdom to overcome, but there was no doubt that once that was over, Max would be holding his son in his arms.
And, hopefully, she would be holding Max in hers.
“Any word on that Éloïse wretch?” Shandra asked, her face making no secret of how she felt about the woman.
Sienna shook her head. “The police think she probably skipped the country even before the handover was made. The woman, the nurse who looked like Éloïse, didn’t seem to have been involved. She works for a reputable agency and says Éloïse asked her to take the baby to his father for a visit. Éloïse spun her a tale of a custody issue with Max and the need for someone to be the intermediary. There’s no evidence at all that she had any idea what was really going on, or that she was complicit. When they got to the house the nanny directed them to, it was empty. There was just a very rude note addressed to Max saying that Éloïse knew there would be cops, so she’d covered her tail and sent someone else instead. She even dared Max to find her!”
“Some nerve,” Jacyn grumbled.
“From what Max has told me about the woman,” Sienna said, “it’s entirely in character. Anyway, they took a statement from the nanny and then let her go.”
“She must have been scared out of her mind when the cops practically leaped out of the bushes,” Chantelle commented sympathetically.
“She all but fainted,” Sienna revealed dryly. “She thought the baby was being kidnapped.”
“Speaking of which,” Shaundra added contentiously, “I wonder how many charges Éloïse is looking at, when they catch her.”
“If they ever do,” Sienna mused. She had a gut feeling that the woman was smart enough to go to ground and stay there. She was probably already embedded in a country that was free of extradition treaties with either France or the UK. She and her five million euros, which had been withdrawn the minute it hit the bank in the Cayman Islands, diverted to parts unknown. “Extortion is only the start of it.”
“This situation is making me grateful that Alex and I adopted instead of using a surrogate which we discussed before even thinking of adopting. I hope they throw the book at her,” Jacyn said.
“You and me both,” Sienna murmured. She looked across at Max, who had stopped his pacing and was now standing at the window, looking out. She had no idea what was out there, whether it was a parking lot, a garden, or another cluster of buildings, but she was guessing that either way, his eyes were unseeing.
Go to him,said a voice in her head.
Recognizing her friends’ fatigue, and knowing that their children were back at the hotel waiting for them, Sienna decided to relieve them. “You guys should go get some rest,” she encouraged. “You’ve been great, but your kids need you.”
“You sure?” Jacyn eyed her with concern.
Sienna hugged her close, enjoying the comforting warmth of her best friend’s body by her side. “Sure. It won’t be long. I have a feeling the baby will be released tomorrow morning.”
There was a general rustling as everyone rose, gathered their belongings and said their goodbyes. The men paused to whisper words of encouragement to Max as they left. Impulsively, Jacyn gave Max a hug. Sienna couldn’t tell what she said to him, but he nodded and smiled, glancing in her direction.
At the same time, Max’s parents announced they would go for a short walk around the hospital to stretch their legs. Before they left, they commanded Max to call them if anything changed. Huimin squeezed Sienna’s arm before preceding her husband to the exit. Sienna was grateful for the woman’s show of affection.
When they had the waiting room to themselves again, Max came over and sat next to her.
“Hey.” She took his hand in both of hers, noting how cool it was. She brought it to her lips and kissed his fingers. “It’s going to be okay,” she promised.