Our mouths dropped open. How could Jonah be Kelly’s son? That was impossible.
“No,” William said. “That’s impossible!”
“I’m afraid it isn’t, sir. The tests we’ve done have proved that. I would like for you and your wife to bring the baby and come to the police station.”
“What for?” William asked, his eyes narrowing.
“We’ll explain once you get here.” With that, the man hung up.
I looked at William. “How is this even possible?”
William shook his head. “I don’t know, but I think it explains why she went to Greece for a few months.”
“She did?”
“Yep, it was before we got engaged.”
I frowned. “Well, let’s go see what the police want. We have to stop by Chelsea’s, though, Jonah was fussy today, so I didn’t want to wake him up from his nap.”
He nodded.
William called his secretary to tell him to cancel the meeting and anything else that was planned for today while I finished packing up. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the police station. I tucked the blanket tightly around Jonah and kissed the top of his head. I was actually really scared. What was going to happen to him?
A policeman came up to us and introduced himself as Officer Matthews. Then he led us into a room that was similar to the one we were in when we came to talk to Kelly, Winston, and Natasha.
“The reason we called you in was to see whether she would confess to abandoning the baby. If that is the case, her sentence may be increased for harming the child. You will wait in the other room, and if we feel it’s necessary, we’ll call you in.”
We nodded and walked into the room next door. Five minutes later, an officer brought Kelly in and she plopped down onto a chair. She looked uncomfortable and angry at the same time.
“What am I doing here? I thought we were done with interrogations?” she snapped.
“It just so happens that something came up and we found it necessary to question you again,” Officer Matthews said, leaning forward.
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. What do you want to know?”
“Do you have a son?” he asked.
Well, he jumped straight to the point.
She stared at him, wide-eyed. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just answer the question,” he said firmly.
“I did,” she replied sadly.
“You did?”
She sighed and rubbed her face, sniffling. “Natasha killed him.”
“What in the world?” William whispered. I was thinking the same thing.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Officer Matthews asked.
She sighed and wiped her tears. “I got pregnant from a one-night stand with some guy whose name I don’t know because we were drunk. No one knew about it, and I hid it pretty well too. I stayed in Greece with Natasha for those nine months just to avoid my parents. Then, around the time William and Heather got engaged, I gave birth to my baby boy, Noah.”
“Noah,” I whispered, looking down at the baby we called Jonah. Her story actually made sense. William and I were engaged for about four months and we found Jonah three months after we got married.
William snorted. “Well, we were just slightly off with the name.”
I chuckled quietly before shushing him and listening to Kelly again. She was crying a bit more now.
“When Natasha found out they were engaged, she went berserk. The part that no one knows is that after she got me fired, she also took Noah from me, saying I didn’t deserve him,” she said quietly. So that must have meant Natasha hid him for a few months.
Suddenly, Kelly let out a sob. “I don’t deserve him. I’m the world’s worst mother. I couldn’t even protect my baby. I ended up taking revenge on an innocent person because I was so upset about my job and baby. I was such a cruel person to Heather and William. I don’t even deserve to live.” She hiccupped.
She laid her head on the table and cried her heart out. My heart was breaking slightly from what I heard. I couldn’t imagine the amount of pain it would be to lose your baby. No one deserved that pain, not even Kelly.
“Kelly, you have to continue with your story,” Officer Matthews said emotionlessly.
She looked up and nodded. She swiped a hand across her face and cleared her throat. “I searched for him everywhere, but to no avail. Finally, Natasha told me he was dead, and she…she showed me pictures of his b-body.” She let out another sob.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I looked at William, who was staring at Jonah sadly.
“William, do you think we should tell her that he’s still alive? No matter what, she’s still his mother, and she deserves to know. I wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt that we let her believe her son was dead.”
He nodded. “Let’s tell her. But first, let me talk to the officer.”
He left the room and whispered something in the ear of the officer. Kelly was still crying silently with her head on the table, so she didn’t notice him enter and exit. William entered the room again. “He said we could talk to her.”
I got up and followed William into the interrogation room. He looked at me, and I nodded.
Officer Matthews looked at us. “Well, Kelly. The miracle is that Natasha did not actually kill your son. Those pictures she showed you were fake. In fact, he’s a happy, healthy nine-month-old baby.”
Her head snapped up. “What? He’s not?”
“Yes, and guess who found him?” He gestured to William and me.
Her eyes widened at the bundle in my arms. Tears flooded her eyes again. “Noah.”
She looked up at us anxiously. “Can I hold him once? Please.”
I glanced at the officer, and he shrugged. “It’s your choice.”
I nodded and approached Kelly warily. She was staring at Jonah like she couldn’t believe her eyes. I kneeled down next to her chair and carefully placed the baby in her waiting arms. By this time, Jonah was awake, and he smiled at Kelly. She let out a strangled sob and smiled at him.
“My baby,” she whispered happily.
She traced his features with her fingertips softly and kissed his forehead. “You’ve grown into such a handsome baby boy. Your mommy has been a terrible person. I hope when you grow up, you can find it in you to forgive her,” she said, running her thumb over his cheek.
He giggled and she traced his lips. “I hope this smile stays on your face forever.”
I smiled and stood up. Kelly got up slowly and handed him back to me carefully.
“Be a good boy for your Aunt Heather and Uncle William. I know they will take good care of you. They already do,” Kelly said, stroking his hair and pressing another kiss to his forehead. And know that I will always love you,” she whispered as tears fell from her eyes again.
She looked at me. “I know that I’ve hurt you so much, and I won’t ever deserve your forgiveness. But take care of him for me, please. He’s innocent in all this.”
I nodded and slowly turned to leave. William wrapped his arm around my waist and we left the police station after saying goodbye.
“Today was so crazy,” William said, holding my hand as he drove with the other.
“I know, first finding out that we’re going to be parents and then how Jonah is actually Kelly’s son. Speaking of Jonah, do you want to call him Jonah or Noah?”
“I guess Noah, but it’s going to take time to get used to the name change.”
I nodded. “That’s true. So what do you want to do now?”
“Well, you didn’t eat lunch, so the first thing you’ll do is eat once we get home. Then we can hop into bed and I can give you a nice body massage.” His eyes gleamed mischievously.
I laughed. “Smooth.”
He chuckled and kissed my cheek. “Only for you.”