PART 6: The Assistant's Confession
Lisa was shivering from the cold, or perhaps from sheer terror, as she pulled her coat tighter around herself. I stood rooted to the spot. The lawyer's assistant? What on earth did a lawyer have to do with my little girl? "Listen closely," Lisa said quickly, her eyes darting across the empty rail yard as if every second counted. "This isn't about an adoption or your financial situation at all.
That's just a cover. There's a client... an influential man from the city whose own child tragically died. His wife had a psychological breakdown over it. They needed a child, immediately, and didn't want to wait years for a legal adoption." My stomach turned with disgust. "My child is not merchandise!" I shouted, causing Lisa to immediately clap her hand over my mouth.
"Shh! Have you got a death wish? They have armed men all around this property!" She let go and looked at me urgently. "Mrs. Kramer has worked for this lawyer for years as an accomplice in recruiting vulnerable young mothers. They looked for someone with no family, someone with nowhere to turn." I felt the ground drop out from under my feet. "But where is she now?
Where is my daughter?" Lisa pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from her pocket and shoved it into my hand. "Here is the address of the harbor warehouse where they took her. She's being handed over to the couple by private yacht tonight at two o'clock." I looked at the address and then back at her. "Why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me?" Lisa looked at me with tears in her eyes. "Because I'm a mother myself. And when I saw the baby smile... I couldn't bear to watch it anymore." Suddenly, a loud shout sounded nearby, and the harsh beam of a flashlight cut through the fog.
