Sure enough, the next week Skyler heard from Jarvis’ lawyer. He demanded, which made her laugh, that she has an amniocentesis to determine her child’s parentage. She had already talked to her doctor about doing this procedure and he assured her that unless they thought the baby had a birth defect, he refused to do the test, as it may cause her to miscarry.
Even though she was worried that Jarvis was in fact the child’s father, it was a great relief to know that she could honestly tell Jarvis that test wasn’t possible to be done as it could hurt the baby. Not only that, but she wanted to make Jarvis wait as long as possible for the results of who was the father of her child.
She had her doctor contact the lawyer to tell him that his client hadn’t any grounds to force such a procedure done. The lawyer told the doctor in that case, the child’s DNA would be tested as soon as the infant was born, and doctor said that was fine.
* * *
The time finally arrived for Skyler to have the baby, Holden was with her the whole time, and she was exhausted by the time the baby arrived six hours later. Their daughter weighed in at eight pounds, with a hearty pair of lungs, which meant she was in good health.
When Skyler saw the nurse walk into the room pushing Kandi in her bassinet, tears filled her eyes, as she could hardly wait to hold her daughter. When the baby was in her arms, she looked down at her precious bundle to study the infant’s face to see if she could tell who had fathered her, but the face looking back at her didn’t give her any clue.
“Mrs. Dawson, we have received a court order to have your daughter’s DNA tested,” Lilly told her. “Do you know anything about this?”
Skyler smiled at the nurse. “A man I dated before I met my husband, thinks he’s the baby’s father and demanded the test.”
“And is he?” she inquired, though she didn’t have the right to ask.
She started to lie in case the nurse was on Jarvis payroll, but decided what good would it do to tell a fib at this late date. Skyler gave her a weak smile. “He could be, but so could my husband. My ex-boyfriend threatened that if the child is his, he’s going to try and get custody of her.”
The nurse’s face softened. “You must be scared.”
“Yes, very much so. The waiting for the test results will be hard.”
“I thought the mother usually had custody of the children.”
“Anymore it depends on the judge, as some think children should live with their father.”
* * *
When Skyler received the DNA report, she and Holden sat down together to open the envelope to review the results together. When she saw who her daughter’s father was, she turned and began sobbing into her husband’s chest.
Worried that results weren’t the one they wanted, he tried to comfort his wife. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to worry, as I’ll still love Kandi as if she’s my own child.”
Skyler moved away from her husband to look at him. “That isn’t why I’m crying.”
He gave her a bewildered look, not realizing what she’d meant by her comment. “It isn’t?”
“I’m crying because she is your daughter.”
Holden was shocked by her statement, as he never believed that he was Kandi’s father.
She smiled at the dazed expression he had on his face. “You seemed a bit stunned by the news. Didn’t you think it was a possible that you were her father?”
“I don’t understand how that could be possible. I truly thought Jarvis was her father, since you were with him first.”
“I have to admit that I thought that too.” She gripped hold of his hand. “I’m so glad that you are her father.”
“So am I.”
* * *
When Jarvis received the results of the DNA testing, he was furious, as he just knew Skyler had done something to change the results to benefit her. If she thought that he was just going to accept the results of this test, she was sadly mistaken.
He had to find a way to do his own DNA test. He wasn’t sure how he was going to go about it, but he wasn’t going to rest until he proved that he was the child’s father. Realizing other than breaking into their home and do the test on the child, which would be illegal, the only other choice he had was to come out and ask.
The next day, there was a knock at the door. When Skyler opened the door, the last person she expected ever to see again was standing there. “Jarvis, what are you doing here?”
“I don’t believe the hospital’s results, so I want to do my own test. If you deny me, I’ll go to court to get one.”
“Since you aren’t going to be happy until you do your own test, you might as well come in.”
Jarvis was surprised she had let him in without a court order.
“If you wait here, I’ll go do the test on her.”
He reached out and took hold of her wrist. “No, as I don’t trust you.”
“Fine,” she heatedly muttered. “Follow me.”
When they stepped into the baby’s room, Jarvis’ eyes went directly to the crib.
“Can I hold her?” he asked, as Skyler picked her up.
“Don’t push your luck. Just do the test and leave us alone,” she replied angrily.
Jarvis studied the infant in her arms as he took the cotton swab out of the packet. He held back a grin, as he swore, she looked the same as he had at that age.
Holding the baby, Skyler opened her daughter’s mouth so Jarvis could run the swab against the inside of her cheek. “Is there anything else you’d like before you leave?” she asked coldly.
“No, this is all I need. Thank you for doing this.”
She didn’t respond, as she was afraid whatever she said would only make matters worse. After Jarvis had left, Skyler closed the door and leaned against it; hating the fact, he still thought Kandi was his. She hoped he would accept this test, as she knew it would show the same results as the last one.
* * *
Jarvis smiled as he got into his car, thrilled how well his plan played out, as ten minutes after entering the baby’s room; he was leaving with the child’s DNA. Now all he had to send off the sample and wait for the results. He paid extra to have a rush on the test, and once the results were available, they would email him, as well as mail the final report with the proof of him being the baby’s father.
The whole time he waited, he made plans for raising his child. Furniture, diapers and other necessary baby items were bought, turning the bare spare bedroom, it into a nursery. A nanny was hired, and she would start as soon as he had custody of his daughter.
Each day, he hourly checked his email, but each day went by without any notification from the lab. Then the day came that there was an email from them. He was ecstatic, as he knew it wouldn’t be long before his daughter would be with him.
He clicked on the attachment and quickly read the lab’s findings. Tears filled his eyes, as he was stunned to see that the lab showed that the child wasn’t his. How could that be, as he knew he had to be her child’s father? Skyler must have gotten the lab to lie about the results of the test. He and Skyler had been together first, so it wasn’t possible for her husband to be the child’s father, birth control pills or not.
If Skyler thought some simple saliva test was going to prevent him from being with his daughter, she had another thing coming. He wasn’t going to allow anyone to prevent him from having his daughter. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, which caused something in his brain to snap, making him to go to the cabinet and grabbed his handgun.
He knew that Dixon’s Cosmetics had a daycare, and since his child was now two months old, Skyler would be taking her with her to work so that was where he was going. He called his mother and the two of them started out to get his child.
* * *
Cindy had just sat down at her computer when she happened to look out the office door to see Jarvis and an older woman, who must be his mother coming down the hall. As he got closer and she saw his expression, it scared her, as it was full of hatred, which meant he was here for a friendly visit. Not about to take any chances with her friend’s life, she dialed 9-1-1, telling them that she expected there was going to be trouble at their office and to send an officer.
Patty, the 9-1-1 operator told Cindy they said they would send someone out as soon as someone was free, but before the call could be disconnected, she heard words that turn her blood cold.
As Jarvis stepped in front of her and pulled out a gun, Cindy’s eyes grew round; as she knew, she was going to die. “Please don’t kill me,” she cried.
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“You should have been nicer to me,” he said with a sinister grin, then he pointed the gun at her heart. He smiled as he pulled the trigger, hitting his target square on.
As her face filled with pain, the phone in her hand fell to the floor, and she collapsed onto her desk.
Patty was shocked to hear the gun blast, then she quickly dispatched help, though she was afraid it was already too late for the woman on the phone.
He walked pass Cindy’s crumpled body and entered Skyler’s office, but she wasn’t there.
With the idea Skyler might be with the baby, he headed out of her office. As he passed Cindy’s desk, he didn’t bother to look over at the assistant, as there wasn’t a need as he was an excellent marksman. He put his gun out of sight, stepped out of the office, closing the door behind him. When he saw a man standing by the drinking fountain, he moved towards him, leaving his mother to follow.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Skyler. I believe she’s in the day care center, but I don’t know where that is.”
“Go down to the end of the hall and turn left, the daycare is there on the right.”
“Thanks, man.” Jarvis turned and started down the hall. He wasn’t in any mood to take any rudeness from Skyler’s coworkers, so if the man hadn’t been friendly, he would have shot him as well.
* * *
Cindy had been shocked when Jarvis had pulled out the gun, but more so when he had cold bloodily shot her. Lucky for her, due to a birth defect, her heart was off centered in her chest, so the bullet had missed her heart. Never had she been glad for this defect as she was today, as the imperfection had just saved her life.
When she collapsed to her desk, she landed on a baby blanket that Skyler had forgotten when she left for the day care. Not only did the blanket soften her fall, but it also helped apply pressure to the bullet wound to prevent her from bleeding out.
After landing on her desk, she played dead by not moving a muscle and taking very slow breaths. She wasn’t surprised when Jarvis hurried into Skyler’s office and hearing him returning, she held her breath, praying he wouldn’t look her way. As she knew that if he noticed she was still alive, this time, he would make sure he’d killed her for good.
When she heard the office door closed, she took in a loud inhale. She grabbed the phone, disconnected the line, picked it back up, and then dialed Skyler’s number.
* * *
Skyler had just laid the baby down after burping her when her cell phone rang. Seeing it was Cindy calling, she became concerned, as her friend usually just paged her if she needed her.
“Cindy, what’s up?”
“Jarvis is here with a gun and is willing to use it,” she told her friend.
“No, he wouldn’t hurt anyone,” she assured her friend.
“You’re wrong about that, as he’s already shot me, so he means business.”
“What?” she cried. “How badly are you hurt?”
“If my heart was where it should be in my body, I would be dead right now.”
“Oh Cindy, I’m so sorry.” Skyler felt awful that her friend could have been killed because of her.
“The police have been called, but Jarvis will probably reach you before they can get here to stop him.”
No sooner had Cindy said the words, the door to the daycare center opened, and Jarvis stepped into the room.
“I’m here for my daughter,” he said in a cold tone.
Skyler had to stall so the police would have time to arrive. “How many times do I have to tell you that she isn’t your daughter?”
He gave her a threatening look. “I don’t believe you.”
“You have had two DNA test, and they both showed she isn’t yours.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, because once you’re dead, she will be mine,” he replied with a sneer.
She shook her head, as she didn’t understand his reasoning. “Killing me isn’t going to make Kandi yours. Besides, the police are on their way, and they are going to arrest you and take you to jail for shooting Cindy.”
His eyes grew round. “How do you know that?”
“She told me.”
“You’re lying. Once you and these women in here with you are dead, the police aren’t going to know I was even here.”
Skyler laughed. “Of course, they’ll know. When Cindy called 9-1-1, she told them it was you who shot her, while your mother watched.”
“Your friend is dead,” he spit at her.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but she’s alive.”
“No, she isn’t, as I shot her in the heart not more than five minutes ago.”
“You’re wrong about that too.”
He smiled an evil grin at her. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”
“Do you mind if I put this call on speaker phone?”
Jarvis frowned, as he didn’t realize she had been on the phone when he came into the room. “Who is it?”
“It’s Cindy.”
He chuckled, as he knew she was lying. “Go ahead.”
Skyler hit the speaker button. “Jarvis doesn’t believe you’re alive. Could you tell him something only you and he would know?”
“He said to me, ‘You should have been nicer to me.’, pointed his gun at me, smiled and shot me in the chest.”
Jarvis’ eyes grew wide. “That’s not possible. I put a bullet into her heart.”
“That’s where you made your first mistake, as I don’t have a heart,” Cindy commented.
“It doesn’t matter as I’m not leaving here without the baby,” he said as he reached up and pointed the gun at Skyler’s head.
Skyler squeezed her eyes closed and said a quick prayer. When a gun shot was heard, she expected to feel pain, but instead, she heard someone fall to the floor. Her eyes flew open to see whom he’d shot and was happy to see Amy and Ressa were both unharmed. Then she looked down, and gasped at the sight before her, as Jarvis lay on the ground with a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead.
She let out a scream when the door busted open, but instead of Helene being there, three men dressed in Swat uniforms had entered the room. Realizing what must have happened, she quickly looked towards the window, and seeing a small hole in the window at the same height as Jarvis’ head, she realized how he’d been killed.
* * *
While the three women were occupied with the swat team, an unseen woman snuck into the room. Once everyone’s attention was off the babies, she quickly grabbed the baby in the crib marked Kandi. She silently tucked her into her coat, and without any of the women knowing she’d been there; she stepped out into the hallway.
Seeing the police officers heading her way, she tensed, but continued walking. Hoping to throw off suspicion, she smiled at them as if she belonged here. Instead of stopping her, as they should have, they rushed by her. Once they’d passed, the woman walked as fast as she could towards the front door. She hoped she could get out of the building without them returning to talk to her, for once, she was out of the door, it would be free sailing.
Just as she stepped outside, she heard the door behind her lock, making her assume the office building was on lock down because the baby had been discovered missing. Not wanting to get this far and be caught, she ran to her car. She didn’t want to take the time to secure the infant in the car seat she’d bought but knew she couldn’t take the chance of anything happening to her granddaughter just in case there was a car chase.
Once the infant was strapped securely into the car seat, the woman closed the door and moved to get in the front door. When she looked up and saw more police entering the parking lot, she swore. If she wanted to get out of here without being caught, she had to be creative.
Since she was parked on the far side of the parking lot, the police weren’t aware she was there. Knowing she had just a few moments before she was noticed, she moved to the end of her station wagon and opened the tailgate like a door. She quickly pulled back the carpeting and jerked up one of the folding back seats, as the station wagon could seat up to ten people.
She hurried to the baby, unhooked the infant carrier from the seatbelt, took it out of the car, and carried it to the back. After she placed it on the floor, she closed the lid to the back seat, and replaced the carpet, hiding the sleeping baby inside.
She got back into her car and after taking a deep breath; she started it and slowly started towards the exit of the parking lot. As she expected, a policeman asked her to stop.
“I need to check your car,” the officer said to her.
“What is the problem, officer?” As if, she didn’t already know.
“Not your concern ma’am.” He quickly scanned the car, and when he didn’t see any sign of her having a baby with her, he returned to her window. “Thank you, you may proceed.”
She gave him a smile, told him to have a good day, and continued on her way. In a hurry to get away when she came to the green light, she didn’t look either direction to see if it was clear but headed through it. If she had just turned her head to the left, she would have seen the fast speeding truck heading her way, which had a drunken teenager at the wheel.
Just as the front end of her car entered the intersection, the Dodge Ram truck slammed into her vehicle so hard, the woman was killed instantly. Aaron, the driver of the truck had his air knocked out of his lungs by the airbag, but once he regained his equilibrium, he knew he had to get away before the cops could arrest him.
Not only, for running the red light and causing this accident, but the fact he was stinking drunk. Aaron was trying to unhook his seatbelt when he felt a presence at his left. As he turned his head and saw the police officer standing there, he knew his luck had just run out.
Meanwhile, the second officer was checking on the driver of the station wagon. Finding her dead and the vehicle empty, he moved towards the truck to see if he was needed there. After the driver of the truck was placed in the squad car, the first officer returned to the crash station wagon as the ambulance and tow truck had arrived.
* * *
Once Skyler knew Jarvis was dead, and no longer a threat, she moved to the crib to get her daughter. When she looked down, seeing the crib empty, she screamed, and before her tears could fall, she was in her husband’s arms.
“Someone has taken Kandi.” She looked around the room with panic in her eyes. “I don’t understand, she was in the crib when Jarvis was shot, I don’t see how anyone could come in and take her without being seen.”
As soon as security was aware of the missing infant, they quickly locked the building down with the hope that the culprit hadn’t already left the building. When they started viewing the tape from the company’s security cameras and saw the perpetrator entering the daycare center, Skyler was bought into the room to see if she could identify the woman.
“That’s Jarvis’ mother. He must have gotten her to believe in his illusion that Kandi is his daughter.”
They continued viewing the tapes and were dismayed to see Helene had left the building before the office had been locked down. “We’ll send out an Amber Alert.”
* * *
Joe, the tow truck driver, was used to see such things, as hauling away smashed cars was part of his job. Seeing the station wagon’s condition, he wasn’t surprised to hear the driver had been killed, as the truck had hit it so hard, the front door was now where the driver used to be. He started to hook his truck to the car, but stopped when he heard a faint, but distinct sound coming from inside the station wagon.
He was confused, not by the sound of a crying baby, as it was one, he familiar with, but mystified because it was coming from the smashed vehicle. “Hey officer,” he shouted to the nearest man.
George looked over at him with tears in his eyes as he’d just learned the woman had kidnapped a child, and since the vehicle was empty and all the windows were smashed, he assumed the child had been thrown from the car.
“Come over here. I think there is a baby in here.”
“What? How is that possible?”
Joe acquainted with this model of vehicle was aware of the hidden seats and so he quickly opened the back door. As he did so, the crying became louder, causing him to work faster. As soon as he raised the lid of the back seats, and saw the child, he smiled. He grabbed the car seat and brought it out with the unhappy infant.
One of the paramedics hearing a crying baby, hurried over to them. The baby was quickly checked out, and all were surprised to learn she hadn’t been hurt in the crash. Not only had the car seat protected her, the tight quarters of where she’d been place, had kept her safe from harm.
George swiftly called headquarters to inform them that the baby had been found alive and in good condition, but they were sending her to the hospital to be checked out just to be sure.
Skyler and Holden were overwhelmed to learn their daughter was alive and unharmed, they hugged each other, then left to go to the hospital.
* * *
A week later, Skyler was going through her mail, stunned to see there was a letter from a law office. When she opened it up, she was confused to see the letter was from Jarvis’ lawyer. As she read, she learned that Jarvis was so sure Kandi was his daughter; he had named her his beneficiary. Not only that, she had also inherited all his mother’s estate as well. With the insurance money from both, it came to a great deal of money.
Skyler was in a dilemma, as she didn’t feel right keeping any of it since Jarvis wasn’t Kandi’s father, nor did he have any relatives she could give the estate. She and Holden came up with the idea to set up an annuity for the homeless shelter in Jarvis’ name, a gift that would keep giving for many years, helping a great deal of people.