In my wildest dreams, I never imagined giving up my
daughter. Not for any reason. Not for any amount of money. But I did.
Let me start at the beginning. I’m Vanessa Gleason, formerly
Sanford. I married Charles Sanford five years ago after a whirlwind romance. I
met Charles when I worked at a law firm in Cleveland. He was from
Cincinnati and often had dealings with our law firm.
His charm and smooth talk soon swept me off my feet. It
didn’t take long. From the minute I first saw him, I was attracted. Not just by
his good looks, but they sure didn’t hurt. There was something about him. His attentiveness, probably. When he asked me to dinner the first time, well let’s just
say I was more than a little flattered. Charles had quite a reputation. Not only was he wealthy,
his came from a very prestigious law firm, and his name was very well known in
society.
I couldn’t imagine what he wanted with me. I mean,
seriously. I was nothing. A lowly secretary – okay executive secretary, but
still, that was nothing compared to Charles.
After a year, he convinced me to leave Morgan, Wilson, &
Howe and work for him. I didn’t have anything holding me here in Cleveland. My
parents were deceased. I didn’t have any other family and not even any close
friends. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. Sanford, Pillar and Dunmore
wasn’t just a prestigious law firm, they were the elite. The top. Not to
mention, I’d get to see Charles every day, a fact he didn’t need to point out.
I was already infatuated. I wanted to see where our relationship would lead.
Seeing Charles on a daily basis as compared to his occasional visits to
Cleveland would surely turn into something more permanent.
He showered me with gifts. Jewelry,
artwork, flowers, you name it. He never showed up without something for me. He
literally swept me off my feet. His attention and affection had me head over
heels in love.
When he asked me to marry him, I didn’t have to think twice.
So after a whirlwind, fairy book romance, we married. Charles’s mother, Mrs.
Sanford, took charge of everything. From picking out my dress to the smallest
detail of favors for the tables. After all, what did I know about planning a
society wedding for almost a thousand people? I was more than willing to let
her do it. Although, I would have liked to pick out my own dress. But, she was
paying for it, after all.
Married life wasn’t much different than being single. Other
than Mrs. Sanford convinced Charles I should quit my job. There was more than
enough to keep me busy learning to run his home and volunteering with her and Joanna,
Charles’s sister. Besides, Sanford women didn't work. It would look like he couldn't provide for me.
I didn’t mind. I was ecstatic. Finally, I was part of a
family again and Charles certainly had a large house-twenty-five rooms,
fifteen servants, cooks, butler, and chauffer. They soon became my friends,
much to Mrs. Sandford’s chagrin. One didn’t fraternize with the help. Not that
I had much time. Mrs. Sanford whisked me off to every charity event imaginable,
not to mention the garden club and bridge club-something I never mastered. All that and giving the servants orders filled my days.
Evenings were spent at the club.
It was one constant whirlwind of activity and at first I
loved it, but it wasn't a life I was used to and after a few weeks, I wanted to just stay home and spend time with my husband. Once I got pregnant with my daughter, I
didn’t go as often. Mrs. Sanford, who
never missed an opportunity to criticize me, became more vocal, insisting we
attend. I gave in, as usual.
After I had Alyssa, I flat out refused to go. For a week or
so, Charles stayed home with me, but then his mother nagged and nagged. The
next thing I knew, we were constantly arguing. He insisted I hire a nanny for
Alyssa and go with him. I flat out refused. This was my daughter, and I was
raising her, not a nanny. That’s when Mrs. Sanford really turned on the
viciousness. Nothing I did was right.
Charles went to the club every night. I heard through the
grapevine, Emily Winfield joined him. Emily was the woman Mrs. Sanford chose
for Charles. To use her words: ‘Emily was much more suitable for Charles.’
Well, they were welcome to each other as far as I was concerned. The nastier
Charles got, the more I realized our marriage was a lie. Charles didn’t love
me, probably never had. I’m not sure why he married me when he could have had
Emily to begin with. Something about Emily being engaged to someone else, from
what the servants said. So, I was just a pretty face for him to entertain his
clients.
I didn’t care. I had Alyssa and that’s all that mattered.
Until Charles asked for a divorce that is. That’s when my world fell apart. The
divorce he could have. I didn’t care. But not my daughter.
To learn more you’ll have to read the book, available from Amazon
Excerpt:
Vanessa
blinked back tears. The empty feeling inside wasn’t going to subside any time
soon and hiding away in a hotel room wouldn’t change anything. Besides, tears
wouldn’t bring Alyssa back. But, somehow, someway she was going to get her
daughter back. What was her baby doing? Did she miss her? Was she crying? God,
she missed her daughter. Missed their morning ritual—the loving and hugging and
cuddling. Every day for two years, they started the day the same way.
At
least they did until two weeks ago.
Never
in her life had she felt such anger and pain. Tears burned her eyes, slid down
her cheeks. Powerless to stop them, sobs shook her body. Gulping back the sobs,
Vanessa looked around the small hotel room. Okay, so it wasn’t the Ritz, but it
was clean and reasonably priced. Luxury wasn’t important. Never had been before
and sure as heck wasn’t now. The important thing now was figuring a way to get
her daughter back. Time to pull herself together and get on with life, find a
job. Two weeks of self-pity was enough. Vanessa swung her legs over the side of
the bed, went to the bathroom, and turned on the water for the shower. She
needed a plan. Crying didn’t solve a darn thing.
The
hot water ran down her gaunt body, and Vanessa lathered her tangled auburn
hair. Was it only two weeks ago life seemed normal? How could things have
changed so suddenly? But it wasn’t sudden. A divorce had been coming for a long
time. She just never expected it to end without Alyssa. Vanessa shivered
getting out of the shower and wrapped the towel around her. Her only chance of
getting Alyssa back was to find a job, and to make a fresh start.
Showered
and dressed, Vanessa caught her reflection in the mirror. High sunken
cheekbones sat beneath green eyes that stared back at her with a vacant look.
How had her face become so skeletal in two weeks? What happened to the woman,
who had her hair done weekly, never appeared without makeup, and worked out
every day? Not that she cared about all that pampering. None of that mattered,
never really had. What mattered was her baby. Living without luxuries was easy.
She’d done it all her life. But losing Alyssa left a hole in her heart. Never
had she experienced such pain. Not even when her parents died. Losing her child
tore her apart. Tears burned her eyes again.
Vanessa
gulped back the tears and turned away from the mirror, straightened her
shoulders and stood to her full five foot eight height. Through the years her
height had afforded her many advantages, and she’d been proud of it. Not so
long ago, it had given her confidence and security. Time to regain that
confidence. She was down, but not broken. No other way to beat Charles and his
mother to win custody of Alyssa, and beat them she would. She’d be darned if
Mrs. Sanford was going to raise her daughter. Not in this lifetime.
Charles—what
a mistake he turned out to be. Although he had provided well for the past five
years, the past was over. He didn’t matter anymore. Hadn’t really mattered for
a long time.
She
brushed the hair from her forehead, smoothed her blouse and took a last look at
the unfamiliar person that stared back at her.
“Time to get down to business, first thing to find a
job.” Her voice in the empty room shocked her. It was the first time she’d
spoken in almost two weeks.
Clutching
her sweater tight to block out the wind, Vanessa hurried across the parking lot
to the motel lobby and purchased a paper. Back in her room, she shivered,
poured a cup of coffee, sat down at the small round table, and opened the paper
to the classifieds. The settlement money from Charles was safe in an account,
but she didn’t want to count on it to live. Besides, it wouldn’t last forever.
It was time to do something for her, to feel worthwhile again, and that money
was the start to getting Alyssa back. Vanessa smiled. Nothing would make her
happier than beating Charles with his own money. But it would take a lot more
than what she had to find a lawyer who could beat him.
Memory
of signing the papers and taking the money invaded her thoughts. That sneering
smile and hushed tone of Mrs. Sanford made her skin crawl, even now. The words
would be forever implanted in her mind. “Charles has been more than generous in
his settlement. You ought to be grateful, dear.”
Oh
yeah, more than generous, but at what price? And grateful, for what? That they
forced her give up her daughter? That Charles had threatened her? Mrs.
Sanford’s idea of grateful and hers sure didn’t agree. And that dear, if she
never heard that term again, it would be too soon, especially the way Mrs.
Sanford said it. But they weren’t going to win. Not by a long shot.
Vanessa
set the paper aside, closed her eyes and remembered how happy she had once
been. How could things go so wrong? All she had wanted was to fit in, to be the
perfect wife and part of Charles’s family. Quitting her job at Mrs. Sanford’s
insistence was her first mistake. Filling her time managing Charles’s large
house, fulfilling commitments at the club and volunteering with Mother Sanford
and Charles’s sister, Joanna, was supposed to be fun. Fun, yeah right, nothing
with Mrs. Sanford was fun.
Pushing
the memory from her mind, Vanessa picked up the newspaper, circled some help
wanted ads, and made a few phone calls. It didn’t take long to figure out
Christmas Eve wasn’t the best day to look for a job.
Christmas
Eve, God, she had lost track of time. Christmas, when she should be with her
daughter. She had begged Charles to let her stay until after Christmas, but
with his mother behind him, as usual, he refused. How could anyone be so cruel?
“What
difference does it make what day it is?” He waved her off. “It’s over, the
papers are signed. Take the money and leave before I change my mind.”
Vanessa
left, knowing he meant it. She wouldn’t put anything past Charles Sanford these
days. He sure wasn’t the man she married, or had she been so blinded by love to
see the real Charles?
“But the fight isn’t over, Charles Sanford. Somehow, someway
I’m going to win Alyssa back. No way is your mother going to raise my baby.”
The choked sound of her own voice startled her. The thought of Mrs. Sanford
raising Alyssa sent chills through her. No, that cold, unfeeling witch wasn’t
going to raise her daughter.
