Free White Diamonds by K. Lyn Page A

following morning in the same clothes they had worn the night before.  They were disheveled but they didn’t care.  They were in love.
    When they returned to their country cottage, Vicki ran up to her bedroom to change clothes before Mrs. Adler noticed her wrinkled attire.
    “Hiding from someone?” Wilson teased.
    “She’s going to know what we’ve been doing.”
    “I don’t think we invented sex.”  Wilson loved that Vicki showed her wild side only to him.  He wouldn’t share any part of her with anyone if he didn’t have to.
    In sweat pants and a shirt, Vicki ran back down the stairs to see her son.  “Beth, we’re home.  Beth?”  Mrs. Adler wasn’t in the kitchen and the inn suddenly seemed very quiet.  “It’s too quiet,” she said aloud.  “Wilson!”  She screamed his name at the top of her lungs and he was at her side within seconds.
    “What’s wrong?”
    Vicki began to shake.  “Something’s wrong.  He’s gone.  Dante’s gone.  My son has been kidnapped.”
    “Maybe the Adlers took him for a walk.”
    Vicki ran through the cottage, slamming doors, screaming names, and rummaging through drawers.  She felt Wilson’s arms around her, steadying her, and she began to cry.  “Where is he?”
    “I’m sure there’s an explanation.  Let me see if Mr. Adler is in the garage.”  When Wilson returned, he held Dante in his arms.
    “What’s going on?”
    “Take Dante and go up to the bedroom and lock the door.”
    “Why?”
    “Just do it.”
    The crying infant wailed for his mother, and Vicki hurried up the stairs.  She locked the door, pulled off her shirt, and led her hungry son to her breast.  It seemed to quiet him but Vicki feared she would run out of milk before he was full.  “You dear sweet baby.  You’re starving.”  Wilson unlocked the door and stepped inside.  “He’s starving, Wilson.  Didn’t Beth feed him?”
    Wilson sat down on the bed. “The Adlers are dead, Vicki.”
    “What?”  She sat up and her son’s source of food was taken from him, resulting in a loud squeal of protest.  “Oh come here, sweetie.  There’s more.”
    “It was the mafia, Vicki, with a note from your ex.”
    “Where was Dante?”
    “He was in his stroller.  It appears that the Adlers had returned from a walk when they were met with a surprise.”

“Is he after us?”
    “No.  This is about money.  It seems the Adlers owned a home in the old neighborhood and when it was searched, there was money stashed in the basement.  It seems the pattern is that if money is found, your ex traces the owners’ whereabouts and demands more.  If they don’t comply, well…you know.”
    “But they didn’t have any more.”
    “You know the old saying…Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.  Well, the same can be said for found money.  You were right, honey, when you told me to get it out of the house.”
    When Dante was finally full, Vicki lay down beside him, kissing him and warming him until he fell asleep.  “Are we next?”
    Wilson sat down beside her.  “No, honey.  Your ex left his calling card out here, a big mistake no doubt made out of frustration or hate…whatever the reason.”  Sirens could be heard in the distance and Vicki sat up again.  “No, honey, stay here with Dante.  He needs his rest.  I called the authorities and I also called my boss.”
    Wilson left Vicki alone with her son and also her thoughts.  She felt guilty about the money and about the past, and she wondered, “Are we destined to pay for the sins of our fathers?”  She looked down at her son and thought about his legacy.  What would it be?  She could hear men’s voices outside and she began to sing softly so that Dante didn’t wake up.  When the voices quieted, she heard the back door open.
    Wilson opened the door to the bedroom.  “Vicki, it’s all over.”
    “Why was your boss here?”
    “He and I now own the business together and he was worried.  He has done a lot