“Jesus Christ, Amelia,” said Ross. “You’ve caused such a lot of pain and for what?”
Amelia looked surprised and glowered at Evie. “Why don’t you ask her? She knows.”
“What are you talking about?” Evie shouted, enraged. “I didn’t even know you existed. I only found out about you when you got in touch with me. I wish I’d never replied to your email.”
Amelia was becoming more and more agitated: “My father talked about your mother all the time. If he hadn’t got sick, I know he would have come back here to find her. He would have met you too, his perfect granddaughter and he would have forgotten all about me.”
Evie said witheringly, “I never knew your father and he was never even talked about when I was growing up. You have built a fantasy in your head and blamed my mother and me for all your mistakes and troubles. It’s ridiculous. You are completely delusional.”
Ross and Andrzej shared a look. Evie was making Amelia angry and she still had a hold of baby Hari. There was no telling what she might do.
“That’s enough, Evie,” said Ross. “Come on now, Amelia. Give me little Hari so I can stop him crying. Ola needs a cuddle too.” He smiled at her in a way he hoped was reassuring, “Then we can all sit down calmly and have a cup of tea and talk this through. It’s way past their bedtime. What do you say?”
Amelia hesitated and looked as though she was thinking about giving up and doing what Ross had said, until she saw Andrzej take out his phone.
“Who are you calling?” Amelia said sharply.
In fact, Andrzej was checking to see if he had a message from Maureen about Freya, and was about to text her to callthe police, now they knew where Amelia was, but before he could press send, Amelia stood up with baby Hari in her arms.
“Don’t come near me. Throw me your keys, Andrzej. I need to get away. I am going to take this brat and if you follow me in the car, I will throw him out. Believe me, at the speed I will be going, he won’t survive.”
The three of them were appalled and Evie pleaded, “Amelia, please don’t hurt Hari. We’ll let you go. Just hand him over.”
“I haven’t called the police,” Andrzej said, desperately. “Look, check my phone, there are no calls. Amelia, like Evie says, we will let you go, but you can’t take him. Everything will be OK. You can have my keys and take the van and disappear.” He put his keys on the floor and kicked them across to where Amelia was standing.
“Why should I believe you?” sneered Amelia. “I’m not stupid. The second you have Hari back, you’ll come after me.”
The child began to wail, “Be quiet, you little bastard,” hissed Amelia, her face twisted and furious. She held Hari in front of her. “Shut up!” she shouted loudly into his face. Hari was terrified and started roaring at the top of his lungs.
Evie was in despair at seeing him so upset. This woman was dangerous and unstable. She could not be allowed to take Hari.
Amelia crouched down in order to pick up the keys, holding Hari awkwardly with one arm. The baby tried to escape from her grasp and Ross made a split-second decision to lunge at Amelia, taking her by surprise. He managed to pull Hari out of her grasp, thrusting him towards Evie and safety.
Amelia kicked out at Ross, knocking him off balance, and he fell to the ground. In the melee, she grabbed the keys from the floor and raced out of the room.
“After her!” shouted Andrzej, and Ross scrambled up from the floor. All three of them raced out and into the night air.Amelia was ahead but not by much. Andrzej had left the door open, she ran into the van, fumbled with the keys and turned on the engine.
“She’s getting away,” panted Evie, clutching Hari to her. But she hadn’t reckoned on Ross, who sprinted to catch up with the van, almost managing to grab the door handle. To Evie’s horror, Amelia swerved viciously, crashing into Ross and sending him flying through the air.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Jack and Delima’s House
Evie felt as though everything happened in slow motion after that. She was still holding on tight to little Hari and stood rooted to the spot. She saw Andrzej rush forward. Ross was lying on the ground, a heap of twisted limbs, blood seeping from his head. She looked at his face. It was chalk white and he wasn’t moving.
Andrzej felt his neck. “There’s a faint pulse,” he said. “But I’m afraid to move him. I don’t know how badly injured he is. I’m calling for help.”
Evie stumbled over to him. Little Hari was clinging to her and sobbing quietly. “Ross,” she said, desperately. “Ross, please stay with me.”
Suddenly, the sky was filled with light and a deep rumbling. They were blinded for a moment by a helicopter flying overhead. As it came into land, the downdraft whipped Evie’s hair across her face and blew Ross’s jacket across his body, making him look as though he was trying to get up.
Andrzej was frantically waving his arms to let the pilot know where they were. As soon as the propellers stopped moving, Delima leapt from the chopper and tried to take in the scene before her.
“What’s happened?” she gasped, her face the colour of spoiledmilk. “Where’s Ola? What’s happened to Ross?” She took Hari from Evie and held him as though she would never let go.
“Ola’s safe,” Evie said, her eyes wild. “She’s inside. But Ross, Amelia was driving the van and she hit him deliberately. I think she might have killed him.”
Iain, the pilot, was right behind Delima. Working for the hospital, he’d seen some terrible accidents, especially on the offshore rigs, and he was cool-headed in a crisis. He quickly appraised Ross.
