Corinne (Book One of The Red Diamond Saga) by Jennifer Janne Read Free Book Online

been twenty-two years ago. It was a baby girl that was abandoned at the local hospital.”
    The doctor sat forward a little.
    “Oh, that one.” he muttered as he lowered his gaze to the floor. Daniel could tell that he was trouble by the memory. “Yeah, they paid me a lot for that one.”
    “Who?” Daniel asked as he stepped closer to the man.
    Dr. Harn took a long drag on his cigarette and coughed again. “Don't know exactly. This man showed up at my practice, and he said he would pay me ten thousand dollars just to evaluate her and declare her unfit for adoption.” He shrugged. “That was too much money to turn down. Besides, it was not like I did anything to hurt her.”
    Daniel thought of the nightmares that often kept Corinne up at night and thought she might have a different opinion. Perhaps if she had the chance to live a life with a real family, she could have avoided all of that trauma.
    “Tell me about the man.” Daniel persisted. “Did he write you a check, or give you a reason why?”
    The old man shook his head. “No it was cash.” He thought a moment. “He said that he had plans for her.” He shook his head faintly. “I thought that was odd, but again, it was a lot of money.”
    Daniel frowned as he stood beside the man. “Please, anything you can remember would be helpful.”
    Dr. Harn sat back in his chair and rubbed his grizzled chin as he thought hard about a past he had done his best to forget.
    “There was one other thing.” He tapped the table beside him lightly, knocking some of the ash piled in the ashtray up into a small cloud. “When I examined the baby she had a birthmark,”
    “On her right hip.” Daniel supplied. He knew it well. It was the shape of a diamond and the color of a strawberry.
    “Yes.” The doctor nodded. “And this man, he had the same mark, on the back of his hand.” He tapped his hand where he had seen the mark. “Only his looked more like a tattoo.”
    Daniel furrowed his brows, his eyes shining with curiosity. Was it possible that the man had been Corinne's father? Was this somehow gang related because of the tattoo?
    “You never knew his name?” He asked desperately.
    “Conner!” The old man suddenly said. “His name was Conner, I remember now, because the baby girl, her name was Corinne. Almost the same letters, you know.” He shrugged and waved his hand. “That's all I know. I can't help you anymore.”
    Daniel was disappointed but he nodded. As he started to turn away the man was lost in a coughing fit. Daniel hesitated, and reached into his wallet. He dropped a twenty beside the man's ashtray and then left the house. As soon as he returned to his car he tried Corinne's phone number again. Still, there was no answer.

16
    Corinne was twisting her wrists back and forth, hoping to get free of the ropes, but all it did was cause the sharp edges to dig into her skin. She had a strange feeling of being watched at all times, and her eyes were fixated on the keypad, as she waited for the door to slide open. When it finally did, it was an older man who walked in this time. He was wearing a lab coat, and his demeanor was a bit friendlier than the woman's had been.
    “Can I go?” Corinne asked before the man spoke. “I won't tell anyone about this, I promise.” She turned her pleading eyes on him, but was only offered a grin in return.
    “Are you kidding? You just got here.” He reached down to the ropes on her wrists and quickly untied them. Corinne reached up and rubbed her sore wrists as she watched him cautiously.
    “What do you want from me?” She asked in a whisper as the man crouched down in front of her. He was handsome in his own way, with thin lips and a broad nose. His light brown hair was thinning on the top of his head, but full at the base of his neck. She could not shake a sense of familiarity. When he reached out to lightly caress her cheek, she noticed a mark on the back of his hand.
    She jerked her head away from his touch and