July 25, 2020
"Hello?"
"Carol, is that you?"
"This is Carol. Who is this?"
"Carol, it's Milton Mamet. Thank God you are home."
"Milton? What's wrong?"
"Have you seen the news? Carol, it's all over the news."
"No, we've not turned anything on in days. What's going on?"
"I'm entering Atlanta now. I am coming to you. I need your address."
Carol rattled it off, still unsure what was happening.
"Carol, turn on CNN. I will be at your place in ten minutes." The call ended.
She turned on the television and gestured a confused Daryl to watch with her. She tuned to CNN just in time for the commercial to end. The anchor began speaking.
If you are just joining us, we are following a breaking story out of Georgia. A local adoption agency with ties to numerous hospitals and clinics throughout the state has just been raided by the FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. There is no official word yet on the reasons behind the raid of Little Angels Adoption Society by authorities, but unnamed sources within the GBI report that it is part of an ongoing investigation into the group's involvement in illegal adoptions. In fact, it has been claimed that this raid was in planning stages for awhile, but hastened after a People Magazine article published earlier this week. If accusations prove to be correct, this may be the biggest instance of black-market adoptions in the region since the infamous case of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society. In that case, 5000 children were sold from 1924-1950. Georgia itself was home to another smaller baby ring. That smaller ring was led by Dr. Thomas Hicks, who sold roughly 200 infants at $1000 dollars apiece. CNN has reached out to spokespeople for the FBI and GBI for comment. We are waiting to see if there will be an announcement regarding any press conferences planned. Please stay tuned as we follow this developing story.
Carol and Daryl stood there shocked, their faces masks of confusion and horror. Carol knew that if Milton was on his way, that it must have something to do with Sophia. She also felt guilt. If she had read that article the day Daryl brought it home, they would have known that they had hope three days sooner. Instead, she had wallowed in her grief. She finally had to push it down, or she would loose it all together. Anxiety slowly replaced it.
A couple minutes passed, and she found herself impatient for Milton. She flipped through the other news stations and received the same information. Sighing, she realized just how anxious she was. Looking over at Daryl, she saw the anxiety in him too. She went to him, and wrapped her arms around him. She focused on him, focused on their love. Finally, she raised her head from his shoulder. What she saw there beneath the anxiety was hope. He was hopeful. She felt the hope enter her heart. It dug in deep and coiled into every part of her. Now, she could only hope that Milton had good news for them.
Finally, they heard a knock at their door. Daryl went to answer it. He greeted Milton quickly and ushered him into the living room where Carol was waiting.
"Thank you for seeing me. Did you watch the news reports?
"We did. Is it true?"
"I was never privy to any information, but I believe it's highly possible. The lawyers who own the hospital are founders of Little Angels Adoption Society. The number of adoptions I heard about from staff seem way higher then they should be. They are private adoptions too, which means less oversight. When I went into work today, a nurse I am close to showed me the People Magazine story. Seeing how much the girl looked like you, I wanted to look into things. But my door was locked, and I was told to take the day off. I went home, and immediately heard the news on TV. I decided to come to you, but my phone was dead. I charged it as I drove, then I called you.
"What kind of people would be so cruel as to sell a baby? And what kind of father am I to hope she was really sold rather than having her die?!" Daryl's question was full of anguish and guilt.
"Sweetheart, I think any loving father would want their child to live, even if the circumstances of them not being in their lives were present. It's not the worst-case scenario of death. It's still cruel though."
Milton spoke up then. "Unfortunately, such cruelty has always existed. Throughout even recent history, extremely shady private adoptions have been out there. Georgia Tann was the most notorious, but what I think is happening is a bit different. It follows a mixture of both Tann and Dr. Hicks."
"When it came to Tann, the children were adopted by families in exchange for substantial fees ostensibly for transport and hotel. In reality, Tann charged multiple times for a single trip. She also collected the money personally rather than through the Tennessee Children's Home Society. She also completed the adoptions without any background investigative work on the adoptive parents except to verify their wealth. Tann had a judge in her pocket to finalize the adoptions."
"Now, Dr. Hicks did some of the same. But he went a step further. He would lure poor, vulnerable pregnant women to his clinic, then either talk them into adoption that would ease their poverty, or tell them their infant died post birth. He sold these infants with the aid of falsified birth and death records."
Daryl sat heavily on the couch. He couldn't believe children were used in this way. He needed to know what they should do next. He posed the question to both Carol and Milton. It was Milton who spoke up.
"We need to get a hold of the authorities and make sure they are looking into falsified death certificates. If they are, we give them your information in hopes that Sophia's is among them.
"Then what?" Daryl asked.
"All we can do then is wait for a response."
"That's it? We sit on our assets and wait? That's bullshit!"
It was Carol who responded. "We hope. We pray. We do everything we can, including calling People Magazine about Michelle like we planned."
Daryl nodded in agreement, so she reached for the phone and dialed.
