Chapter 6
I stared at Detective Ruiz, trying to process what she had just said.
“My mother?” I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. “She was working with Ethan?”
Ruiz nodded slowly. She opened her tablet and turned the screen toward me.
“We recovered several emails between Ethan and Diane over the past eight months. Some of them go back to before you even got pregnant.”
She scrolled and showed me one of the messages. My hands trembled as I read it.
Ethan: Once the baby is born, we can push for full custody. Claire won’t be able to fight both of us.
Diane: She’s always been difficult. If we can prove she’s unstable, the court will side with us. We just need to be patient.
I felt like someone had punched me in the chest.
My own mother had been plotting with my husband to take my child away from me — long before Vanessa even pushed me down the stairs.
Ruiz continued, “There are more messages. In one of them, your mother suggested that if you became too difficult, they could have you evaluated by a psychiatrist she knows. Someone who could declare you unfit.”
I covered my mouth with my hand. Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
All this time, I thought my mother was just weak and manipulated by Vanessa. I never imagined she was actively working against me with Ethan.
“Why?” I asked, my voice breaking. “Why would she do this?”
Ruiz looked at me with sympathy.
“From what we can tell, your mother was promised financial support. Ethan agreed to help her keep the house and give her monthly payments if she helped him gain control over Noah and the family assets.”
I laughed bitterly, even though nothing about this was funny.
“So that’s all I was worth to them,” I said. “A way to access money and control.”
Ruiz closed the tablet.
“Claire, I need you to understand how serious this is. Ethan and your mother have been building a case against you for months. If they succeed in court tomorrow, they could get temporary custody of Noah. And once that happens, it becomes much harder to reverse.”
I looked down at my son, who was sleeping peacefully in the portable crib Ruiz had brought. He had no idea how many people were trying to take him away from me.
I took a deep breath and made a decision.
“I’m not going to let them win,” I said. “Tell me what I need to do.”
Ruiz studied me for a moment, then nodded.
“First, you need to stay hidden until the hearing. Second, we need to gather as much evidence as possible against Ethan and your mother. Third…” She paused. “You might need to consider going public with some of this. The more pressure we can put on them, the better.”
I nodded, even though the thought of my private pain becoming public made me feel sick.
Just as Ruiz was about to say something else, her phone rang. She answered it, and her expression immediately changed.
She listened for about twenty seconds, then ended the call and looked at me.
“What happened?” I asked.
Ruiz’s voice was grim.
“Ethan filed an emergency motion this evening. He’s claiming you’re a flight risk and that you’ve abducted Noah. The judge has issued a temporary order. If the police find you before the hearing tomorrow, they have the authority to take Noah into protective custody.”
My heart stopped.
“They can take him?” I whispered.
Ruiz nodded. “Only if they locate you first. That’s why we need to move you again. Right now.”
She stood up and started making calls. I sat there, frozen, holding Noah closer to my chest.
Everything was happening too fast.
As Ruiz arranged for a new safe location, I looked down at my son and made a silent promise.
No matter what Ethan and my mother tried to do, I would not let them take him.
Even if I had to run.
Even if I had to disappear.
But deep down, I knew one thing:
They weren’t going to stop.
May you like
And neither was I.
To be continued...
