Chapter 4 - The Custody Trap
Evelyn walked gracefully toward my trapped car.
Her expensive designer coat practically swept the dirty concrete floor of the garage.
Luca’s security team pinned Marcus violently against the concrete wall.
I kept the car doors locked and the windows rolled up tightly.
Evelyn stopped right next to my door and held up the stack of papers.
"You have been officially served, Nia," Evelyn shouted through the glass.
She slapped the thick envelope against my windshield, tucking it under the wiper blade.
I stared at the bold legal lettering demanding immediate surrender of the minors.
"Luca is not here," I noticed, shouting back at her.
"My husband is busy preparing the nursery for our new children," she smiled wickedly.
"They are not yours," I snarled.
"Legally, they are about to be," she laughed.
I turned the ignition key one more time out of pure desperation.
The engine finally roared to life.
Marcus must have merely disconnected a loose battery cable to stall me.
Evelyn’s smile vanished instantly.
"Stop her!" she screamed to the armed guards.
I slammed the car into reverse, tires screeching violently against the concrete.
I spun the steering wheel and floored the gas pedal.
I narrowly clipped the bumper of Evelyn's SUV as I sped toward the exit ramp.
The guards drew their weapons, but they refused to fire with children in the car.
I burst out of the garage and into the blinding afternoon sunlight.
I drove erratically through the downtown traffic, checking my rearview mirror constantly.
Two black SUVs were already relentlessly tailing me.
"Mommy, why are we going so fast?" Mia asked from the back seat.
"We are just playing a game, sweetie," I lied, my voice shaking.
I needed a place to hide where Luca's billions meant absolutely nothing.
I pulled onto the highway heading straight for the state line.
My phone rang loudly through the car's Bluetooth speakers.
I answered it without looking at the screen.
"Nia, you need to pull over right now," Marcus's voice echoed through the car.
"How are you calling me?" I asked wildly.
"They threw me in the back of an SUV, but I stole a guard's phone."
"I am not letting Luca take my children," I swore.
"Luca doesn't want full custody, Nia."
I swerved to avoid a slow-moving truck.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Luca is demanding a mandatory, court-ordered DNA test tomorrow morning."
"I will gladly take it," I said confidently.
"You can't take it, Nia," Marcus warned urgently.
May you like
"Why not?"
"Because Evelyn owns the testing facility, and she is going to make sure the results prove you are not the biological mother."
