I Arrived at the Family Party I Had Paid for and Found My Children Serving Tables in Aprons—When I Demanded an Explanation, My Parents Smiled and Said, "That's How They Learn Their Place."

The black van idled on the quiet street with its headlights turned completely off. Thomas slowly backed away from the diner doors and looked around for any sign of a police patrol. The van's tinted passenger window slowly rolled down to reveal a woman wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt. It was Sarah, the mother of his oldest daughter Rebecca, and a woman his parents absolutely despised. She frantically waved for him to get inside the vehicle before anyone saw them standing on the sidewalk. Thomas hesitated for a second before his desperation overrode his natural caution. He climbed into the passenger seat and locked the door as Sarah slammed her foot on the gas pedal. She drove erratically through the dark alleys, constantly checking her rearview mirror for followers. Thomas demanded to know what she was doing in Denver and how she knew where to find him. Sarah explained that Helen had contacted her three months ago with a highly illegal proposition. His parents had offered her fifty thousand dollars to permanently sign away her residual parental rights. They needed her signature to finalize a closed adoption process they were secretly planning for the children. Thomas felt his stomach drop as he realized they intended to sell his children to a wealthy, childless relative. Sarah pulled a cheap burner phone from her pocket and tossed it onto his lap. She told him she had recorded the entire meeting with Helen and Robert to use as blackmail. She admitted she was selfish, but she would never let those monsters take her biological daughter away. Thomas pressed play on the phone and listened to his mother's cold voice outlining the entire criminal conspiracy. The recording was the exact proof he needed to send his parents to federal prison for a very long time. He thanked Sarah and promised he would make sure she was rewarded when he got his money back. Sarah parked the van behind an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the industrial district. She told him they needed to wait for a private investigator she hired to bring them fake travel documents. Suddenly, a heavy metal object smashed through the van's windshield, showering them in broken glass. A thick cloud of blinding white smoke quickly filled the interior of the vehicle. Someone outside forcefully yanked the driver's side door open and dragged Sarah screaming into the darkness.