Chapter 2 - The Shattered Illusion
I stared at the black ink on the crisp white paper in absolute, paralyzing disbelief.
There was absolutely no mistaking the sharp, familiar curves of my husband's signature.
Daniel had secretly signed away one of our children to a man who could barely take care of himself.
"This has to be a highly sophisticated forgery," I argued desperately, pushing the document away.
Vance shook his head slowly and retrieved the contract from my lap.
"Our forensic experts verified it this morning, which is exactly why I rushed to this hospital."
My mind raced wildly as I tried to make sense of this impossible, horrifying betrayal.
Daniel had spent the last nine months kissing my belly and buying tiny matching outfits for the triplets.
He had cried tears of absolute joy when the ultrasound technician revealed we were having three babies.
"Why would Daniel ever agree to give our flesh and blood to my brother?" I pleaded.
Vance pulled a small tablet from his pocket and swiped through a series of encrypted files.
"Your brother Jason owes a massive, insurmountable debt to a very dangerous Russian syndicate."
I felt a cold shiver run violently down my spine at the mention of organized crime.
"The syndicate does not want Jason's money anymore," Vance explained with a grim tone.
"The boss of this criminal empire has a dying grandson who desperately needs an incredibly rare bone marrow match."
I gasped loudly as the sickening reality of the situation finally slammed into me.
One of my newborn babies was the perfect genetic match for a ruthless mob boss's family.
"They forced Daniel to sign the contract to legally traffic the child across international borders," Vance said.
"If Daniel was being threatened, why didn't he just come to the police or tell me?" I cried out.
Vance looked at the floor for a long moment before meeting my tear-filled eyes again.
"Because Daniel received a wire transfer of five million dollars exactly ten minutes after signing this paper."
My entire world shattered into a million jagged pieces of pure, unadulterated agony.
The man I loved had literally sold our child for a massive fortune.
"I need to call him right now," I demanded, grabbing my cell phone from the bedside table.
I dialed his international number with trembling fingers, but the automated voice immediately sent me to voicemail.
Vance gently placed his hand over mine and slowly lowered my phone.
"Daniel's commercial flight from London was intentionally cancelled this morning," he informed me quietly.
"His passport was scanned three hours ago boarding a completely untraceable private jet."
I felt the last remaining ounce of hope violently drain out of my exhausted body.
"Where is the jet going?" I whispered, almost too terrified to hear the actual answer.
Vance checked a blinking red notification that had just popped up on his secure tablet.
He looked at me with an expression of pure, unfiltered dread that made my blood run cold.
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"The jet isn't going anywhere, Maya," he replied softly.
"Air traffic control just reported that the plane exploded over the Atlantic Ocean twelve minutes ago."
