Chapter 2 - The Custody Trap
I stared at Walter in pure disbelief as the monitor beside my bed began to beep wildly.
Ethan was supposed to be on a highly classified military deployment on the other side of the world.
He was the most honorable man I knew, and he would never steal from my family.
I frantically grabbed my phone and dialed the emergency contact number for his commanding officer.
The officer answered on the second ring with a grim tone.
He informed me that Ethan had never boarded his transport flight three weeks ago.
Ethan had gone completely off the grid, and the military was currently treating him as absent without leave.
My mind raced with terrifying possibilities as I tried to process the dual betrayal.
I pushed through the agonizing pain in my fractured pelvis and demanded to see my baby.
I needed to hold Noah to convince myself that my entire world was not falling apart.
Before Walter could fetch the nurse, the heavy wooden door to my room swung open.
A stern woman in a gray business suit walked in holding a thick manila folder.
She introduced herself as a state social worker handling emergency child welfare cases.
She stated that an anonymous caller had reported me as an unfit mother suffering from heavy narcotic delusions.
I screamed that I had intentionally refused all pain medication so I could stay alert for my son.
The social worker completely ignored my pleas and handed a signed legal document to Walter.
A family court judge had already signed an emergency order to remove Noah from my care.
I cried hysterically and demanded to know where they were taking my six-week-old baby.
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The social worker looked me dead in the eye with zero empathy.
She coldly stated that Noah was being safely released to his newly appointed emergency guardian, Diane.
