Chapter 2 - The Confession
The silence from the phone speaker was absolutely deafening.
Even the mechanical hum of the elevator seemed to stop.
Vivian finally let out a cold, calculated sigh.
"I did what was necessary for the preservation of this family," she said.
Damian hung up the phone with a violent swipe of his thumb.
He slowly turned his piercing gaze back to me.
The sorrow in his eyes was instantly replaced by a terrifying fury.
"Europe?" he asked softly.
I gripped the plastic handles of the wheelchair so hard my knuckles turned white.
"She told me if I stayed in the city, she would ensure Child Protective Services took my babies away," I whispered.
The word "babies" hung heavy in the air between us.
Damian caught it immediately.
"Babies," he repeated.
The elevator chimed and the doors opened to the cardiac ward.
A team of nurses was already waiting for us in the hall.
They swept in and gently rolled Evan away from me.
I tried to follow, but a doctor held up his hand.
"We need to prep him for surgery immediately, Mrs. Bennett," the doctor said.
I watched the most precious thing in my life disappear down a sterile white hallway.
Damian stepped in front of me, completely blocking my view.
"Where are the other two?" he demanded.
His voice was shaking with a very dangerous kind of rage.
"They are safe," I lied.
My phone suddenly buzzed inside my coat pocket.
May you like
It was an urgent text message from my babysitter.
The message read that two men in black suits had just kicked open my apartment door.
