Chapter 7 - The Custody Threat
The violent pounding on Molly's front door made my heart stop completely.
Ivy startled in my arms, letting out a soft, frightened cry.
Molly held up a finger, signaling for me to stay perfectly quiet as she crept toward the door.
She peered through the small glass peephole and instantly recoiled.
"It's him," Molly whispered, her face draining of all color.
"He looks completely unhinged."
Brent pounded his heavy fists against the wood again, screaming my name into the quiet hallway.
"Open the damn door, Tessa!" he roared aggressively.
"I know you are in there hiding like a coward!"
I gently laid Ivy back into her portable bassinet and pulled out my cell phone.
I dialed 911, clearly explaining that my estranged husband was violently attempting to break into my sister's apartment.
"The police are on their way," I told Molly softly.
Brent suddenly stopped pounding on the door, and a chilling, terrifying silence followed.
"Tessa, listen to me very carefully," Brent said, his voice dropping to a menacing, cold register.
"You think you won because you sold the stupid house."
"But I just got off the phone with a very expensive family law attorney."
I walked slowly toward the door, standing just out of reach of the wood.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded through the closed door.
"I am talking about our beautiful daughter, Ivy," Brent sneered.
"I just filed an emergency petition for sole physical custody."
A cold sweat broke out across the back of my neck.
"You have no grounds for custody," I shot back, my voice shaking slightly.
"You abandoned your newborn baby to go party in Miami with criminals!"
Brent laughed, a dark, sinister sound that made my skin crawl.
"I didn't abandon anyone," he lied smoothly.
"I went on a necessary business trip to secure our family's financial future."
"Meanwhile, you suffered a severe postpartum psychotic break."
"You maliciously sold our family home, shut off the utilities, and dragged our newborn infant out into a freezing rainstorm."
"You are clearly a highly erratic, emotionally unstable mother who poses a massive danger to her child."
I felt the entire room spin violently around me.
He was actively twisting the nightmare he created into a weapon to steal my baby.
He knew he couldn't touch my money directly, so he was using Ivy as leverage.
"The judge is going to grant me emergency custody by tomorrow morning," Brent threatened happily.
"Unless, of course, you transfer the two million dollars into my account right now to prove you are mentally competent."
He was literally trying to ransom our own daughter to pay off his dangerous cartel debt.
Before I could even formulate a response, the heavy sound of heavy boots echoed down the apartment hallway.
"Boulder Police Department, step away from the door immediately!" an officer shouted loudly.
We heard the sound of Brent being aggressively shoved against the hallway wall.
Molly quickly unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open.
Two police officers had Brent pinned firmly against the drywall, securing his hands behind his back.
"Are you the women who called about the disturbance?" the lead officer asked.
"Yes," I replied, stepping forward with absolute authority.
"He is trying to extort two million dollars from me, and he just threatened to file fraudulent custody papers."
Brent struggled against the officers, his face red with manic rage.
"She is lying!" Brent screamed wildly.
"She stole my house, and she is holding my baby hostage!"
The officer simply tightened his grip on Brent's arms, completely ignoring his frantic lies.
"Sir, you are under arrest for disturbing the peace and attempted extortion," the officer stated calmly.
As they began to drag Brent down the long hallway, he violently twisted his head around to look at me.
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"This isn't over, Tessa!" he roared like a wild animal.
"The Miami investors know exactly who you are, and they are coming to collect!"
