Chapter 3 - The Custody Threat
I felt the sterile walls of the small conference room rapidly closing in on me.
I had never abused those pills, having stopped taking them entirely over three years ago.
The police officers informed me that Child Protective Services was already on the way to the hospital.
If they officially deemed me a threat, Mia would be placed in emergency foster care tonight.
Or infinitely worse, the state would release my vulnerable daughter to her loving grandmother.
I begged the officers to run a comprehensive blood test on me right then and there.
I knew my system was completely clean, and I desperately needed to prove my undeniable innocence.
A frantic nurse interrupted our tense conversation by knocking loudly on the glass door.
She announced that Mia was finally stable, but she was crying and asking for her favorite stuffed bear.
The bear was a little brown plush toy secretly equipped with a high-definition nanny camera.
I had bought the device last week because I suspected my teenage babysitter was stealing cash from my purse.
Mia had carried that specific bear into the dining room right before the cake incident happened.
The hidden camera had recorded absolutely everything, and it was still sitting on my mother's living room floor.
I knew I had to get back to that house before Vanessa discovered the glowing red light on the toy.
The police sternly warned me that I was strictly not allowed to leave the hospital premises under any circumstances.
They placed a large, uniformed guard directly outside the conference room to ensure I stayed put.
I casually walked into the attached private bathroom, quietly opened the frosted window, and climbed out onto the rusted fire escape.
As my feet hit the wet pavement of the dark alley, a sleek black sedan pulled up, blocking my only path.
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The driver's tinted window rolled down slowly to reveal my estranged ex-husband, David.
He was pointing the dark barrel of a heavy pistol directly at my chest.
