Chapter 3 - The Secret Meeting
The scotch burned my throat, but it couldn't touch the freezing terror spreading through my chest.
Mark was going to sell our five-year-old daughter to a medical research facility.
That was why Megan slapped her.
That was why the whole family threw us out.
They needed a reason to label me an unfit, unstable mother who walked out on her family.
If they could prove I was violent and erratic, Mark could get emergency sole custody.
Once he had sole medical authority, he could sign whatever horrifying consent forms that research facility demanded.
"I have to get her out of the city," I said, rushing toward the guest bedroom.
Zoe grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks.
"If you run right now with no money and no plan, he will call the police and report Lily kidnapped," Zoe warned.
"You will be arrested, and he will get exactly what he wants."
She was right.
I was trapped in a nightmare, and running would only tighten the noose around my neck.
"Then I need to know exactly what he signed," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
The next morning, I left Lily safely locked in Zoe's penthouse with two of her private security guards.
I borrowed one of Zoe's sharp business suits and took a taxi to the towering glass building where Mark worked.
I knew the security guards at the front desk would instantly recognize me and block me from going upstairs.
So I slipped through the underground delivery bay and walked up six flights of concrete stairs to his floor.
I peeked through the heavy fire door leading into the executive hallway.
Mark’s corner office was at the end of the hall, the blinds pulled tightly shut.
I crept down the carpeted corridor, my heart pounding so loudly I thought everyone could hear it.
I pressed my ear against the heavy oak door of his office.
Inside, I heard two voices.
One was Mark, sounding panicked and exhausted.
The other was his sister, Megan.
"You need to finalize the custody order today," Megan hissed.
"I'm trying," Mark replied defensively.
"The buyer is getting impatient," Megan snapped.
"His son is dying, and Lily is the only universal genetic match they have found in five years."
I covered my mouth with both hands to muffle a gasp.
This wasn't a standard medical trial.
They had sold Lily to a desperate billionaire who needed her bone marrow to save his own child.
"I just need Chloe out of the picture for three more days," Mark pleaded.
"Then make her disappear," Megan said coldly.
"Did you put the pills in her suitcase like I told you?"
My blood ran absolutely cold.
"Yes," Mark answered.
May you like
"If she takes even one, the toxicology report will prove she's a drug addict," Megan laughed softly.
Suddenly, the door handle right in front of my face began to turn.
