Chapter 3 - The Betrayal
I backed away toward the open door, keeping my body between Marcus and my baby.
I told him to get out of my apartment before I called the police.
Marcus simply laughed and tossed the heavy envelope onto the table.
He explained that the police would actually help him take her.
The papers he brought were signed by a powerful local judge who owed his family money.
They granted him immediate emergency guardianship effective at midnight.
I looked at the clock on the wall.
It was ten-thirty at night.
I had exactly ninety minutes before his hired security team arrived to enforce the order.
I didn't argue or scream.
I just turned around and bolted down the stairs as fast as my legs could carry me.
Marcus shouted my name, but he didn't run after me.
He knew he had the entire legal system on his side.
I threw Lily back into the car and locked the doors.
I drove blindly into the blizzard, my hands shaking violently against the steering wheel.
I needed a lawyer right now, but my bank account had exactly forty dollars in it.
I dialed my sister Chloe's number on speakerphone.
She answered on the third ring, sounding annoyed.
I begged her for help, telling her that Mom and Marcus were working together.
Chloe sighed heavily and told me to calm down.
She said she had a spare room and told me to come over immediately to hide.
Tears of relief streamed down my face as I thanked her.
I drove across town and parked at the end of her dark, snowy street.
I gathered Lily in my arms and walked quietly toward Chloe's house.
Before I could reach the porch, a black SUV pulled into her driveway.
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Marcus stepped out of the vehicle and walked up to my sister's front door.
Chloe opened the door, smiled at him, and handed him a spare key to my car.
