Chapter 3 - THE AMBUSH AT GATE C12“Naomi! Where are you? What’s happening?!” Elliot yelled into the phone, turning his car around so fast the tires shrieked against the asphalt.
“It was a trap, Elliot!” Naomi sobbed. “The airport... meeting you at Gate C12 wasn't an accident! I was trying to run! Someone leaked my location to your father’s legal team last week. They served me with emergency custody papers ten minutes ago at my apartment!”
Elliot’s blood ran cold. “What emergency papers? On what grounds?!”
“Unfit parent!” she screamed over the line. “They brought fake medical reports! They claimed I have severe psychological issues and that I’m endangering Bella! A court officer is with them... they’re taking her to a child protection facility until a temporary custody hearing tomorrow morning!”
“Where are you right now?!”
“South Boston Police Precinct! Please, Elliot... they took my baby! They took Bella!”
Elliot slammed his foot on the accelerator. His sports car wove through Boston traffic like a missile. His mind was a chaotic blur of rage and absolute horror. His father hadn't just paid Naomi off three years ago—he had been tracking her, waiting for the exact moment Elliot got married so he could snatch the child and force Naomi out of the picture permanently.
When Elliot stormed into the precinct, he found Naomi collapsed on a wooden bench in the lobby, her hands buried in her hair, weeping uncontrollably. Her sweater dress was crumpled, and Bella’s tiny stuffed elephant was clutched tightly in her lap.
“Naomi!”
She looked up, her red, swollen eyes filling with fresh tears. Elliot didn't care about the police officers watching them or the legal consequences—he dropped to his knees in front of her and pulled her into his arms.
For three years, he had imagined what it would feel like to hold her again. She smelled the same—vanilla and rain—but she was trembling violently.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Elliot whispered into her hair. “I didn't know. I swear to God, Naomi, I didn't know my father did this.”
Naomi pushed him back slightly, her hands resting against his chest. Her eyes were burning with a desperate, wild fury. “He threatened to ruin me three years ago, Elliot! He told me that if I stayed, he would destroy my father’s business, throw my family into debt, and ensure you were stripped of everything! I took his money because I had to protect my father’s medical bills! I didn't touch a single penny of that two million dollars for myself—it was placed in a trust for Bella!”
“I believe you,” Elliot said softly, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I believe you.”
“They took her, Elliot,” she sobbed, clutching the stuffed elephant to her chest. “She was screaming for 'Ellie Elephant'... she didn't understand why those men were pulling her away from me.”
Before Elliot could reply, the heavy doors of the precinct swung open.
Camille walked in, flanked by two high-priced family lawyers in charcoal suits. She didn't look like a distraught wife anymore; she looked like an executioner.
“How touching,” Camille said, her voice echoing in the cold marble lobby. “The tragic reunion.”
May you like
Elliot stood up slowly, stepping between Naomi and his wife. “Did you help my father do this, Camille?”
Camille tilted her head, a cold, calculating smile playing on her lips. “Help him? Elliot, darling... I orchestrated it.”
