Chapter 8 - The UltimatumAdrian didn't go back to the office. He drove straight to St. Jude’s Clinic like a madman, his tires screeching as he pulled into the parking lot.
He found Vivian in the staff lounge, laughing softly as she reviewed a chart. When she saw his face—white as a sheet, trembling violently—her smile vanished instantly.
"Adrian? What happened?" she asked, dropping her clipboard.
"We have to leave," he stammered, grabbing her hands. "Pack a bag. Now. Passport, birth certificate, everything."
Vivian pulled her hands away, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "What are you talking about?"
"My mother," Adrian said, running a hand through his hair in sheer panic. "She found out where we are. She filed emergency custody papers in Chicago. She’s coming for Leo, Vivian. She’ll destroy us in court—she has judges in her pocket, she has billions of dollars—"
"Stop!" Vivian shouted, her voice echoing off the tile walls.
She stood tall, her jaw clenched, her eyes blazing with a fierce, terrifying fury.
"We are not running," Vivian said, every word dripping with ice.
"Vivian, you don't understand—"
"No, you don't understand!" she fired back, stepping right into his face. "I ran five years ago because I was pregnant, broke, and terrified. I am not running now! I am a doctor, I am a mother, and I will not let that wretched woman steal my son!"
"She will crush you!" Adrian pleaded, his voice breaking as tears spilled over his lashes. "She has the whole legal system wrapped around her finger!"
"Then we fight her," Vivian said, her voice dropping into a chilling, resolute calm. "You wanted to prove you weren't your family? You wanted to prove you could stand up to them? Here is your test, Adrian. Right here, right now."
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Adrian stared at her. The fear in his chest slowly shifted, replaced by a dark, hard resolve.
She was right. Running would only make them hunted animals forever. It was time to slay the dragon in its own den.
