Chapter 3
Adrian tore the papers in half.
Then he tore them again.
Pieces fluttered across the stage like confetti.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Vivian’s face turned purple with rage.
“You fool! You have no idea what you have done!”
“I know exactly what I did,” Adrian said. “I protected my son.”
He scooped Noah up into his arms.
Noah wrapped his arms tight around Adrian’s neck.
“Are we leaving, Daddy?”
Adrian’s heart ached.
“Yes. We are leaving.”
He turned to walk away.
Vivian’s voice cut through the noise.
“Stop him! Do not let him leave this estate!”
Four large security guards stepped forward, blocking the exit.
Adrian stopped.
He looked at Vivian.
“Are you seriously doing this? In front of everyone?”
Vivian stood tall at the podium.
“Adrian is mentally unfit,” she announced to the room. “He is behaving irrationally. He cannot be allowed to take the child.”
“That is a lie!” Adrian shouted.
“Detain him,” Vivian ordered. “Take the boy to the west wing.”
The guards moved in.
Adrian backed away, holding Noah behind him.
“Don’t touch us!”
One guard reached for Noah.
Adrian shoved him back.
The guard stumbled but recovered fast.
They grabbed Adrian’s arms.
He fought as hard as he could, but there were too many of them.
Noah screamed.
“Let my dad go! Grandma, tell them to stop!”
Vivian did not even look at Noah.
She nodded at the guards.
“Take the boy.”
A guard pried Noah out of Adrian’s arms.
Adrian thrashed, yelling until his throat was raw.
“NOAH! NOAH!”
Noah stretched his small hands toward his father.
“DADDY!”
They dragged Adrian toward a side door.
He watched them carry his son away.
Vivian stood there, watching, cold and unfeeling.
“You will sign,” she said calmly. “You will sign, and you will thank me.”
They shoved Adrian into a small room beneath the stairs and locked the door.
Adrian pounded on the wood until his hands bled.
He screamed until he had no voice left.
May you like
Noah was gone.
And Vivian had him.
