Chapter 6 - The Battle for Sophia
The next week was a blurring battleground. Jonathan didn't work. His company was on autopilot, led by a terrified Irving who was getting instructions by text message. Jonathan was at the hospital every day, holding Sophia’s hand while she talked to her unconscious mother, or at home, managing the CPS home inspectors, who seemed determined to find a reason to disqualify him.
They checked the outlets. They checked the tempurature of the water. They checked his criminal record (clean). They interviewed the nanny.
Meanwhile, Marcus was investigating Gerald Thorne. They found that Thorne’s "two-bedroom apartment" was a studio where he lived with two other men. They found documents linking his past debts to several unsavory characters. It was clear he intended to use Sophia as a bargaining chip for money.
The drama intensified on the Fifth day.
"Jonathan!" The nanny’s voice was hysterical over the intercom. "Sophia is gone!"
Jonathan, who had been in his office trying to review an emergency proposal, ran to the living room. "What do you mean 'gone'? Where were you?"
"I was preparing her lunch. She was drawing. The front door... I think I heard the elevator. When I looked, she was gone!"
Panic, raw and cold, gripped Jonathan. He ran to the elevator. The security camera footage in the lobby showed Sophia running out the front doors, unnoticed by the concierge who was busy on the phone.
Where would she go?
The snowy night flashed through his mind. Fifth Avenue.
Jonathan didn't wait for his car. He ran out of the building and onto the street. It was a clear day, but the memory of the snow was still there. He ran east, toward the older neighborhood. He ran toward 4th Street.
He found her.
She was sitting on the front stoop of their crumbling walk-up, her tiny hands in her pockets, the green backpack next to her. She looked incredibly small against the backdrop of the city.
Jonathan skidded to a stop, gasping for breath.
"Sophia!"
She looked up, her blue eyes wide. She looked scared, but also determined. "I wanted to go home, Jonathan. I wanted to see if Mommy came back."
Jonathan crouched down, his heart hammering against his ribs. He felt a wave of love for her so powerful it was physically painful. He realized then that it didn't matter what the judge said. This child was already his.
"Your Mommy is still at the hospital, Sophia," he said, taking her small face in his hands. "We can't go home yet."
"I don't like your big home," she whispered. "It's too quiet. And Mommy's not there."
"I know," Jonathan said, his voice breaking. "I know it is. I'm sorry. I promise you, we are doing everything we can to wake her up."
He picked her up and held her close. For a few minutes, they just sat on the stoop of the building that had evicted them, a billionaire and an orphan, bound together by a shared history and a uncertain future.
When they returned to the penthouse, CPS Agent Miller was waiting.
"An unsupervised child escaping a penthouse?" Miller said, her tone smug. "This will be very difficult to explain to Judge Albright tomorrow, Mr. Blake."
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"She didn't escape," Jonathan said coldly. "She went home. A four-year-old child wanted her mother. If you find a 'stable' guardian who can prevent that level of grief, Agent Miller, show me. But until then, she stays here."
Agent Miller didn't have a comeback.
