Chapter 4 - THE GREED OF MEN
The separation was a physical agony, a phantom limb that ached in Elelliana's chest every time she breathed. She was placed in a sterile, overcrowded group home on the east side of the city, surrounded by teenagers who carried their own heavy traumas. The twins were placed in a foster facility for infants. But Uncle Marcus wasn't going to let them stay there. He didn't want the children; he wanted Nathan’s money. Two days into her stay at the group home, Marcus visited Elelliana. He sat across from her in the drab visitation room, reeking of cheap cologne and stale smoke.
"Here's the deal, Ellie," he whispered, leaning in so the social worker wouldn't hear. "Your rich friend wants you back. I want a million dollars. I'm filing for emergency kinship custody. Once I have you and the brats, I'll trade you to the billionaire for a payday. If he doesn't pay, I'm taking you three across state lines, and you'll never see him again." Elelliana stared at him, her eight-year-old eyes hardened by the streets, looking far older than her years. She didn't cry. She had learned long ago that tears were a currency no one accepted. "Nathan won't let you," she said, her voice steady. Marcus just laughed, a cruel, scraping sound. Meanwhile, in his penthouse office downtown, Nathan was moving mountains. He had hired a team of private investigators. If Marcus wanted a war over these children, Nathan was going to give him a nuclear one.
