Chapter 7 - THE CUSTODY WAR
The drive to the Victoria Estate was suffocatingly tense. Rain had started to pour, beating violently against the windshield of Brandon’s truck. The Sterling mansion sat on fifty acres of private land, surrounded by wrought-iron gates and private security. It was a fortress of old money and dark secrets.
"We can't just shoot our way in," I said, my hands trembling as I held the Glock in my lap. I had never fired a gun outside of a shooting range, and the heavy metal felt alien in my grip.
"We won't have to," Brandon replied. "I know the security chief. He used to work for my father. He hates my mother."
Brandon pulled up to the service entrance. A large man in a slicker stepped out of the guardhouse, shining a flashlight into the cab. When he saw Brandon, he lowered the light.
"Mr. Hayes. You shouldn't be here," the guard said, though his hand remained off his weapon. "Mrs. Sterling gave strict orders. No visitors."
"Mack, you know what my mother did," Brandon said, his voice hard. "You know what's in that house. My daughter. My biological daughter. If you stop me, you're an accessory to kidnapping. Let us through. I won't forget it."
Mack hesitated, the rain dripping from the brim of his hat. He looked at me, seeing the absolute, terrifying desperation of a mother pushed to the edge. Slowly, he reached into his booth and hit the button. The massive iron gates swung open.
"Five minutes," Mack warned. "After that, I have to call it in."
We sped up the winding driveway and parked the truck out of sight behind a row of tall hedges. We moved swiftly through the rain, slipping through a side door that led into the massive, echoing kitchens of the estate. The house was unnervingly quiet.
We crept through the opulent hallways, following the soft glow of light coming from the grand library. As we approached, I heard voices.
"You promised me there would be no complications, Madeline!" Victoria Sterling’s voice echoed sharply. "You told me the parents were anonymous donors from Russia. If the police find out I possess a stolen embryo—a kidnapped child—I will be ruined!"
"Calm down, Victoria," Madeline’s smooth, venomous voice replied. "The doctor is dead. The Hayes are currently trembling in a hospital room, agonizing over their fake son. By midnight, they will bring the boy to me, I will dispose of him, and I will take the trust money. You get to keep the girl. No one will ever know."
I stepped into the doorway, raising the gun. My hands had completely stopped shaking.
"Everyone knows, Madeline," I said, my voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings.
Madeline spun around, her face twisting in shock before settling into a mask of smug arrogance. Victoria gasped, dropping her crystal wine glass to the floor, where it shattered—reminding me of the cake plate from that morning.
"Sarah," Madeline sneered. "How dramatic. Putting a gun in your hand doesn't make you a mother. It just makes you a criminal."
"Where is she?" Brandon demanded, stepping into the room, leveling the shotgun directly at his mother’s chest. "Where is our daughter?"
Before Madeline could answer, a small figure in a pink nightgown wandered out from behind a towering bookshelf, clutching a stuffed rabbit. It was the little girl from the photo. My daughter. Our eyes locked, and I felt a tectonic shift in my soul.
"Mommy?" the little girl said, looking at Victoria.
"Go back to your room, Lily!" Victoria shrieked in panic.
But I stepped forward, lowering the weapon slightly. "Lily," I breathed. She had my eyes. She was beautiful.
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Madeline laughed, a cold, grating sound. "You can't just take her, Sarah. She doesn't know you. You are a stranger. And if you try to leave with her, Victoria will call the police, and you will be arrested for home invasion."
"Make the call, Victoria," Brandon challenged, his finger hovering over the trigger. "Call the police. Let's explain to them how you bought my kidnapped child for a spot on the country club board."
