Chapter 2 - Morning Without Him
The motel room smelled faintly of detergent and old carpet.
Morning sunlight pushed through thin beige curtains.
She woke to the sound of Leo softly crying beside her.
For one confused second, she expected to see the familiar ceiling of the mansion.
Then she saw the small room.
The suitcase.
The baby carrier.
Her bare left hand.
Everything came rushing back.
Mark.
Chloe.
The pregnancy.
The ring.
She lifted Leo from the portable crib and held him close.
"It's you and me now."
Leo stopped crying and pressed his face against her shoulder.
She ordered breakfast from the cheapest place nearby and sat on the edge of the bed while feeding him.
Her phone contained thirty-seven missed calls.
Twenty-nine were from Mark.
Five were from Mark's mother.
Three were from numbers she did not recognize.
There were also sixteen messages.
She read only one.
You cannot take my son away from me.
Her stomach tightened.
There was no apology.
No concern about where she was sleeping.
No question about whether Leo had food.
Just ownership.
My son.
She took screenshots.
Then she called an attorney.
Mr. Sterling had a reputation for handling divorces involving powerful families.
His assistant initially told her the earliest appointment was three weeks away.
Then she mentioned Mark's last name.
The assistant became quiet.
"Can you come in at eleven?"
"I'll be there."
Three hours later, she sat across from Mr. Sterling in a glass office overlooking downtown.
He was in his late fifties, silver-haired and unnervingly calm.
He listened without interrupting.
When she finished, he folded his hands.
"Did your husband threaten you?"
"Not directly."
"Control the finances?"
"Yes."
"Discourage you from working?"
"Yes."
"Has he ever used your son to pressure you?"
She showed him the message.
Mr. Sterling read it twice.
"Do not delete anything."
She nodded.
"Do not meet Mark alone."
Her eyes narrowed.
"You think he would hurt me?"
"I think frightened people with money sometimes make very bad decisions."
He slid a yellow legal pad toward himself.
"From this moment forward, assume everything matters."
"Texts?"
"Everything."
"Emails?"
"Everything."
"Missed visits, financial transfers, threats, witnesses, photographs, statements."
He leaned back.
"Mark may believe the affair is the biggest problem he has."
"It isn't?"
Mr. Sterling's expression became almost cold.
"No."
He pointed toward the sleeping baby beside her.
"The biggest problem is that he has given you a reason to fight."
For the first time since leaving the mansion, she felt something stronger than grief.
Purpose.
She signed the agreement.
When she stepped outside, Mark was waiting across the street.
May you like
And he was not alone.
Chloe stood beside him.
