Chapter 3 - The First Threat
Mark crossed the street before she could reach her car.
She instinctively moved Leo's carrier behind her.
"What are you doing here?"
Mark looked exhausted.
Chloe looked perfect.
That difference told her everything.
"We need to talk," Mark said.
"Our lawyers can talk."
"I'm your husband."
"Not for much longer."
His jaw tightened.
Chloe touched his arm.
"Mark, stay calm."
The fake gentleness in her voice made something twist inside the betrayed wife.
She looked directly at Chloe.
"You don't get to tell him how to behave toward me."
Chloe's smile vanished.
Mark stepped closer.
"You left with Leo without discussing anything."
"I removed my child from a house where his father was openly living with his pregnant mistress."
"Chloe isn't living there."
"Yet."
Chloe looked away.
That was answer enough.
Mark lowered his voice.
"I want Leo home."
"No."
"He belongs with me."
"He belongs somewhere stable."
"I can give him everything."
"Except an honest father."
Mark's face hardened.
For a second, she saw the man who intimidated employees and crushed business competitors.
Then Mr. Sterling's voice came from behind her.
"Mr. Harris."
Mark turned.
The attorney calmly walked down the courthouse steps.
"I strongly recommend that you stop confronting my client."
"This is a family matter."
"It became a legal matter when you threatened custody."
Mark looked at her.
"You showed him my messages?"
"I'll show the judge everything."
Chloe whispered something in Mark's ear.
His expression changed.
"If you want a custody war, you'll get one."
The words were quiet.
But they landed harder than shouting.
Mr. Sterling stepped between them.
"Excellent."
Mark frowned.
"What?"
Mr. Sterling smiled without warmth.
"I prefer opponents who announce their mistakes before making them."
Mark walked away.
Chloe followed.
But just before getting into Mark's car, Chloe looked back.
Her eyes were no longer victorious.
They were calculating.
That afternoon, Mr. Sterling filed emergency temporary custody paperwork.
That evening, she moved from the motel into a furnished apartment arranged through a friend.
By midnight, she had changed passwords, frozen joint credit cards, backed up messages, and opened a new bank account.
At 1:17 a.m., an email arrived from Mark's attorney.
Mark was requesting temporary primary custody.
The filing accused her of emotional instability.
Financial irresponsibility.
And impulsively removing Leo from his home.
She read the accusations twice.
Then she saw something that made her blood turn cold.
They intended to argue that her decision to leave the mansion proved she was an unfit mother.
She called Mr. Sterling.
He answered on the second ring.
"They're trying to take him."
"I know."
"How?"
"Fear."
"What do we do?"
There was a pause.
"We make them prove every lie."
May you like
Then his voice hardened.
"And while they're trying, we start looking at Chloe."
