Chapter 6
Helen’s threat hung in the air like poison.
The boardroom was still in chaos. Board members shouting at each other. Arthur sitting frozen, his face gray.
Liam was talking to two police officers who’d just arrived, ready to arrest Arthur.
But I didn’t care about any of it.
All I could see was Helen’s smile.
She was going to use her own son as a weapon.
A two-year-old little boy. To destroy me.
Marcus saw the look on my face. He stepped closer to me, his hand resting light on my arm.
“Whatever she’s planning,” he said, quiet enough only I could hear, “we’ll stop her.”
I nodded. But my hands were shaking.
The police cuffed Arthur. Led him out. He didn’t even fight.
Helen watched them go. She didn’t even flinch.
Then she picked up her bag. Slung it over her shoulder.
“This meeting is over,” she said to the room. “The board is dissolved. Effective immediately. Until the courts decide who really owns this company, no one makes any decisions.”
She looked at me.
“Enjoy your little victory, Elena. It won’t last.”
She walked out.
The board members left one by one. Heads down. Ashamed.
Liam came over to me.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Thank you,” I said. “For coming back. For testifying.”
He smiled. A tired smile.
“I owed you,” he said. “Family takes care of family. Right?”
That night, my father came to the penthouse.
We sat at the dining table, going over the Langford numbers.
“With Arthur gone,” my father said, “we control forty percent of the shares. If we can get just eleven percent more, we have a majority. We can take over the company completely.”
He pushed a list of shareholders across the table.
“These are the smaller investors. We can buy them out. It’ll be expensive. But we can do it.”
I stared at the list. But I couldn’t focus.
All I could think about was Helen’s threat.
Noah.
A two-year-old little boy. Used as a pawn.
I thought of my own daughter. Kicking inside me. Innocent. Unaware of the war raging around her.
I would never use her like that.
Never.
“Dad,” I said. “What if Helen follows through? What if she really gives Noah to me?”
My father put down his pen.
“She won’t,” he said. “She loves that boy. In her own twisted way. She’ll never give him up. It’s just a threat. To scare you.”
But I wasn’t so sure.
Helen was crazy enough to do anything.
The next two weeks were a blur.
We bought up shares. One by one.
Thirty-two percent. Thirty-five. Thirty-nine.
We were so close.
Then Daniel’s trial started.
He was charged with kidnapping, assault, grand theft, and conspiracy to commit murder.
The evidence was overwhelming.
The garage security tape. My medical records. Witness testimony from the neighbors who’d heard me screaming.
Daniel’s lawyer tried to paint him as a victim. Said I was controlling. Abusive. Said he’d locked me in the garage to “protect himself.”
No one believed him.
The jury was out for three hours.
Guilty on all counts.
Daniel was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
When the judge read the verdict, Daniel looked at me. His face crumpled.
“I’m sorry,” he mouthed.
I didn’t feel anything.
No anger. No sadness.
Just nothing.
He was gone. Out of my life. Forever.
I walked out of the courthouse. The press was there. Shouting questions. Cameras flashing.
Marcus guided me to the car.
Then my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I answered.
“Congratulations, Elena,” Helen said. Her voice was slurred. Like she’d been drinking. “You got what you wanted. Daniel’s gone. Arthur’s gone. You’re about to get your little company.”
“What do you want, Helen?” I said.
She laughed. A bitter, broken sound.
“I want you to know I meant what I said. About Noah.”
My blood ran cold.
“Where are you?” I said.
“At the hospital,” she said. “Noah has a fever. He’s been sick for three days. I don’t have any money. The doctors won’t treat him unless I pay upfront.”
Her voice cracked.
“I have nothing left, Elena. No money. No friends. No family. Just him.”
I was quiet for a second.
“Which hospital?” I said.
She told me.
I hung up.
“Take me to Mercy General,” I said to Marcus.
He turned around.
“Elena, no,” he said. “It’s a trap. She’s luring you there.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But if it’s not? If that little boy is really sick? I could never live with myself.”
Marcus argued. But he turned the car toward the hospital.
We found Helen in the emergency room waiting room.
She looked terrible. Her hair was a mess. No makeup. Her clothes were dirty.
Noah was in her arms. His face was flushed. He was crying, weak, little sobs.
Helen looked up when she saw me.
She stood up. Held Noah out to me.
“Please,” she said. Her voice broke. “Help him.”
I took the little boy in my arms.
He was burning up.
I turned to Marcus.
“Get the best pediatrician in the city,” I said. “Now. Tell him I’ll pay whatever he wants. Just save this baby.”
Marcus was on the phone immediately.
I sat down with Noah in my lap. Rocked him. His little hand fisted in my dress.
Helen sat next to me. Quiet. Defeated.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I didn’t answer.
The doctor came. Took Noah back for tests.
An hour later, he came out.
“It’s bacterial meningitis,” he said. “We caught it just in time. He’ll be okay. But he needs to stay here for a week.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Helen collapsed into a chair. Sobbing.
Then two police officers walked into the waiting room.
They walked straight to Helen.
“Helen Langford,” one of them said. “You’re under arrest for the kidnapping and assault of Liam Carter.”
They cuffed her.
She didn’t fight.
She looked at me.
“Take care of my boy,” she said.
Then they led her away.
I stood there. Noah’s blanket still in my hands.
Marcus came over to me.
“Elena,” he said. “We just hit fifty-one percent of the Langford shares. We own the company.”
I looked at him.
But before I could answer, a nurse ran out of the emergency room.
“Ms. Ward?” she said. “You need to come with me. Now. Noah’s mother just left something with the police. A letter. For you.”
She handed me an envelope.
I opened it.
One line. Scrawled in messy handwriting.
I’m taking what’s yours, Elena. Just like you took what’s mine.
I froze.
Then I felt it.
A sharp pain in my stomach.
I doubled over. Gasping.
May you like
“Elena!” Marcus shouted.
The last thing I saw before everything went black was the nurse’s terrified face.
