Chapter 2
Richard Vance did not pause. He reached into the temperature-controlled bassinet, his large, calloused hands sliding beneath the soft hospital blankets. He bypassed the two babies on the left and deliberately lifted the third newborn—the smallest of the triplets—into his arms. The baby let out a sharp, startled cry as the sudden movement disrupted its sleep.
"No!" Maya screamed, the maternal instinct overriding her physical exhaustion.
She threw the hospital sheets off her legs, her bare feet hitting the cold linoleum floor. She lunged forward, her hospital robe fluttering around her knees, and desperately reached out toward her father-in-law. Daniel and Jessica stood completely still, watching the scene unfold without a single ounce of surprise or empathy on their faces.
Richard turned to face her, clutching the crying infant securely against his expensive suit jacket. He looked down at Maya, his voice hard with absolute, terrifying authority.
"You have three. Daniel has none. He gets this one," Richard stated, as if he were simply reallocating funds in a corporate bank account.
"Are you insane?" Maya shrieked, the sheer absurdity and horror of his words paralyzing her for a fraction of a second. "He is not a piece of property! He is my son!"
Maya grabbed Richard’s sleeve, her fingers digging desperately into the fine Italian wool of his suit. She reached with her other hand, frantically trying to pull the crying baby back into her own arms.
"Put my baby back now!" Maya demanded, her voice breaking with terrified fury, yet remaining incredibly fierce.
Richard’s rosy complexion darkened with sudden, violent anger. He jerked his arm away with brutal force, ripping his sleeve from her grasp. He gripped the infant even tighter, ignoring the baby's escalating, frantic wails.
"You will not raise your voice to me, you ungrateful girl," Richard growled, his American accent thickening with rage. "This family took you in when you had nothing. We paid for these very hospital walls. This child belongs to the Vance bloodline, and I determine where the bloodline goes."
"He belongs to me!" Maya sobbed, coughing violently as her lungs burned from the exertion. "Daniel and Jessica can adopt! They cannot steal my child!"
"It's not stealing, Maya, it's sharing," Jessica chimed in, her voice dripping with venomous delight. "We deserve a child just as much as you do. Daniel is the oldest. It's only fair."
"You are out of your minds. All of you," Maya gasped, planting her bare feet firmly on the floor and launching herself at Richard again. "Give him to me!"
She managed to hook her fingers around the soft blue fabric of the hospital blanket, pulling it just enough to expose the baby's tiny, fragile hand.
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"I said, let go," Richard commanded, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper.
"I will scream until the police arrive! I will tell the whole world what you are!" Maya threatened, her beautiful face contorted with desperation and rage.
