Chapter 5
The nurse’s sentence hung in the air, severed by the sheer magnitude of the revelation. The flashing red alarm lights bathed the room in a rhythmic, terrifying glow, illuminating the fair, rosy skin of the Vance family in bursts of crimson.
“To who?” Maya demanded, her voice dropping into a ragged, breathless whisper. Her movie-star beautiful face was contorted in absolute horror. “Who was he selling my baby to?!”
“Shut your mouth right now!” Richard roared at the nurse. He adjusted his grip on the crying newborn, standing tall and puffing out his chest to project his usual dominance. “I am Richard Vance! I am a premier donor to this facility! You will leave this room immediately, or I will have all of your badges stripped by the end of the hour!”
The two security guards did not step back. Instead, the larger of the two reached down and unclipped the heavy baton from his belt.
“Sir, you need to hand the infant back to the mother immediately,” the security guard ordered, his American accent firm and unyielding. “You have no legal right to remove a patient from this ward.”
“It’s a black-market adoption ring, Maya,” the nurse finally blurted out, ignoring Richard’s threats completely. She ripped open the sealed file, pulling out a stack of intercepted wire transfers and forged medical release forms. “The hospital legal team caught the paperwork discrepancy ten minutes ago. He wasn't giving the baby to Daniel. He was brokering a private transfer to a cartel affiliate overseas. Daniel and Jessica were just the fake names on the domestic transit papers!”
Daniel slumped against the wall, burying his face in his hands. “Oh my god. Oh my god, we’re going to prison.”
“Shut up, Daniel!” Jessica shrieked, her carefully maintained elegance shattering into vicious panic. She turned on her husband. “You told me this was foolproof! You said your father had the money to cover our tracks!”
Maya stared at Daniel and Jessica, the reality of their betrayal crashing over her like a tidal wave. “You knew? You knew he was selling him to a cartel?!”
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“We owed them money, Maya!” Daniel cried out, tears spilling down his pale face. “My investments went under! We owed them six million dollars! They were going to kill us! Dad said a newborn with our bloodline was the only collateral they would accept to wipe the debt!”
“You traded my child for your gambling debts?!” Maya screamed, the sheer terror transforming into a blinding, white-hot fury.
