Chapter 7
Maya slammed into Richard’s chest. The impact forced a heavy grunt from the older man. She didn't strike him; instead, she wedged her arms expertly between his chest and the fragile infant, desperate to protect her child from being crushed in the struggle.
“Get off me, you crazy bitch!” Richard roared, raising his free hand to strike her again.
Before his hand could connect, the lead security guard tackled Richard from the side. The sheer force of the guard's momentum knocked Richard off balance. As the older man stumbled backward, his grip on the newborn loosened just enough. Maya snatched her baby from his arms, clutching the wailing infant tightly to her chest.
She spun away, shielding the baby with her body as she rushed back to the bassinet. She placed the crying infant gently down next to his two siblings, then turned around to face the room, standing like a sentinel in her hospital robe.
Richard hit the floor hard, his expensive suit jacket tearing against the sharp corner of the bedside table. He groaned in pain, his gold watch scraping against the linoleum. The second security guard was on him in an instant, pinning him face-down and driving a knee into his back.
“Get your hands off me!” Richard bellowed, his face pressed against the cold floor. “I will ruin you! I will ruin this entire hospital!”
“Save your breath, Mr. Vance,” the guard said coldly, pulling a set of heavy zip-ties from his belt and securing Richard’s wrists behind his back.
Jessica, seeing her father-in-law subdued, made a desperate, panicked run for the open doorway. She shoved the nurse aside, her high heels skidding wildly on the floor. But Daniel reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back into the room.
“Let me go, Daniel!” Jessica shrieked, scratching wildly at his face with her manicured nails. “I am not going to jail for your mistakes! I’m leaving!”
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“You aren't going anywhere!” Daniel cried, wrestling her to a halt. “Your name is on the transit papers too, Jessica! If I go down, you go down with me!”
Maya watched the two of them turn on each other like cornered rats. Her chest heaved, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm. She looked down at her three beautiful, safe babies, tears of pure relief finally spilling down her fair, rosy cheeks.
