Chapter 5 - The Shadow Network
I stood behind Detective Vance, clutching my jacket around my shoulders, watching this powerful lawyer demand custody of an innocent baby who, just hours ago, had been lying in a filthy sink under a metal dish.
“The Vance estate?” Detective Vance frowned, reading the document carefully. “You mean Richard Vance? The billionaire logistics mogul who died in a helicopter crash two months ago?”
“The very same,” Reid replied smoothly. “Before Mr. Vance’s tragic passing, he and his late wife were part of a private surrogacy arrangement. The surrogate mother disappeared three weeks ago. We have reason to believe Brenda Thorne kidnapped the child directly from the private clinic to ransom him or sell him to foreign buyers.”
Something inside me screamed that this was wrong.
I stepped out from behind Detective Vance, ignoring the throbbing pain in my face. “If you’re his legal counsel, why didn't you report him missing three weeks ago?”
Reid turned his gaze toward me. His eyes were like polished ice—devoid of any human warmth. He looked at my swollen eye, my flour-stained clothes, and the cheap shoes I wore.
“And who are you?” Reid asked condescendingly. “The nanny who let a baby end up in a kitchen sink?”
“I’m the person who saved his life while your security team was nowhere to be found,” I snapped back, stepping right into his space. “You knew Brenda had him. You didn't call the police because you didn't want the media to know about the child!”
“Careful, young lady,” Reid warned, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “Defamation is a very expensive mistake.”
“She’s right, isn't she?” Vance interjected, folding the legal document and shoving it back against Reid’s chest. “This warrant gives you temporary custody starting tomorrow morning at nine o’clock, Mr. Reid. Until then, this child is a ward of the state under protective police custody in the NICU. You and your guards can wait in the parking lot.”
Reid’s jaw tightened. He held Vance’s gaze for three long seconds before giving a stiff nod.
“Nine o’clock, Detective,” Reid said coldly. “Not a minute later. And I suggest you ensure the child is kept under maximum security. Certain parties would pay millions to make sure that boy never reaches his first birthday.”
Reid turned and walked out of the hospital lobby, his security guards following close behind.
I turned to Vance, my chest heaving. “You can’t hand the baby over to him! Did you see his eyes? He doesn't care about that baby’s safety! He cares about the Vance fortune!”
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“I know,” Vance said quietly, looking around the lobby to ensure no one was listening. “Richard Vance left a three-billion-dollar empire to his sole surviving heir. If that baby dies or disappears, the entire fortune defaults to the board of directors—which is headed by Jonathan Reid.”
I gasped. “So Reid doesn't want to save him... he wants to finish what Brenda started.”
