Chapter 4 - Tears Inside the Car|
The heavy doors of my black SUV slammed shut, instantly locking out the chaos and screaming echoing from the country club. The second the engine started, Emily buried her face in her hands and broke down into violent, uncontrollable sobs.
“Mom... why did you do that?” Emily choked out between gasps of air, her body shaking against her seatbelt. “Brandon is going to be so angry... he’s going to make my life a living nightmare!”
My heart shattered into a million pieces. My daughter—once a bright, fierce, confident young woman who graduated at the top of her class—had been reduced to a terrified victim cowering from her own husband.
“Emily, look at me,” I said softly, taking her chin and forcing her to meet my eyes. “Ever since you married that man, I’ve watched you fade away. You stopped smiling. You stopped working. I knew something was deeply wrong, so six months ago, I hired a private investigator.”
Emily’s eyes widened in horror, her breath hitching in her throat.
“Mom... what are you talking about?”
“I know everything, Emily,” I said, my voice heavy with grief and anger. “I know Brandon forced you to resign from your design firm. I know Patricia made you max out your personal credit cards to pay for their luxury utility bills. And I know Brandon has been secretly leasing a high-rise apartment in the city for another woman.”
Emily covered her mouth as fresh, scalding tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn't deny it.
“I found out about her last month,” Emily whimpered, her voice barely a whisper. “I wanted to leave, Mom. I swear I wanted to run away. But Patricia threatened me. She said if I ever filed for divorce, their lawyers would prove I was mentally unstable and take baby Lily away from me forever! I couldn't lose my baby, Mom!”
I pulled my daughter tightly into my arms, holding her close as she wept into my shoulder.
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“Listen to me very carefully, Emily,” I whispered fiercely into her hair. “No one is taking Lily from you. Not Brandon, not Patricia, and not their high-priced lawyers. From this exact second, I am your shield. They wanted a war, and I am going to give them one.”
The SUV tore through the rainy night, carrying us away from that toxic family forever.
