Chapter 2 - The Shredded Keepsake
It was Barnaby.
Barnaby was a worn, one-eared blue plush bear that Noah’s mother, Clara, had sewn for him during her final months in hospice care. Inside the bear’s chest was a small voice recorder with Clara’s final lullaby, recorded before the cancer took her voice. Noah never slept without it.
Now, shreds of blue plush, white polyester stuffing, and twisted copper wire lay scattered across the mud beside the dog bowl.
"What did you do to his bear?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper, yet vibrating with lethal tension.
Vanessa crossed her arms, exhaling an impatient sigh. "I threw it in the incinerator, but he threw a fit and tried to dig it out. That filthy rag was keeping him sick, Adrian! He clings to a dead woman's memory instead of accepting me! I destroyed it so we could finally move on as a family!"
Noah's body shook with fresh, agonizing sobs against my shoulder. "Mommy's song is gone, Daddy... She made it go away..."
"It's not gone, Noah," I whispered into his ear, kissing his cold temple. "Daddy has it. I promise you, Daddy will fix everything."
I stood to my full height, holding Noah with my left arm, and walked straight toward Vanessa. She took two steps backward, her high heels catching on the stone pavers, her aristocratic composure finally giving way to genuine fear.
"Adrian, don't look at me like that," she stammered, raising her manicured hands. "I did this for our future! You spoil him! You let him wallow in grief! I'm trying to make him strong for you!"
"Pack your bags," I said. "You have ten minutes to get off my property."
"You can't kick me out!" she shrieked, her voice turning shrill and venomous. "We are engaged! My name is on the guest list for every society event in the city! If you throw me out over a spoiled brat, I will drag your family's name through every tabloid in the country!"
I pulled out my phone with my free hand, dialed 911, and put it on speaker.
"Chicago Police Department, what is your emergency?"
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"My name is Adrian Sterling," I announced clearly, staring directly into Vanessa's wide, horrified eyes. "I am at 1240 Crestview Lane. I need emergency units and Child Protective Services at my residence immediately. I have just caught my fiancée unlawfully imprisoning, starving, and abusing my five-year-old child."
Vanessa's face went completely white.
