Chapter 8 - The Missing Boy
I broke three traffic laws getting home.
Mara sat beside me, calling every number she could think of.
I called the police.
Then my lawyer.
Then private security.
Nobody gave me the answer I wanted.
Where was my son?
When we reached the house, Rachel was standing in the driveway.
She was crying.
“I tried to stop them.”
I pulled her into my arms.
“You did nothing wrong.”
“She had paperwork.”
“What paperwork?”
“Temporary custody.”
Benjamin arrived ten minutes later.
He read the order.
His expression darkened.
“This is based on allegations that you’re emotionally unstable.”
I almost laughed.
“Me?”
“And that your home is unsafe because Mara has returned.”
Mara stared at him.
“I’ve been here less than twelve hours.”
“The petition was prepared yesterday.”
Silence.
I looked at him.
“Yesterday?”
He nodded.
Before the gala.
Mara understood first.
“She knew I would be there.”
I turned toward her.
“How?”
“I didn’t tell anyone.”
“Who hired you?”
“A staffing agency.”
Benjamin was already typing.
“Name?”
“Sterling Events.”
His fingers stopped.
“That company is owned by a Hart Foundation subsidiary.”
The trap became visible all at once.
Vivi had known.
Maybe for days.
Maybe weeks.
She knew Mara was free.
She knew Mara had found records.
And instead of hiding, she had prepared.
My phone buzzed.
A text.
Unknown number.
A photograph loaded.
Noah sat in the back seat of a black SUV.
His face was turned toward the window.
Below it was a message.
Stop digging.
Mara grabbed my arm.
“Zoom in.”
“What?”
“His jacket.”
I enlarged the photograph.
Noah wore the same tuxedo jacket from the gala.
Mara pointed toward his lapel.
A tiny silver circle was clipped beneath it.
I recognized it.
A tracker.
Rachel smiled through tears.
“I put it there.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“He loses everything.”
She grabbed her phone.
“Shoes, backpack, jackets.”
She opened an app.
A blue dot appeared.
Moving east.
Fast.
Benjamin looked at the map.
“Highway 4.”
My stomach dropped.
“That leads to the private airport.”
We ran.
Thirty minutes later, we reached a locked gate outside Hart Aviation.
A jet sat on the runway.
Its engines were running.
Mara jumped out of the car before I had fully stopped.
“Mara!”
She ran toward the terminal.
I followed.
Through the glass doors, I saw Vivi.
And Noah.
He was pulling away from her.
Vivi grabbed his wrist.
“Noah, stop fighting me.”
Then Noah saw Mara.
His entire face changed.
“Mommy!”
He ran.
Vivi caught the back of his jacket.
And a uniformed officer stepped directly between Mara and her son.
“Ma’am, do not come any closer.”
Mara stopped.
The officer held up one hand.
“Mrs. Hart has legal custody.”
I pushed forward.
“I’m his father.”
The officer looked at me.
Then at the paperwork.
His expression became uncomfortable.
“Sir…”
“What?”
He swallowed.
May you like
“The order temporarily suspends your parental rights too.”
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