Chapter 77 077
EMILY
The moment the woman said those words, my entire body went cold.
Social services.
For a second, I thought I had heard wrong.
I stood up so quickly that I almost fell across the floor.
“What?”
My voice sounded sharp. Fragile.
The woman stepped into the house calmly, holding her folder against her chest as if it were just another normal visit.
My heart began pounding harder.
“No,” I said immediately. “No, there must be some mistake.”
She glanced around the room slowly.
Her eyes landed on Zara.
My baby was still crying quietly, wiping her cheeks with the sleeve of her little sweater.
The woman’s expression tightened slightly.
Then she looked back at me.
“Ms. Emily, we received a report regarding the welfare of this child.”
My stomach dropped.
“What report?”
Her tone remained professional.
“An anonymous report claiming possible child abuse.”
The words hit me like a slap.
“What?” I breathed.
Morgan moved instantly, stepping forward like a shield.
“That’s ridiculous,” she snapped. “There’s no abuse here.”
The woman’s eyes shifted between us calmly.
“I understand this is upsetting, but I need to speak with the child.”
My heart began racing so fast I could barely breathe.
“Speak to her?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
The woman looked at me again.
“Ma’am, please cooperate.”
“No,” I repeated, louder.
Zara sniffled behind me.
“Mommy?”
The sound of her voice broke something inside my chest.
I rushed toward her and wrapped my arms around her small body.
“It’s okay, baby,” I whispered.
But nothing was okay.
Nothing.
The woman took another step closer.
“I’m afraid I will need to take the child with me tonight while we investigate the report.”
For a second, the room spun.
Take the child.
Take Zara.
My brain refused to process it.
“You can’t,” I said slowly.
The woman’s expression stayed firm.
“It’s standard procedure.”
“You can’t take my child.”
Morgan stepped forward again.
“This is insane,” she snapped. “You can’t just walk in here and take a kid because of some anonymous call.”
The woman opened her folder calmly.
“We have protocols.”
Zara clung tighter to me.
“Mommy, what’s happening?”
My throat tightened painfully.
“Nothing, sweetheart,” I whispered.
But the tears were already sliding down my face again.
The woman reached for Zara gently.
“Sweetheart, I just need you to come with me for a little while.”
My entire body snapped.
“No!”
I pulled Zara closer to my chest.
“You’re not touching her!”
The woman’s voice hardened slightly.
“Ms. Thompson, please do not make this harder than it needs to be.”
Harder?
Harder?
“You can’t take my child from me!” I shouted.
Zara began crying harder now.
Morgan grabbed my arm.
“Emily, wait—”
But I could not hear anything except the pounding in my head.
Hands reached for Zara.
I tried to pull her back.
But the woman was stronger than she looked.
Another worker stepped inside behind her.
And suddenly they were pulling Zara away from me.
“No!” I screamed.
Zara’s tiny fingers clung to my shirt.
“Mommy!”
Her voice cracked with panic.
“Mommy don’t let them take me!”
My heart shattered.
“Zara!”
But they pulled her from my arms.
Her small body twisted as she cried.
“Mommy!”
The sound of her voice broke through every part of me.
“No,” I whispered.
Then louder.
“No!”
My knees gave out beneath me.
I collapsed onto the floor.
My hands slammed against the hardwood.
“No. No. No.”
Zara’s cries echoed through the house as they carried her toward the door.
“Mommy!”
I crawled forward desperately.
“Please!”
But Morgan wrapped her arms around me from behind.
“Emily stop,” she whispered urgently.
The front door closed.
And just like that, my daughter was gone.
Silence filled the house.
I sat on the floor staring at the door.
My chest rose and fell rapidly as my brain tried to catch up with what had just happened.
They took her.
They took Zara.
My fingers curled against the floor.
“No,” I whispered again.
Morgan knelt beside me and grabbed my shoulders gently.
“Emily, breathe.”
But I could not breathe.
My life had just been ripped apart.
Ryan did not remember me.
And now my daughter was gone.
“My life…” My voice cracked. “My life is over.”
Morgan shook her head quickly.
“Don’t say that.”
“It’s true.”
Tears blurred everything again.
“They took her.”
Morgan cupped my face.
“Listen to me.”
But something inside my head suddenly snapped into place.
Cecilia.
The realization hit me like lightning.
She did this.
Of course she did.
First Ryan’s memory.
Then the custody threat.
And now social services.
Rage exploded through my chest so violently it pushed me to my feet.
Morgan blinked in surprise.
“Emily?”
“I need to go.”
“Go where?”
I grabbed my keys from the table.
“The hospital.”
Morgan frowned.
“Why?”
I turned toward her slowly.
My eyes burned with fury.
“Stop questioning me.”
The look on my face must have scared her.
She nodded immediately.
“Okay.”
Ten minutes later we were in the car.
Morgan drove faster than usual.
Neither of us spoke.
My hands trembled in my lap.
My thoughts raced in dark, furious circles.
Cecilia thought she could destroy me.
She thought she could erase me from Ryan’s life.
She thought she could take my daughter.
She was wrong.
The hospital building appeared ahead of us.
Morgan parked quickly.
Before the engine even stopped, I opened the door and jumped out.
“Emily wait—”
But I was already running.
My footsteps echoed loudly through the hospital entrance.
People turned as I stormed past the front desk.
“Ma’am—”
I ignored them.
My heart pounded violently as I marched down the hallway toward Ryan’s room.
Anger burned through my veins.
“Where are you, Cecilia?” I shouted.
My voice echoed through the corridor.
Heads turned.
Nurses stepped forward nervously.
“Ma’am please calm down—”
“Where are you, Cecilia!”
A nurse tried to block my path.
“Ma’am you cannot be yelling here—”
“Move!”
I shoved past her and kept walking.
My vision tunneled with fury.
I reached Ryan’s floor and pushed through the doors.
“CECILIA!”
The name ripped out of my throat.
People stared.
Doctors stopped walking.
A few nurses rushed toward me.
Two security guards appeared from the hallway.
“Ma’am you need to leave.”
They grabbed my arms.
“Let go of me!” I shouted.
They began pulling me back.
“I need to see her!”
“You cannot enter this area.”
“I said let go!”
They tightened their grip.
Then a familiar voice cut through the chaos.
“Leave her.”
Everyone froze.
Aaron stood near Ryan’s hospital room door.
His eyes were hard as he looked at the security guards.
“Let her go.”