Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 85342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“You,” her mother accuses, her voice filled with disgust, taking two steps toward me. Her finger comes out as she points at me. “You did this.”
CHAPTER 10
Chase
From the minute these two come into the room I can tell there will be trouble. They walk in like they are supposed to be here. They walk in even though it said “Emergency Personnel Only.”
“I’m sorry, can I help you?” Emmanuelle asks her and the woman just ignores her and continues walking until Emmanuelle steps in front of her. The short man in the back is letting the woman do all the talking.
I take a step toward Emmanuelle and stand behind her. “I’m looking for my granddaughter,” the woman says, looking around the room and I know right then and there who they are looking for. I don’t know why but the hair stands up on the back of my neck. “Where is she?” The woman raises her voice. “You tell us right now where she is or so help us…”
“You need to calm down.” Emmanuelle tries to be calm. “You don’t have authority to be in here.” She walks around the desk and I know in two seconds she’s going to pick up the phone. Emmanuelle gives zero fucks if you are the President of the United States or the Queen, you raise your voice and make a scene, she’ll get your ass tossed to the street.
“Like fuck I don’t,” she hisses, and my eyes go to the room where I know Penelope is in. I see Julia start to walk out and my body goes on alert. I make sure I’m in the middle of the woman and Julia as she takes three steps toward them. She walks with her shoulders square and her head high. “Hi,” she says softly, “I’m Julia.” She looks at them for a second before she continues, “I’m Monica’s social worker.”
“You,” the mother says, her voice filled with venom. Her hand flies up and her finger comes out and my feet are moving at the same time as hers. “You did this.” She shakes her head. “You and all your bullshit lies you fed her. You did this to her.” She roars out, “You killed her!”
My heart speeds up and my hands fist at my sides, I don’t even take a second to assess the situation before Julia can say a word. “If you don’t calm down.” I step in front of Julia to make sure she can’t see her. “We are going to call security and you’ll be escorted from here.” My voice stays tight as I ignore the way the burning in my stomach is building. If it was up to me, I’d throw their asses out in a blink of an eye.
“Pfft,” the woman says, “and I’ll call the police and say you are hiding my grandchild from us.”
“Stacey,” the short balding man says from behind her. “Calm down.”
“Shut up, Stanley,” she snaps at him and all he can do is look down. “We have a right to see our granddaughter.”
“And no one will stop you.” My voice stays calm, even though my body is shaking with nerves. “But if you are going to come in here and disrupt things, then we will have no choice.”
“Show me where my granddaughter is.” She folds her arms over her chest. “Or else I’ll call the news, or better yet.” She takes her phone from her pocket. “I’ll record you stopping us from seeing our grandchild after our only daughter died.”
I feel Julia’s hand on my arm. “Chase,” she says softly, “it’s not worth it.”
The door opens and I see two security guards come in and I look over at Emmanuelle, who just nods at me. “Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way.” She walks toward the security guards. “You can act calmly and we will give you five minutes with your granddaughter,” she informs them and the woman opens her mouth, but Emmanuelle holds up her hand to stop her. “Until she is transferred to her own room, or”—she looks at the guards—“you will be escorted out of here without seeing her, and only be able to see her when she is transferred.” She takes a step toward the woman. “And I would hate for paperwork to take longer than it should,” she warns, her voice low. She looks at the man. “I suggest you talk to your wife and choose option A.”
“I don’t want that bitch anywhere next to her.” She points at Julia and I’m about to go Hulk on her. I have to swallow down the rage and look down at the floor. I don’t even know why, but heat fills my body while anger fills my veins. I want to roar out but Julia doesn’t give me a chance.