Chapter 140
It had been weeks since she’d walked out of Colton’s life. Weeks of silence. No calls. No messages. No sign that he cared enough to come after her.”
At first, she’d told herself this was good–necessary. He needed to feel her absence, to realize what he’d lost. That was the only way to make him crawl back to her.
But each day that passed without a single word ate away at her confidence.”
Even Maureen’s questions were becoming unbearable.
“Mommy, when is Daddy coming?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” Beatrice would say through clenched teeth, forcing a smile.
“But… he hasn’t called,” Maureen would press, her little brows furrowing. “Doesn’t he miss us?”
The worst part was, Beatrice didn’t have an answer.
W
She tried to distract herself–shopping, spa visits, anything to keep her mind off the gnawing silence–but the unease was always there.\
#
She’d pick up her phone a dozen times a day, scrolling to Colton’s number, her thumb hovering over the call button… only to stop herself.”
No. He needs to come to me. Not the other way around.
Then one afternoon, her phone buzzed with a message.
It wasn’t from Colton.
The text was short, almost casual in tone, but the words sliced her open:
“Colton’s still searching for Nadia. Been months now. No sign of her.”
For a moment, she just stared at the screen, her heart pounding in her ears. Then the fury hit.”
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ར་བ་ཟ་ནད་ན་ཚད་་ར་ན་གསན་དགའ་ར་དང་དད་སོགས་ཡུ་
ར$ཀརཔོ
Her fury sharpened into resolve. Snatching her phone back up, she dialed one of her men. “Listen to me,” she snapped the moment he answered. “I don’t care what it takes, I want Nadia found. Now. Dig everywhere–friends, old contacts, anyone she might have run to.“}
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As the man on the other end started to reply, Beatrice’s mind flashed to a name she hadn’t considered in a long time. Nathan. Nadia’s older brother.\
She froze mid–step. Her brother…
Her lips curled into a cold smile. “Wait,” she cut in sharply. “Start with her family. She has a brother–Nathan. If she’s hiding, she might be there. And if Colton hasn’t even thought of going there yet… then I’ll be the first.”
“Understood, ma’am,” the man replied.”
Beatrice hung up, satisfaction flaring briefly in her chest. If Nadia was with Nathan, then this little chase could end–on her terms.”
And if she got to Nadia first, maybe she could make sure Colton never saw her again.}
Just as she was mapping out her next move, the shrill ring of her phone cut through her thoughts.”
She barked, “Who is this?”
“This is Mrs. Castillo, Maureen’s teacher,” a calm but tense voice replied. “You need to come to the school immediately. There’s been… an incident.”
When Beatrice arrived, she found the school’s reception buzzing with whispers. Two other parents stood stiffly near the principal’s office, one of them holding a little boy with a bruised cheek.
“That’s her, one of them hissed, glaring at Beatrice.
Mrs. Castillo stepped forward. “Mrs. Clarke, Maureen was involved in a fight today. She–“#
“She attacked my son,” the other parent cut in, their voice sharp with accusation. “Scratched his face and pushed him to the ground!”
Beatrice’s mouth dropped open. “What? Maureen would never-”
“She did,” the parent snapped And when we asked her why, she said it’s because she ‘doesn’t have a father to protect her.” All eyes turned to Maureen, who sat small and stiff in one of the chairs.
“Is that true?” Beatrice asked, crouching in front of her.
Maureen’s voice was quiet but firm. “He was making fun of me… saying my daddy doesn’t want me anymore. I told him to stop. He didn’t. So I made him stop“>
Beatrice’s chest tightened–part pride, part dread &
The other parent sneered. “Maybe if you were a better mother–if you weren’t busy cheating and humiliating yourself on
camera–your daughter wouldn’t be so violent.“\
The words hit Beatrice like a slap. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” the parent spat. “Your little viral moment? Everyone saw it. Maybe you should spend less time throwing yourself at men and more time raising your child properly.“N
Beatrice’s hands curled into fists. “Say that again, and-”
“Beatrice!” Mrs. Castillo tried to step between them, but it was too late. The shouting escalated into a shove, then another.
The next thing she knew, she was on the floor, grappling with the other parent while staff rushed in to pull them apart.\
The next hour was a blur.\
By the time the police arrived, the school had decided to press charges for disorderly conduct. The other parents were filing complaints. And Beatrice found herself sitting in a holding cell, her hair a mess, her palms scraped, and her expensive blouse torn at the sleeve.
Across from her, Maureen sat with a police officer, looking small and scared. Beatrice’s chest ached–not just from the fight, but from the humiliation. She’d let it get this far.
She stared at her phone in her lap, debating her next move. She didn’t want to call him. She swore she wouldn’t. But… this wasn’t about her pride anymore,
12
With trembling fingers, she dialed Colton’s number. It rang. And rang. No answer.
She bit her lip hard, fighting back tears. Then she pressed the call button again. This time
didn’t waste a second.&
り
daughter
is in danger! Help!”
“Colton-” her voice cracked, “Maureen is in danger. Your is in danger! Help!“”
when his voicemail clicked on, she
Her hand shook as she ended the call. She didn’t know if he’d come. She didn’t even know if he’d care. But for the first time in weeks, she was the one chasing him.”
བད། ་་་་་་་ ” ་ ད་ ་ ་ ་ ་ ་ ་ ་ ་ ་
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