Chapter 5: The Ambush at St. Catherine’s

Callum Voss didn’t know about the billionaire. He didn’t know about the ruthless attorney. He thought he was still playing a game against a homeless, terrified girl.

On Saturday morning, Callum escalated his attack.

Isla was sitting on the ninth-floor sofa, nursing Noah, when her cell phone suddenly buzzed on the coffee table.

She leaned forward and checked the caller ID. Her blood ran ice cold.

St. Catherine’s Hospital – Records Department.

Roman had just walked into the apartment holding a stack of legal files. He saw the color completely drain from Isla’s face.

“Answer it,” Roman instructed softly, stepping closer.

Isla swiped the screen, putting it on speakerphone with a trembling finger.

“Isla Mercer?” a confused nurse’s voice echoed through the room. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but Mr. Callum Voss is currently standing at the front desk. He’s demanding Noah’s full medical records and a copy of the birth certificate.”

Isla stopped breathing.

“Don’t release anything,” Isla commanded, her voice suddenly cracking like a whip. “He is not to have access to my son’s records without my physical, written consent. Call security if you have to.”

“Understood, ma’am. He’s… he’s making quite a scene.”

The nurse hung up.

Isla looked up at Roman in pure, unfiltered panic. “Why is he trying to get Noah’s medical files? He threw us out on the street!”

Roman’s phone vibrated in his hand. It was Saurin. He answered it on speaker so Isla could hear.

“Roman,” Saurin’s voice barked sharply. “Callum just filed an emergency custody petition in family court. The hearing is Monday morning at 9:00 AM.”

Isla let out a choked gasp, clutching Noah tighter to her chest. “Custody? He wants to take my baby?!”

“He’s framing your disappearance from the apartment as erratic, neglectful behavior,” Saurin explained quickly. “He’s telling the judge you ran away from the hospital and kidnapped his son to live on the streets. He’s using the homelessness he caused as the primary evidence that you are an unfit mother.”

The sheer, diabolical cruelty of the plan sucked the oxygen right out of the room. Callum had forced her into the stairwell specifically so he could use the stairwell to legally steal her child.

“He requested Judge Reiner,” Saurin continued, her tone dripping with venom. “Reiner is notoriously corrupt. He heavily favors the wealthiest parent in emergency disputes. Callum’s uncle definitely made a phone call.”

Roman ended the call. He stared at the wall, his mind processing a million variables a second.

“He’s going to take him,” Isla sobbed, rocking back and forth. “He has the money. He has the judge. Roman, he’s going to take Noah!”

Roman slowly walked over to the sofa. He knelt down so he was exactly eye level with the terrified mother.

He looked at her tear-streaked face. He looked at the tiny baby bundled in her arms.

Roman leaned over the table, his eyes darker and colder than the concrete stairwell she had slept in.

“He didn’t just change the locks, Isla. He made the biggest mistake of his pathetic life. Because on Monday morning, we aren’t just going to court. We are going to war.”

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