Chapter 3

"Ethan!" Sarah's voice cut through the park's pleasant hum.

He turned, surprised. Victoria smirked.

"How dare you?" Sarah confronted him, her eyes blazing. "How dare you use Leo, our son, for Chase?"

Leo ran to her, burying his face in her side.

Ethan sighed, a put-upon expression on his face.

"Sarah, be reasonable. Chase is sick. Leo can help. It's a simple test."

"Reasonable?" Sarah's voice shook with rage. "You lied to us for five years! You made us live in poverty while you were funding her life!"

She gestured towards Victoria, who watched with detached amusement.

"The 'business failure' was a lie, wasn't it? All of it. So you could keep her, keep this other life."

Ethan's composure finally cracked.

"Yes, alright? Yes! I never stopped loving Victoria. I made her a promise a long time ago. My success was always meant for her."

"And us, Ethan? What about Leo? What about me?"

"I care about you both, in my own way," he said, the words hollow. "This is a chance to make things right, to bring everyone together."

His justification was chilling, devoid of any real remorse for the pain he'd caused.

Sarah tried to pull Leo away, to leave. "We're going."

Two large men, who Sarah hadn't noticed before, stepped forward, blocking her path.

They were dressed in dark suits, clearly security. Victoria's, or Ethan's? It didn't matter.

"Not so fast," Victoria said, her voice like ice. "We haven't finished our discussion."

Sarah felt a surge of helpless fear. They were trapped.

Suddenly, Chase, who had been throwing rocks into the pond, let out a yelp.

He stumbled, clutching his side.

Victoria rushed to him. "Chase! What's wrong?"

At the same time, Leo, still pressed against Sarah, coughed, a wracking, painful sound. He looked pale.

"Mommy, my tummy hurts," he whispered.

Ethan looked from Chase to Leo, his face a mask of concern that Sarah no longer trusted.

"What's happening?" he demanded.

Victoria turned to Sarah, her eyes narrowed. "Chase needs his medication. And we need to know if Leo is a match. Now."

It was then revealed Chase had a rare, aggressive kidney condition, one that could flare up suddenly. And apparently, Leo had picked up a stomach bug, common in city parks.

Ethan grabbed Sarah's arm.

"Leo needs to be tested, Sarah. Right now. If he's a match, he can save Chase. Think about it, Leo saving his brother."

He was using Leo's sudden illness, Chase's crisis, as leverage.

"And if I say no?" Sarah challenged, her heart hammering.

"Then you're condemning Chase. And who knows if Leo will get the best care if we're... at odds."

The threat was unspoken but clear.

He would withhold, he would punish.

He was blackmailing her with her own son's well-being to save the son of his mistress.

Sarah felt sick. She looked at Leo, pale and miserable.

She had to get him help.

"Fine," she choked out. "Test him. But then we are leaving."

They were rushed to a private clinic, one Victoria clearly had on call.

Leo was examined, blood drawn. Chase was fussed over by Victoria and a team of doctors.

Sarah sat holding Leo's hand, her mind numb.

She had made a deal with the devil, sacrificing a piece of her son's autonomy, potentially his health, under duress.

She overheard Ethan talking to Victoria in the hallway.

"See? I told you she'd come around. She'd do anything for Leo. And by extension, for us."

His arrogance, his continued misreading of her, was staggering. He thought this was a victory for him.

Leo eventually fell asleep, exhausted, after getting some medicine for his stomach.

The doctor confirmed it was a nasty but temporary bug.

Chase, meanwhile, was stabilized. The results of Leo's compatibility test would take time.

Sarah watched her son sleep.

The fire of her anger had burned down to cold, hard resolve.

This was the absolute end.

She would get Leo out. She would disappear.

She would protect him from these toxic people, no matter what it took.

Ethan appeared in the doorway of Leo's small recovery room.

"He'll be fine," Ethan said, trying for a reassuring tone.

Sarah didn't look at him.

"So, you're really planning on leaving?" he asked, a hint of challenge in his voice.

He still didn't believe it. He still thought he held all the cards.

She would show him just how wrong he was.