All Chapters of Reborn to Destroy Him: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

I called Agent Park before the photographs even stopped sliding across the kitchen table.She answered on the first ring. "Bethany?""He knows. Shaw knows everything. He's been watching us. He has photos of me wearing the wire. Photos of you. Photos of Emma." My voice cracked. "He's threatening to kill her.""Stay where you are. I'm sending a team. Don't leave the house. Don't let Emma out of your sight. I'll be there in twenty minutes."The line went dead.Marcus gathered the photographs carefully. Put them back in the envelope. His hands were steady but his face was pale."Where's Emma?""Upstairs. Playing in her room.""Go sit with her. Act normal. I'll watch the doors until the FBI gets here."I went upstairs on shaking legs. Found Emma sitting on her bedroom floor surrounded by art supplies. She was drawing something. A house. A family. A sun.Normal things. Beautiful things. While a monster threatened to kill her."Hi, Mommy. Look what I made."I sat down beside her. Pulled her

That night, after we got home from court, I wanted to lock Emma in her room and never let her face tomorrow. Instead, I called Dr. Chen."Emma has to testify in the morning. Can you come over? Help me prepare her without making it worse?"Dr. Chen arrived within the hour. She brought her therapy bag and a calm presence that made the house feel less like a war zone.We sat in Emma's bedroom. The three of us on the floor surrounded by stuffed animals and art supplies. Normal things in an abnormal situation."Emma," Dr. Chen said gently. "Tomorrow you're going to talk to Judge Reynolds. Do you know what that means?"Emma nodded. Her fingers twisted together in her lap. "I have to answer questions.""That's right. The judge is going to ask you about your family. About your memories. About how you feel. And all you have to do is tell the truth.""What if the truth makes Mommy sad? Or makes Daddy angry?""The truth is just the truth, sweetie. It's not good or bad. It's not right or wrong. I

Three hours after we got home, Diana called with news I wasn't ready to hear."Judge Reynolds isn't issuing an immediate ruling."My stomach dropped. "What? Why not? Emma's testimony was clear. Brock's outburst showed exactly who he is. What more does she need?""She says she needs time to review all the evidence. Consider all the testimony. Make sure she's making the right decision." Diana's voice was tired. "It's not unusual, Bethany. Custody cases are complicated. Judges want to be thorough.""How long?""Two weeks. She'll issue her written ruling in two weeks."Two weeks. Fourteen days. Three hundred and thirty-six hours of not knowing if Emma was safe. Not knowing if everything we'd been through mattered. Not knowing if the judge believed a seven-year-old's truth over a grown man's lies."I can't wait two weeks. Shaw is out there somewhere. The FBI can't find him. Every day we wait is another day he can plan something.""I know. But we don't have a choice. The judge makes the tim

Marcus was already on the phone with Agent Park before I could even process Shaw's threat. I heard him speaking in urgent, clipped sentences from the kitchen."Shaw just called Bethany directly. Threatened that Emma will be gone by tomorrow. Yes, I have the recording. Sending it now."I sat frozen on Emma's bedroom floor. Watching her sleep. My beautiful daughter who had no idea she was the target of two desperate men with nothing left to lose.Agent Park arrived at our house within twenty minutes. Three other agents came with her. They set up equipment in the living room. Laptops. Recording devices. Communication systems."Play me Shaw's call," Agent Park said.I handed her my phone. She listened twice. Her face grew darker with each word."This is direct conspiracy to kidnap. Made from a phone while he's out on bail. Shaw is an idiot." She looked at me. "This is good for us. We can arrest him again. Revoke his bail completely this time. He'll sit in jail until trial.""But what abou

The Natural History Museum was massive. Three floors. Dozens of exhibits. Hundreds of people. Too many places for someone to hide. Too many ways for something to go wrong.I walked with Emma's class as a parent chaperone. Twenty-three second graders wearing matching blue field trip t-shirts. Four teachers. And me. Plus at least ten FBI agents I could identify scattered throughout the museum, posing as tourists and staff.Agent Park's voice came through the tiny earpiece hidden under my hair. "All units in position. Stay alert. We don't know who Shaw's backup is. Could be anyone."Emma held my hand as we walked through the dinosaur exhibit. She pointed at the T-Rex skeleton. "Look how big, Mommy!""I see, baby. It's amazing."I tried to act normal. Excited about dinosaurs. But my eyes kept scanning the crowd. Looking for threats. For anyone watching Emma too closely. For any sign of danger.Marcus was positioned outside the museum. In a van with Agent Park. Monitoring all the security