Chapter 11
"What are you doing here?" Celestine hissed.
She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Locked it.
Elodie flinched. She moved closer to me.
"I came to see my daughter," I said. I stood up, putting myself between Elodie and Celestine.
"Your daughter?" Celestine laughed. It was a sharp, ugly sound. "You lost that right when you abandoned her."
"I never abandoned her," I said. "Harrison took her from me. And you helped him."
Celestine's face hardened. She walked toward me.
"You don't know anything," she said. "You were weak. You couldn't handle being a mother. You couldn't handle Harrison."
She stopped a few feet away.
"I'm the one who's been here," she said. "I'm the one who knows what she likes to eat. I'm the one who tucks her in at night. I'm the one she calls Mommy."
"She called me Mommy too," I said.
The words hit Celestine like a physical blow. Her face twisted with anger.
"You're lying," she said.
"Ask her," I said.
Celestine looked at Elodie.
"Is that true?" she said. Her voice was dangerous.
Elodie shrank back. She grabbed my hand.
"Tell me the truth!" Celestine shouted.
Elodie started crying.
"Stop it," I said. "You're scaring her."
"I'll do whatever I want," Celestine said. "She's my daughter. And you're nothing but a trespasser."
She reached for her phone.
"I'm calling Harrison," she said. "And then I'm calling the police. You'll never see her again."
I moved fast. I grabbed her phone from her hand.
"Give that back!" Celestine screamed.
She lunged at me. We struggled. Her nails raked my arm. I pushed her away.
She stumbled and fell against the dresser. A vase crashed to the floor.
Elodie screamed.
"Stop it! Please stop it!"
Celestine stood up. Her face was red with rage. She looked at Elodie.
"This is your fault," she said. "If you hadn't been so difficult, she never would have come back."
She raised her hand to hit Elodie.
I stepped between them. Celestine's hand connected with my face instead.
The force of the blow turned my head. My cheek stung.
"Don't you ever touch her," I said. My voice was low and dangerous.
Celestine stared at me. She saw something in my eyes that scared her. She stepped back.
"You're crazy," she whispered.
"Maybe," I said. "But I'm the only one who's going to protect her."
A knock on the door.
"Celestine?" Harrison's voice. "Is everything alright in there?"
Celestine and I stared at each other.
"Everything's fine!" Celestine called out. She kept her eyes on me. "Elodie just had a nightmare."
"I'm coming in," Harrison said.
The doorknob turned. It was locked.
"Celestine," Harrison said. His voice was warning.
Celestine looked at me. Desperation in her eyes.
"If you tell him I'm here, I'll tell him you tried to kidnap her," she whispered. "He'll kill you. And he'll make sure Elodie never knows who you really are."
The doorknob rattled harder.
"Open the door, Celestine," Harrison said.
Celestine unlocked the door. She stepped back.
Harrison entered. He looked at the broken vase. He looked at Celestine's flushed face. He looked at my red cheek.
And then he saw me.
Recognition slowly dawned. His eyes went wide.
"You," he said.
I stood tall. I didn't look away.
"Hello, Harrison," I said.
He moved fast. He grabbed my arm. His fingers dug into my skin.
"Get out," he said. "Now."
"Let go of me," I said.
"Or what?" he said. "You'll call the police? They already know what you are. A trespasser. A kidnapper. An unfit mother."
He pulled me toward the door.
Elodie screamed. She ran and grabbed my leg.
"Don't take her!" she cried. "Please! She's my friend!"
Harrison looked down at his daughter. His face softened for just a second. Then it hardened again.
"Elodie, go to your room," he said.
"No!" she shouted. She held on tighter. "I want her to stay!"
Harrison sighed. He looked at Celestine.
"Take care of her," he said.
Celestine grabbed Elodie. Elodie fought. She kicked and screamed.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
I struggled against Harrison. But he was too strong.
He dragged me out of the room and down the hallway.
"You shouldn't have come back," he said. "I gave you a chance to walk away. To start over."
"You took everything from me," I said. "My daughter. My life. My reputation."
"Because you were going to destroy everything," he said. "Everything I built."
We reached the top of the stairs.
"You're a monster," I said.
Harrison stopped. He looked at me. His eyes were cold.
"And you're nothing," he said.
May you like
He pushed me.
I fell backward down the stairs.
