Chapter 3 - The Photograph That Changed Everything
Brooke held Lily a little tighter.
The aircraft had barely come to a stop, yet Brooke felt as though the ground had v@nished beneath her feet.
“Who is asking about me?”
Reid locked his phone, though not quickly enough.
Brooke caught one line.
Woman with infant identified. Full name: Brooke Ellery Madsen.
Her blood ran cold.
“How do they know my full name?”
Reid stayed silent for a moment.
That frightened her even more.
“Please don’t leave this airport by yourself,” he said.
“Don’t say ‘please’ like this is something normal.”
“It isn’t.”
As soon as the cabin door opened, passengers hurried to their feet.
Brooke remained seated.
Her phone vibrated.
Three missed calls.
Trevor.
Then a message.
Where are you?
Brooke swallowed hard.
Trevor rarely asked.
Trevor gave orders.
Trevor showed up whenever he wanted to regain control.
Reid noticed her expression.
“Your ex?”
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She nodded.
“Trevor. Lily’s father.”
“Has he thre:atened you?”
Brooke almost answered no.
But the word refused to come out.
Trevor never had to yell. He simply insisted she was overreacting, that no one would ever believe her, and that without him she could not even afford diapers.
“Not in the way most people imagine,” she finally replied.
Reid understood everything she had left unsaid.
When they walked off the plane, two men and one woman were waiting near the gate. They did not resemble movie bodyguards. They looked experienced, composed, and observant.
The woman stepped forward.
“Mr. Callahan, the photo is already spreading.”
Brooke’s stomach sank.
“What photo?”
The woman turned her phone around.
There they were.
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Brooke slept against Reid’s shoulder while Lily rested in her arms.
The headline read:
