Page 8 of Silent Betrayal

The man sighs heavily. “Dom, you can’t marry a minor without her parents or guardian’s permission.”

“But she doesn’t have parents here!”

“Then you need to get her emancipated.” I hear a loud bang, like someone threw something against a wall.

“Chief! She can’t be emancipated while she’s unconscious!” Dom yells.

“But you can marry her while she is?”

“Ahh!” Dom groans in frustration.

Did Dom just say he’s going to marry me?

As more of my senses come online, I start to come to the conclusion that this isn’t death. I think I’m in a hospital. As the noises start to filter through my cloudy brain more clearly, I make out the distinct sounds of beeping machines and the sharp smell of antiseptic. I recognize it from the few times I was given something to help heal my injuries.

But if I’m not dead… That means they’ve saved me, just like they said they would.

The door opens again, proceeding a woman’s voice this time. “Good afternoon, I’m Julie Peters, and this is Roger White. We are from Child Protective Services, and I’ve been assigned to Mina Davies case. Can you tell me what all the yelling is about?”

CPA?No!They’ll take me away from my guys. I can’t let that happen, but as much as I try, I can’t open my eyes or make a noise.

“You don’t need to be here. She has a family, she has us,” Dom says firmly.

Dom!He won’t let them take me away. He always told me that they’d take care of me, I just wish I trusted them enough to tell them the truth before it got to this point.

“That’s not how the state sees it,” she replies.

“You can’t have her.” The hand holding mine squeezes as Max speaks.

“I assure you, I’m just here to speak for her best interest. What is your relation to her?”

“I’m her boyfriend.” I grip the hand as hard as I can, which isn’t much. Hearing Max call himself my boyfriend sends a shiver through me that makes me desperate to open my eyes and look at him. Does he really mean that? Or is he just saying what he thinks will keep them from taking me?

“I thoughtyouwere her boyfriend, or was it husband?” another man asks.

Husband?

I hear a small laugh. “I might have gotten a little ahead of myself, but I will be her husband one day, so it’s just semantics at this point.” I know that voice, too.Ben.What is he talking about?

“Look, not to be rude, but none of this matters. She’s a minor with no parents or guardian. It doesn’t matter who her boyfriend is. You can’t marry her without parental permission, and she can’t be emancipated until she’s awake and goes through the proper legal procedures to do so. She will be placed in the system for now until she’s fully emancipated or a parent or guardian steps forward,” the woman tells them in her no-nonsense voice.

“Then I’ll adopt her,” Dom states. If my eyes were open right now, they’d be the size of saucers.

The CPA agent stutters for a second before she speaks. “Y-you can’t just adopt her like that. She’ll have to get approved for the adoption process first, as will you. It could take months.”

“Then I’ll be her foster parent.”

She sighs. “It’s the same thing. It will take months to get you approved.”

“She’ll be eighteen before we can go through any of these channels!” Tucker’s southern voice chimes in.

“Well, then you may as well wait. She’ll only be in foster care for a few months. Then, when she turns eighteen, she can move in with whomever she wants. But only when she’s eighteen and not a moment before.”

“This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!” Max exclaims, sounding frustrated. I feel the same way, too. But I also feel socared for, knowing the guys were trying every angle they could think of to be able to get me to stay with them.

“Her ID isn’t even real. You can’t place her in foster care if you don’t know her real identity,” Ben tells them, sounding just as frustrated as the others.He knows my ID is fake?

“Well, we will look into that. It’s all part of our process,” she tells them. “Now, if you will kindly give us some space, we need to speak with the doctor.”

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