Page 40 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

“You mentioned that you are protecting your son from the father. Things didn’t end well between you two, I guess,” Detective Emily said.

“No.”

“Did he threaten to do anything after he found out?” Detective Dean asked.

“No.”

“You said he looked very furious and it terrified you,” Detective Emily said, leaning closer with a scrutinizing look in her dark eyes.

“Yeah, but—”

“Okay, that will be all for now,” Detective Emily cut in, not allowing me to finish my sentence.

“Ms. Simpson, I’m sorry, but we have to arrest you for holding an individual hostage.”

“I understand, but can’t you do that after we find my baby? Please.”

“Given the circumstances and your paranoia, you will be arrested with bail, but you have to spend forty-eight hours in jail before they can bail you out. If you have any relatives or friends you wanna call to bail you out, let me know,” Detective Dean told me.

“Okay, please find my baby,” I said more to Detective Emily.

“We promise we’ll find your son. If you need a restraining order on your ex, we can—”

“No, I don’t need that,” I said, standing up.

Did they see Tristan as a suspect? Tristan would never. He did horrible things, but this was not him.

I gave Detective James both my wrists to handcuff. I bet he was dying to. I did some paperwork and took my mug shot before I was escorted out of the room. I was taken to a cell downstairs.

“We’ll find him,” Detective Dean said to me before walking away.

Tears brimmed at the edges of my eyes as I thought of Kayden. Was he still alive? Was his captor being nice to him? Was he starving? Cold? Thirsty?

I took a seat on the cold floor and cried. This was all my fault. I didn’t know how Tristan was gonna react when he got the news.

I spent my time in the cell in tears. I refused to eat anything and asked every officer who came about updates on my baby.

The next day, I was allowed to make a call. I called Adrian and explained everything to him, and he promised to come and bail me out.

I spent twelve more hours before an officer came to get me, telling me someone had bailed me out. I walked down the hallway with swollen eyes and a headache.

“Chloe?”

I stiffened at the sound of the voice. I looked up at Tristan. He stood up from the bench in the waiting area and walked toward me. Two long strides, and he was in front of me, eyes hooded with worry and lack of sleep.

I broke into tears, feeling worse than a few seconds ago. What if Kayden never got to know his father? It would all be my fault.

“Hey,” he whispered, hands tucked into the front pockets of his suit pants.

I moved closer and wrapped my arms around him. He stiffened at first, taken aback by my action, but slowly, he raised his arms and hugged me back. I sank into his warmth, my fingers fisting his suit jacket as I cried. We were in the middle of the hallway in the police station, and I could feel people’s eyes on us.

“Someone took him,” I sobbed, burying my face in his chest. I couldn’t bring myself to see the look on his face or imagine what was going through his head.

“Adrian told me everything. We’ll find him, I promise. An Amber Alert was sent out yesterday, and I have people looking,” he told me when I pulled away.

I nodded. It was the perfect opportunity for him to tell me what a bad mother I was. How Kayden needed him and not me. How I had messed up and gotten Kayden involved in my shit.

“I have no idea how it happened.” I sniffled. “I just wish I … this … this is all my fault.” I broke into heavy sobs.

---