Page 121 of The Moral Dilemma

She frowned, following his movements, confused about what he meant to do. As he reached for a box, she tensed, assuming a fighting stance as she prepared to seek cover if he were to shoot at her.

Yet it wasn’t a gun that he removed from the box. Nor was it a knife.

It was…

Her eyes widened in shock.

It was her baby.

He lifted it by one leg, letting his little body hang in the air as he waved it around for everyone in the room to see.

Instinctively, she took a step forward, tears pouring down her cheeks as she realized this was her first sighting of her baby—and likely the last.

God, but he was beautiful. So much so that she wanted to weep with joy at the sight of him. But she also realized the precariousness of the moment and the fact that she was at Sergio’s mercy.

Before she knew it, her knees buckled and she fell to the ground.

“Please,” she uttered the word with a subservience that belied everything she stood for. “Please give me back my baby,” she begged.

“Now where would be the fun in that?” Sergio lifted a brow.

Noelle’s eyes went from Sergio to her baby as she realized something was seriously wrong with Mali. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t making any sound. Shouldn’t newborns makesomesounds? Shouldn’t they cry, or whine?

“Please…”

“And what are you willing to do for it?” He smirked as he asked the question.

Noelle blinked. So this was his game. He was going to use her son to subjugate her.

Releasing a sigh, she lowered her gaze.

So be it.

“Anything,” she replied.

“Crawl to me,” he said, his eyes sparkling with malice.

Noelle took a deep breath, and on her hands and knees, she slowly crawled towards him. She didn’t say a word, afraid that he would do something to her baby if she didn’t comply with his commands.

When she reached his feet, she kept her gaze to the ground.

“So obedient,” he murmured derisively. “So this is what it takes to keep you in check.”

“Please,” she whispered. “You can do anything to me. Just don’t harm my child. He’s just a baby, Sergio,” she said, slowly looking up in an attempt to plead with him.

He sported the same amused expression on his face as he regarded her.

God… If she wasn’t so weak. Her baby was within reach. If only she had more strength, she could tackle Sergio and get her baby back. As it was, she worried she would do more harm than good, and her baby might get hurt in the process.

“I can do anything to you?” He raised a brow. “My, my,” he laughed. “How does it feel to be on the losing side, Noelle? You might have won some battles, butIwin this war,” he gloated.

She swallowed hard. Never in a million years would she have anticipated the fact that she would have a child, and that would put both of them at Sergio’s mercy.

“What do you want, Sergio?” she asked in a low voice, resigned to her fate.

Whatever he wanted her to do, she would—anything for her baby’s life. And knowing Sergio, Noelle was sure he would thoroughly humiliate her for everything she’d done to him.

“You know what you did to me,” he said, his eyes boring into hers. “What would you say would be a fitting punishment for it?”

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