Terrified, I soothed him. “It’s okay, baby. Daddy
and Grandpa will be here soon to rescue us.
They’ll beat up all the bad guys. Don’t be
afraid.”
He calmed down sniffling against my shoulder
<
1800
85
He calmed down, sniffling against my shoulder.
Shannon, enraged that my son was soothed by my voice, slapped me five more times.
She ordered the staff to join in, but Harkness stopped them.
“Enough. That’s it. We have more important things to do here. Lindsey, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave. I can’t help you if you don’t.”
I was frantic, desperate to get my son back. “Shannon, give me back my child! If anything happens to him, I’ll make you regret it!”
Shannon, fueled by rage, clutched him tighter. “I’ll make you regret it. I’m calling the cops right now. Lindsey, you’ll rot in jail for this!”
She dialed the police, reporting a kidnapping and demanding immediate assistance.
I wanted her to call the cops. I glanced at the
clock. My dad and Jesse would be here any
minute.
Shannon wasn’t finished. Holding my wailing son, she addressed the crowd. “I just rescued Jesse’s son! When he gets here, he’ll thank me. I’ll introduce him to anyone who teaches this
woman a lesson.”
The people, lower in status than Harkness, were enticed by Shannon’s words and lunged for me.
They tore at my clothes, clawed at my face and
hair, and kicked me.
I fought back, protecting vital areas, but I was
bruised and battered.
Shannon cheered them on. “Hit her harder! Kill
her!”
The commotion finally reached the event
<
Seeing me so badly beaten, he nearly collapsed,
shouting, “Stop! Stop! Do you know who she
is?!”
Behind him were my dad and Jesse, arriving at
last.
Shannon, in a frenzy of excitement, ignored
him. She pointed at me and said to my father,
“Mr. Valentine, this woman is impersonating
your daughter. I had people teach her a lesson!”
Then, she thrust my crying son towards Jesse.
“Mr. Lincoln, this woman tried to kidnap your
son. I saved him!”
She awaited Jesse’s praise. “It was nothing!”
Dad, seeing my bruised face and his grandson
bawling, went ballistic. He started swinging his
cane at anyone who’d laid a hand on me.
They all recognized the real estate mogul from TV. Nobody dared fight back. They just yelped
く
as he whacked them.
Shannon, still clueless, shrieked, “Mr. Valentine,
you’re hitting the wrong person! She’s
pretending to be your daughter! We were just
helping you teach her a lesson!”
Dad hauled me off the floor, roaring, “That’s
Lindsey, my daughter! I’ll make you all pay for
this!”
Jesse handed the baby to his assistant and
rushed to my side. His voice dripped ice as he
stared at Shannon. “You’re saying my wife
kidnapped my son?”
Shannon’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe
what she was hearing.
Harkness was equally stunned. How could I be
the daughter of the wealthiest family and
Jesse’s wife?
<
Everyone froze, cold sweat trickling down their
backs. They knew they’d really screwed up.
Jesse told Dad to take the baby and go home
before his blood pressure went through the
roof. He made a mental note of everyone
involved, already plotting a million ways to
make them suffer.
Shannon, her face pale, collapsed in a heap.
Harkness ignored her. He grabbed my arm.
“Lindsey, are you really a Valentine? Why did
you lie to me?”
“I didn’t intend to lie, I just wanted to live a
normal college life.”
