Chapter 45

Liam strolled into the kitchen where his mother was cleaning the counters. He paused for a minute, watching as she wiped the granite with a wet paper towel. "Mommy, will you play superheroes with me?"

Rachel turned her head at the sound of her son's voice. She frowned as she threw the paper towel in the garbage. "I can't, buddy. That woman is coming to talk to me in a few minutes."

"Okay." Liam said, disappointment evident in his voice.

"How about I take you and Lily to the park after she leaves? It's nice out today."

"Okay!" Liam's eyes brightened with excitement as he nodded his head.

Rachel smiled. "Why don't you go play by yourself for now? She should be here soon and as soon as she leaves we'll go."

Liam nodded again before he skipped out of the room and into his room.

The doorbell rang several minutes later. Rachel peeked through the peephole before opening the door. She smiled at the woman, moving to the side to let her in. "Hello, how are you?"

"Good, you?" Christina smiled as she stepped inside the apartment.

"I'd be better if I didn't have to do this trial." Rachel said as she closed the door.

"I know." Christina smiled sympathetically.

"Well come sit. Make yourself comfortable." Rachel said as she led them to the kitchen table. "Can I get you anything? Something to drink or eat? Coffee? Tea?"

"I'm good thanks."

"How's your trip to New York?" Rachel asked as she sat across from Christina.

"Good. There's so much to do here." She smiled as she pulled out a file from her bag. "So CPS made a visit last week?"

"Yes, but I think it was in our favor. The woman said she was confused as to why she was sent here. She said she didn't find anything."

"I told you we have nothing to worry about. They're going to attack you and nitpick at everything you do, but they really have no case. The only reason why the judge agreed to the trial was because she probably given your history they can make the argument that your trauma and situation make you an unfit mother, but we know that's not the case and we can easily prove that."

Rachel nodded. "The one thing I don't doubt is that I'm a good mother. I know I make parenting mistakes- everyone does- but I put those kids before anything else and I would go to the end of the world to keep them happy, safe, and healthy."

"You have nothing to worry about." Christina smiled. "And I want to discuss something that will win the case, hands down. I want to use Liam as a witness."

Rachel paused for a moment. "I don't know…"

"It won't cause him any harm or stress. I don't even want to prep him for it. I want to ask him questions he's never heard before. And during I can assure you that he will not be badgered during cross-examination. The judge and jury have no tolerance for hostility towards a child."

"Can I discuss this with Finn first?"

"Of course."

The two discussed more information about the trial: the prosecution's witness list, their witness list, certain topics that will be discussed. Christina told her she would be in touch with her and that they would meet again when Rachel returned to Ohio the week of the trial, which was in five weeks. Rachel thanked her as she let her out and told her to enjoy the rest of her trip.

Rachel made her way into the nursery where Lily stood in her crib. Her eyes widened and an excited squeal escaped her lips as she saw Rachel. "Mama!"

"Hello, pretty girl! Did you have a nice nap?" Rachel's voice raised an octave as she lifted the little girl out of the crib. She placed a gently kiss on her head and tickled her stomach. She brought her across the room and slid her onto the changing table. "We're going to change you and get Liam and then we're going to go to the park!"

Lily giggled. "Ala!"

"Is that funny?" Rachel laughed as she slipped her pants and dirty diaper off and quickly put on a clean one. She lifted Lily in the air before placing her on the ground. She threw the dirty diaper in the diaper disposal and started for the bathroom. Lily's tiny feet pattered behind her as she followed her mother to the bathroom. Rachel quickly washed her hands before scooping Lily up and resting her on her hip. "Let's go get Liam."

Liam sat on the floor of his room, playing with his superhero action figures. He turned his head at the sound of footsteps. "We going to the park?"

"Yes we are. Let's get our shoes and coats on." Rachel said. She led the way into the family room and opened the coat closet, pulling out two little coats and pairs of shoes. She handed Liam his shoes and coat and sat Lily on the couch to put on her shoes and coat. She pulled out the double stroller, slipping Lily in the front and buckling her. Liam hopped on the seat on the back while Rachel slid on her boots and coat. She grabbed the diaper bag, checking to make sure she had everything she needed. "Okay, let's go."

The sun shone brightly over the playground. The air was chilly, but the spring weather was finally starting to emerge. Rachel sat on the bench of the park with Lily in the stroller beside her as she watched Liam play on the playground with the other kids. She smiled when she saw Liam talking animatedly to another little girl.

Her head whipped to the left as the sound of cries assaulted her ears. A little girl, no older than three, fell to the floor. Her dark curls fell in front of her eyes, but a small cut could be seen on her cheek. Rachel glanced around, waiting for a parent to rush to the little girl's aid, but no one moved. Rachel kneeled before her, gently helping her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

The little girl shook her head, pushing her hair out of her face to reveal big blue eyes welled with tears.

"It's okay. It's just a little cut. Are you here with your mommy or daddy?" Rachel asked softly.

"Mommy." She mumbled.

Suddenly a woman rushed over, scooping the girl into her arms. "Lizzie, what happened?"

"She tripped and fell. I just came to see if she was alright." Rachel told the woman as she stood.

"Thank you." She smiled before taking off.

Rachel turned back towards the bench, pausing when she saw the stroller missing. She thought she went to the wrong bench, but she found her diaper bag resting on the bench. Her heart began to race inside her chest as though it were training for a marathon. Her eyes scanned the playground for Liam, but she couldn't find him. She clutched her chest as she felt it constrict. "Liam? Liam? Liam!"

Rachel felt the world spin around her. Her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees on the pavement. It was becoming too hard to breathe. Why did she help that little girl? How could she take her eyes off her own children for a minute?

"Mam, are you okay?" A woman asked with concern as she approached Rachel.

Rachel shook her head frantically, a sob escaping her lips. "My kids…my kids are missing."

The woman's hazel eyes grew wide. "Why don't I help you to the bench and we can try looking for them."

"Someone took them! Someone took them!" Rachel cried. She couldn't help but think Jesse escaped from jail and that thought terrified her.

Fear shone through the woman's eyes and she quickly glanced back to make sure her daughter was still on the playground. "Okay, why don't we go call the police."

Rachel pulled her phone out of her pocket as she felt his vibrate. A text message from an unknown number appeared on her screen. She swallowed the lump in her throat, feeling more anxiety pump through her veins. Trembling fingers typed in her password and opened the message.

If you want your kids, come to this address. Don't tell or bring anyone or you won't get them alive.

Thanks for reading! I'm sorry for the long delay. As I told my Instagram followers the other day, I started college recently so I was getting into the swing of things and writing kind of got pushed back. Unfortunately this story will be ending soon. There's probably only going to be about six or seven more chapters, unless you want to see something in this story, than maybe I'll extend it to try to incorporate your ideas. That beings said, if any of you have any prompts for me for stories, I would love to hear them. I'm always open to new ideas. If you're sad about this story ending, like I am- I've been writing it for over two years- I do have other stories that I will hopefully be posting soon. Thanks again!

Review!