Chapter Six: Taking My Life Away
A/N: I just realized that I made a mistake in this story. In chapter 2, I said that Whitney got her son back from Chad, but then in the next chapter, I said that Chad left Harmony with the baby. I'll just make it be that Chad left Harmony after Whitney took the baby from him. It doesn't really matter much because this story isn't about them at all.
"Theresa, I need your help," Miguel said to his sister the next day. "Will you help me?" he asked.
"Depends on what it is," she told him. Jane was taking a nap and little Ethan was coloring at the kitchen table. Theresa motioned for Miguel to sit down on the couch next to her.
When Ethan and Theresa finally got married, they bought a big house of their own to fill with children. When Gwen was convicted, she knew that Ethan would end up with Theresa, so she confessed to Ethan that she and her mother were the ones that used Theresa's computer to tell the tabloids he wasn't a Crane. Ethan was devastated and signed divorce papers that same day.
"I need you to help me take Maria away from Kay and Jack," he blurted out. Theresa shook her head.
"Absolutely not," she told him. "I am not going to help take a child away from her mother."
"Why not Theresa? I'm her father and I deserve to be in her life just as much as Kay does," Miguel argued.
"I might agree with you if you hadn't abandoned Maria when she was just a little baby. She needed you but you turned your back on her. Your daughter should be the most important person in your life, but instead you chose a woman over her. I hated it when you did that Miguel," she explained.
"But, you're my sister. Won't you help me at all?" he pleaded.
"I said no and I mean it. Even if I thought you should be in Maria's life, Kay is Ethan's half-sister. I wouldn't do anything to hurt him or a member of his family. I know how much it hurt when Gwen declared me an unfit mother and got my son taken away from me," she paused and turned to look at little Ethan, who waved at her. She waved back and continued. "So I'm sorry, but I won't help you."
"That's it! You're a genius Theresa!" Miguel said and stood up.
"What are you talking about?" she asked suspiciously.
"I'll just say that Kay is an unfit mother and Maria would be better off living with me. Thanks for your help," he said excitedly and made his way to the door.
"Miguel! I never said…" Theresa started to say, but he ignored her.
"I'll talk to you later sis," he said as he shut the door behind him.
"That'll never work! She's a wonderful mother!" Theresa yelled after her brother, but he pretended that he didn't hear her, got into his car, and sped off.
A few hours later, Kay was sitting in the kitchen, making dinner for herself, Jack, and Maria. A knock on the door pulled her away from her cooking. She wiped off her hands and answered the door.
"I have some papers for Kay Bennet," a man said.
"That's me," Kay told him. The man handed her an envelope and had her sign his paper. She thanked him and closed the door. Then she walked back to the kitchen, ripping open the envelope. After quickly scanning the letter, Kay gasped, and tears came to her eyes. "I don't believe it," she said quietly.
"What is it honey?" Jack asked her, worried.
"Miguel is suing me for custody of Maria!" she exclaimed.
"WHAT?" Jack yelled. Kay handed him the papers and slowly sat down, burying her head in her hands. "He can't do this!" he said angrily.
"Well, it looks like he can," Kay told her husband sadly. "And he is."
"Don't worry baby. I know that he won't be able to prove you're an unfit mother! You're a great mother, and Maria doesn't even know him," Jack assured her. Although Maria didn't know exactly what was going on, she could tell that her parents were in pain. She began to cry and Kay picked her up.
"What's wrong honey?" she asked her daughter.
"Mommy and Daddy sad," Maria said, touching her mother's tears on her cheek.
"It's okay Maria, it's all going to be okay," Jack told her.
"If Miguel takes her away from me, it'll be like he's taking my life away," Kay whispered in Jack's ear, unable to stop crying.