Chapter 3 - The Road to Vermont
The five-hour drive to Vermont felt like five lifetimes.
Sitting in the back of the vehicle, Grant read through every single text message he had received over the past month. Every update from Elena's "doctors" had come from a cloned virtual phone number routed through a server registered in the Cayman Islands.
Vivienne hadn't just lied; she had constructed a digital cage around his wife.
At five forty-five in the morning, the SUV pulled through the wrought-iron gates of the St. Jude Wellness Institute. The sun was just beginning to bleed through the gray morning fog.
Grant didn't wait for Owen to open his door. He strode through the main glass entrance, ignoring the startled receptionist, and walked straight down the private residential hallway toward Room 114.
He pushed the door open.
The room was modest, warm, and quiet. Sitting by the window, wearing a soft gray sweater with her dark hair pulled back in a loose clip, was Elena. Beside her on the hardwood floor sat a large, packed suitcase.
She turned at the sound of the door. When her eyes met Grant’s, she froze.
For eleven days, she had sat by that window, staring at the driveway, waiting for the man who had promised to love her forever to come and tell her he wanted her home.
"Grant?" her voice trembled, so thin and fragile it tore through his heart.
Grant crossed the room in three long strides, dropping to his knees before her chair and pulling her violently into his arms. He buried his face in her neck, his body shaking with uncharacteristic emotion.
"I’m sorry," Grant breathed against her skin. "God, Elena, I’m so sorry."
Elena sat stiffly for a moment, her hands resting against his chest as if she couldn't quite believe he was real. "Vivienne... Vivienne sent me a letter eleven days ago," Elena whispered, tears welling in her soft brown eyes. "She said you were filing for sole custody of Leo. She said you blamed me for taking him out in the cold when he got sick... she said you told everyone I was unfit."
Grant pulled back, clutching Elena’s face between his hands. "Every word she told you was a lie. I never filed for custody. I never wanted a separation. I thought you were resting. I thought you didn't want to talk to me."
Elena looked into his eyes, searching for the truth she had known for seven years of marriage. She saw only agonizing remorse and fierce, protectiveness.
"She kept me here," Elena realized, her voice hardening with sudden clarity. "She told the staff here that any attempt I made to reach out to you would jeopardize my legal rights to see Leo."
"She tried to frame Tessa Monroe yesterday," Grant said, his tone turning to pure steel. "She tried to make it look like Tessa was kidnapping Leo. But Leo pointed out the security camera. Vivienne cut the feeds, Elena. She’s been erasing the security footage in our house for three weeks."
Elena’s hand flew to her mouth. "Leo... is my baby okay?"
"He’s safe," Grant assured her, kissing her forehead. "Tessa protected him. She hit Vivienne to keep her away from our son."
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Elena stood up, taking Grant’s hand and holding it with a strength he hadn't seen in her for months. The quiet, timid woman who had been broken by grief was gone. In her eyes burned the terrifying fury of a mother whose child had been threatened.
"Take me home, Grant," Elena said quietly. "It’s time to show Vivienne Cross what happens when you mess with the Mercer family."
