“I didn’t come to take her tonight,” she said. “I just… I need to talk.”
Megan’s voice cracked.
“Why are you doing this?”
Melissa took a deep breath and looked us both in the eye.
“I need money,” she said.
The room went dead silent.
“Look, I’m not ready to be a mom,” she went on. “But I know I have rights. I can get her back.
Unless…”
“Unless what?” I asked, my voice low.
Melissa looked up at me then, and her voice was flat.
“Unless you’re willing to pay me to walk away.”
Megan let out a sound I had never heard come from her before. It was something between a gasp and a scream. She backed away, her hand flying to her chest.
“You’re talking about our daughter,” she said, her voice trembling.
“Not a car or a thing?!”
Melissa shrugged — not cruel exactly, but completely detached. “I gave birth to her. I get to decide.”
I felt something shift within me.
Continue reading…
