Chapter 35: The Ugly and Cold Truth

“What? Why?” Gwen asked nervously, squeezing Cody’s hand involuntarily.
“Do you have the written authorization from the kid’s father to leave the country?” the attendant asked, and Gwen cursed herself. She never needed that before, so why were they asking for that now?
“He doesn’t have a father,” she whispered, trying not to be heard by Cody. She couldn’t say that in front of the kid, it didn’t matter if it was a lie.
The airline staff looked at her as if she was crazy and turned to type something again. People behind Gwen were starting to get impatient by the delay, causing exactly what Gwen didn’t want; to attract too much attention.
“Miss Miller, that’s not the information I have on my system. Could you please follow the security so you can clarify this?”
“What? No, I can’t miss this flight,” Gwen refused, noticing two security guards getting closer to her and Cody. She couldn’t make a scene in the middle of the airport. People could recognize her or Cody, since he was the acknowledged heir of a billion dollar company.
“Could you please follow us, miss?” one of the guards said in a low voice, which was something she appreciated, even though everyone was now looking at her as if she was some sort of kidnapper.
“Mommy, what happened?” Cody asked by her side as they followed the men to a distant room in a quiet area of the airport. She had never been to one of those before, but it seemed to be where they took people who violated the law.
The men stopped in front of a door and opened it for her to pass. And when she looked inside, she came across a scene she would never expect.
Finn and Stephanie were looking at her with confused and disappointed looks on their faces. Stephanie was about to cry and when she saw Gwen and Cody, a few tears came down her cheeks.
“Daddy!” Cody yelled, running towards Finn. The man took the kid in his arms and hugged him as though they had been apart for years.
Gwen swallowed with difficulty, feeling that her life was over now. She could go to jail for trying to escape the country with Cody. She hoped Finn wouldn’t have the courage to do that to her, but he had every law by his side on that case.
Finn whispered something in Cody’s ear and looked at Stephanie, who apparently knew what he meant. She took Cody from his arms and left the room with the kid, not even looking at Gwen when she passed by her.
Gwen followed them with her eyes until she closed the door. It was just her and Finn now. She was doomed.
“I don’t even know if I want to hear your excuse for doing this,” Finn started, his words carefully articulated as he tried to contain his anger.
“How did you know I was here?” Gwen was able to ask.
“Does it even matter? Is that what you’re concerned about?” he exploded, making Gwen cringe. “Were you really going to run away with my son without telling me? After last night especially?”
His disappointed voice shattered her heart even more, as if there was still a whole piece left.
“Finn, I didn’t have a choice,” she cried, taking a few steps forward trying to reach him, but he retreated.
“Stop saying you don’t have a choice! I’m tired of you saying that all the time, Gwen. You are the most independent woman I know, so how come you don’t have a choice?”
“Because I don’t, okay?” she screamed back, tired of holding it all in; she couldn’t stand it anymore. She was at the verge of freaking out. She didn’t know what to do, Finn was confronting her, all her fears were smashing her soul, and she was lost. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you-”
“Just tell me what it is, d*mn it!” Finn lashed out, coming forward. “Let me decide if I believe you or not. What made you want to run away? What made you leave me?”
Gwen was trying to control her sobbing, so she could speak, but it was getting harder as he continued to yell at her, frustrated.
She couldn’t blame him. She could tell he was scared as hell when she entered the room with Cody by her side. Finn’s shoulders bent down in relief when he saw them.
“I can’t…” she insisted, wiping the tears that wet her cheeks.
“Come on, Gwen. Let’s end this once and for all. I can’t stand it anymore,” Finn said again, running his fingers through his hair in desolation.
“Fine!” she burst, finally surrendering. “You want to know the truth? I’ll tell you the truth. I was threatened.”
Finn narrowed his eyes.
“Threatened?” he asked, sounding suspicious. “Why? How?”
“To leave you. I couldn’t stay with you, otherwise they would take my son away from me.”
“Who would do that, Gwen? And why? Don’t tell me it was Vivienne,” Finn asked, incredulous. "Because if that was the reason why you left me, I-”
“No! It wasn’t Vivienne,” Gwen interrupted him, trembling from head to toe. “It was your mother, okay? Your mother threatened me!”