The labor was long and draining, but the moment I held my son, everything changed. His tiny fingers curled around mine, and I knew I’d do anything to protect him.
Weeks later, while I rocked him to sleep, my husband Juan said, “My mom’s visiting. She wants to spend a full day alone with the baby. She says he needs to learn to take a bottle.”
I paused. “He’s exclusively breastfed. He’s never been apart from me.”
“She says you’re being selfish,” Juan replied.
Later, his mother called, insisting, “Start bottle-feeding. He needs bonding time with family.”
“I’d love us to spend time together,” I said gently.
“Nonsense!” she snapped. “I raised five kids. Boys need their grandmother’s guidance.”
“I’m not a first-time mom. I have two daughters.”
“Well, boys are different,” she said.
Juan sided with her. “Maybe you’re too attached.”
Days of tension followed. Finally, Juan said, “If you won’t let her take him, maybe I married the wrong person.”
Feeling cornered, I agreed—one day, with conditions.
That night, I overheard Juan whispering, “She agreed. We’ll take him to Martindale. She’ll never find him.”
They were planning to steal my baby.
By morning, I had a lawyer.