Chapter 17 - The Iron DoorI stepped between my mother and the doors to the ward.
"You are not coming in," I said. "You are not seeing him. You are not seeing Rebecca."
Her smile vanished. "Nathan, don't do this. He is my blood. I have rights."
"You have no rights here," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "You lost your rights when you abused my wife and threatened the life of the child you're holding that balloon for. You don't care about Samuel. You care about control."
"I am your mother!" she shrieked, drawing the attention of passing doctors.
"And I am his father," I replied. "And my job is to protect him from people like you."
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I turned to the security nurse. "This woman has a cease and desist order against her for harassment. Please have her removed from the property."
Patricia stared at me, the reality finally sinking in. The umbilical cord she had kept wrapped around my neck for thirty-six years was finally severed. Security arrived a moment later and escorted her toward the elevators. She didn't look back. And for the first time, I didn't feel an ounce of guilt.
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