Page 93 of Thorns of Silence

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I made a stop at the hotel and found my grandmother already waiting for me in the lobby in a silk robe, a grim look on her face.

Tough shit.

She had no right to do what she did. I saw that clearly now.

“What is this about, Phoenix?” she demanded, her hands on her hips.

I straightened my shoulders so I could appear taller and stronger. “I want two million dollars. And information on my baby.”

There. I dropped the bomb, and there was no retracting it. Not that I’d want to even if I could.

The look on her face told me she wanted to strangle me. Let her fucking try. I was no longer that scared girl. This time, I’d save myself. This time, I’d get answers or she’d see how vicious I could get.

“You know that’s confidential information,” she mouthed, not even bothering to sign ASL.

“And you know that I never signed off on the adoption. I was a legal adult, meaning you either falsified my signature or you used your connections to make an illegal adoption go through.”

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.Boom.

“You ungrateful little—”

I wrapped my fingers around her wrist and tightened my grip, shooting her an icy glare. “Careful, Grandma.”

Monsters came in different shapes and sizes. The one that loomed over me came in the form of a retired sixty-something Hollywood starlet. I’d never forgiven her for the way she treated Mamma, but when she took my baby from me, she became a full monster.

I tolerated her, but all along, I was waiting for my chance to pounce, my way to simply be strong enough.

Now that I watched her face, distorted with anger and disappointment, all the bitter memories came rushing back with a vengeance. The loneliness I experienced during pregnancy. The pain at having my baby taken away without being given the chance to cradle them in my arms.

Grandma was still a beautiful woman, but Christ she was shallow. Her decision five years ago destroyed me. Losing my hearing was a bump in the road. Dante’s betrayal broke my heart. But it was losing my baby that broke me and made me hate Grandma forever.

My legs trembled and every fiber in me quaked, but I ignored it. If I could fight Dante Leone, I was certainly capable of getting through this.

I dragged her to the sofa and sat her down before taking my spot on the chair opposite her.

“I want to know where my baby is,” I signed. “Then you’re going to hand over my inheritance.” Because I planned on living the rest of my days with my child. He or she would be turning five soon.

New Year’s Eve baby.It was where it all began and ended for me. On New Year’s Eve.

Grandma lifted her hands decorated with diamonds and started to sign. “You can’t get the money until your twenty-fifth birthday, and the baby, she’s no longer yours.”

My heart stilled for a long moment.

She.I had a little girl somewhere out there. Deep down, the part of me that had been dormant awakened and sang with hope. I could feel it rushing through my veins.

“You lied to me.” Grandma’s eyes widened, being caught. She told me she didn’t know the gender of my baby, when she clearly did.

“It was for your own good,” she claimed, quick to defend herself. “What would it matter if you knew if it was a boy or a girl? You’d only torture yourself more.”

Emotion gripped my throat and I found it hard to breathe, but I quickly got myself together. There’d be time for tears later. Right now, I needed to get on the road before Dante caught up to me. But first, I’d get what I came for.

“I’m dying a bit each day without my baby. She is mine,” I claimed. “I’m going to find her, and I’m going to fight for her. And you’re going to help me by telling me who has her.”

“Phoenix, you know I can’t do that.”

“But I can announce to the world what you’ve done.” I was impressed that my hands weren’t trembling. I was going for what belonged to me and nobody—fucking nobody—would stop me. I tapped my fingers against my chin pensively before I continued signing. “I wonder how much time you’d be sentenced to in prison for falsifying documents. I wonder if they consider that kidnapping. Maybe even human trafficking. What do you think?”