Betrayed By Husband, Stolen By Brother In Law-Chapter 217: Lost Forever

As Saira walked out of the small airport with Adam’s gurney being wheeled towards the ambulance, she was happy.

She quickly moved to the side of the gurney, helping the paramedic lift it into the ambulance with practiced ease. As she made to climb in behind Adam, a hand came up, stopping her.

"Ma’am, you can’t ride with him," the paramedic said calmly blocking her path. Saira frowned," What do you mean I cannot ride with him? Why not?"

"We’ve got the drop-off address. He’ll be transferred to the address directly. You can meet him there. Please take a cab."

Saira frowned. Not liking it. And her brows drew together. "No, I should go with him. He doesn’t do well with strangers. And I need to keep an eye on him for his medication..."

"Ma’am, it is protocol. We’re under instructions to transport him alone."

Saira stiffened. "Whose instructions?"

The man didn’t show any expression at being questioned and answered directly, "Hospital administration. Standard intake. Security too. You can follow the ambulance. We are not a taxi service."

She opened her mouth to argue again but paused.

This wasn’t the time to raise suspicion and get attention to herself.. Her instinct screamed to push harder, to demand control and not let Adam leave her sight, but her logic warned her not to attract unnecessary attention. Not when everything was going so smoothly.

She forced herself to nod. "Fine. I’ll follow behind. But please to keep a slow pace..."

Without waiting another second, she turned on her heel and walked quickly toward the line of taxis near the curb. Thankfully, they were available in abundace and she was immediately able to flag one down and get in as the ambulance drove away.

The cabbie turned and raised an eyebrow. "Where to?"

She read the address from the slip of paper in her hand, her voice tight." Follow that ambulance to this address. And fast."

As the car pulled away from the curb, Saira leaned back into the seat, but there was no comfort in the cushions. Her mind raced. Her fingers dug into the seams of her coat. What if something was off? What if they knew? What if Adam was taken away from the ambulance.

She pressed her forehead against the cool windowpane, watching the city blur past. Her chest tightened with a pressure she hadn’t felt since she’d started planning this escape.

Withing a few minutes, she was full of anxiety and bombarded with insecure questiond form her mind, "What if she had miscalculated?" What if they had separated him from her on purpose?"

She pulled out her phone, and considered calling... someone. But who? There was no one.

She checked her watch. It had only been fifteen minutes, but it felt like hours. She tried to calm herself... No.. They were safe now.

Then, just as suddenly, the taxi turned down a quiet lane—narrow, tree-lined, the hum of the city fading into the background. Ahead stood the small single-story house with a white picket fence. A modest place. Safe-looking.

The ambulance was already parked out front.

Saira exhaled, unaware until then that she’d been holding her breath. Her heart began to settle, the steel-tight coil in her gut slowly unwinding. The sight of Adam’s gurney being rolled through the front door calmed the static in her mind.

She paid the driver quickly and got out. As her boots crunched against the gravel path, she blinked up at the house. It was almost too quiet.

Almost... perfect.

She let herself believe—for now—that maybe things really were going to be okay.

Saira stepped up to the door, placed her hand on the doorknob, took a breath, and pushed the door open.

And that’s when the world slipped from beneath her feet.

The first thing she saw wasn’t Adam on the gurney... or even the paramedics.

It was Melanie.

Standing dead center in the modest living room, dressed in black, her expression icy and triumphant. Her eyes locked on Saira with the kind of stillness that only came from premeditated satisfaction.

Around her were others—uniformed officers, plainclothes agents, and more guns than Saira could count in one breath. All pointed straight at her.

For a second, she simply stared, frozen, her mind unable to compute the shift from relief to danger. Her fingers twitched on the doorknob, as if willing herself to close the door and run, to make this moment un-happen.

But it was too late.

"Don’t move, Saira," Melanie said.

Saira took one small step backward.

And that’s when she heard it—the crunch of gravel behind her.

She turned just slightly. Officers flanked the yard, some stepping out from behind trees and hedges. A full perimeter. Tactical vests. Trained eyes. Guns raised.

She was surrounded.

The panic that had been simmering in the cab returned, this time flooding her chest like ice water. Her throat tightened as she looked back at Melanie.

"How did you... how did you get here?" Saira whispered, her voice barely audible over the roaring in her ears.

Melanie smiled,"You weren’t expecting us, were you? That was quite the performance you pulled off, Saira. First, you staged your own murder to satisfy Robert Collins letting him believe the job was done so he would not look for you. Then you went one step further and colluded with Spencer to have Adam murdered and me thrown behind bars for your and his murder. And all the while, you disappear into thin air—with Adam."

Saira shook her head, still unable to understand how this had happened. No no! Her plan had been perfect. She’d escaped so well. How could they have found her so soon?

No. No. This wasn’t possible.

Her plan had been flawless. She had covered her tracks, changed names, altered routes, buried every trail they could follow. She had slipped through their fingers like smoke.

And yet, here they were.

"How?" she breathed, more to herself now than to Melanie. Her mind reeled, searching for the crack, the missed step, the one moment where something must’ve gone wrong but she could find nothing... How then did this happen? How could she almost have Adam and then lose him forever?

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