Chapter 25 Sadie
Sadie
The chair wedged under my doorknob won't stop him.
I know this with bone-deep certainty as I pace my living room, checking my watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. My flight leaves in ten hours. Ten hours until I face the Oregon family court system that could take my daughter away.
The baby monitor crackles softly on the coffee table, Poppy's gentle breathing the only sound in my too-quiet apartment. I've triple-checked our bags, organized our documents, run through every possible scenario with my lawyer. There's nothing left to do but wait, and waiting is unbearable.
My fingers find the restraining order paperwork, edges soft from how many times I've handled it.
Will it be enough? The police report from Elliot's appearance sits beside it, along with the photograph he left.
Evidence of stalking that might help my case or might be dismissed as a "concerned father" trying to locate his child.
Three sharp knocks sound at my door. I freeze mid-step and stare at the door.
No one should be here. Rowan has a key. The café staff wouldn't come by this late.
"Sadie." Axel's voice is low, controlled. Not the playful tone I'm used to. "I know you're in there. We need to talk."
My cheeks flash warm with anger, relief, confusion all tangled together. I haven't spoken to him since that night in the parking lot.
"Go away," I call, hating how my voice shakes.
"I'm not leaving until you hear me out."
"I have nothing to say to you."
"Then just listen." There's something in his voice I've never heard before, an intensity that makes the hair on my arms stand up. "Please."
Against every instinct, I move to the door. I don't remove the chair, just stand close enough to hear him better.
"What do you want?"
"I hired a private investigator." The words land like stones.
"Elliot is more dangerous than you know. I'm going to Oregon with you tomorrow. We're taking my family's private jet. It's already arranged."
I actually laugh, a short, harsh sound. "Are you serious right now? You think you can just decide—"
"Open the door, Sadie."
"No."
"Please." His voice drops lower. "What I need to tell you shouldn't be said through a door."
Something about his tone makes me hesitate. This isn't the easygoing version who teases and flirts. This is someone else entirely. Someone deadly serious.
I remove the chair and unlock the door, opening it just enough to see him. He looks terrible, dark circles under his eyes, jaw tight with tension, none of his usual warmth.
"You have five minutes," I say, stepping back to let him in.
He enters my apartment, scanning the room with quick, assessing eyes before settling on me. "I'm sorry," he says immediately. "For keeping that photo from you. It was wrong, and I won't make excuses."
I cross my arms. "You said you had something to tell me."
"The PI found things about Elliot. Things that change everything." He sets a folder on my coffee table.
"He's been investigated twice for financial fraud. He's currently under SEC scrutiny for misappropriation of client funds. And he has another family in California, a wife and two kids."
My knees go weak. I sink onto the couch, staring at the closed folder. "What?"
"He's a con man, Sadie. A good one."
My head spins as I try to process this. "How—"
"That's not all." Axel sits beside me, careful to keep distance between us. "The PI found evidence that he's planning to take Poppy and disappear. He's already got fake passports."
Terror slams into me with physical force. "No."
"I won't let that happen." Axel's voice hardens. "That's why I'm going with you to Oregon. That's why we're taking my family's jet. I've already arranged security."
Anger flares, cutting through my shock. "You went behind my back. Again. Making decisions about my life without asking me."
"You don't have to forgive me," he says, eyes locked on mine. "But you need to listen to me."
"Why should I trust anything you say?"
"Because despite my mistakes, I have never lied to you." He leans forward, intensity rolling off him in waves. "And because you know, deep down, that you can't face this alone."
"I've been handling Elliot alone for two years," I snap.
"And look where that's gotten you. Running, hiding, living in constant fear." His words hit like a slap.
"I'm not trying to control you, Sadie. But I refuse to watch you walk into danger alone when I have resources that can help."
"I don't need your help."
"Poppy does." His voice gentles. "This isn't about you and me. It's about keeping her safe."
The mention of my daughter cuts through my anger. I glance at the baby monitor, at Poppy's peaceful breathing.
"What's in that folder?" I finally ask.
"Enough evidence to destroy him in court." Axel pushes it toward me. "Bank records. Evidence of identity fraud. Enough to put him away for years. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’re meeting my PI tomorrow with more evidence."
My fingers tremble as I open it, scanning the documents inside. Names I don't recognize. Bank statements showing massive transfers. Photos of Elliot with another woman, other children.
"Why?" I whisper. "Why is he doing this? If it's just money, he could have walked away when I got pregnant."
Axel hesitates. "The PI thinks it's about control. You're the only one who ever escaped him. The only one who figured out what he was doing before he could finish the con."
My stomach turns as pieces click into place. Elliot's rage when I questioned financial decisions. The way he isolated me from friends and family. How he tried to convince me I was unstable when I got pregnant.
"He doesn't want Poppy," I realize, cold certainty settling in my gut. "He wants to hurt me. To control me."
"Yes." Axel's single word confirmation lands like a physical weight.
I close the folder, mind racing. "If I show this to the court…"
"We need to be careful," Axel interrupts. "The PI thinks Elliot has connections in Oregon, possibly with the local police, definitely with someone in the court system. That's how he's been tracking you."
Fresh fear washes over me. "Then what do we do?"
"We take the private jet. We stay at a hotel no one knows about. We give this information directly to the judge, not through normal channels." He takes a breath. "And you let me help you, Sadie. Let me use my family's resources to protect you and Poppy."
I want to refuse on principle. Want to maintain the independence I've fought so hard for. But this isn't about me or my pride or even my anger at Axel. It's about Poppy.
"The private jet leaves when?" I ask, my voice steadier than I feel.
"Nine tomorrow morning. From a private airfield. No commercial terminal, no paper trail anyone can follow."
I nod slowly, still processing everything. "And after we land?"
"Security team meets us. Takes us directly to the hotel. Your lawyer comes to us, not the other way around."
"You've thought of everything."
"I've been planning nothing else for two days." His eyes hold mine, unflinching. "I'm not letting him hurt you or Poppy. Not while I can do something to stop it."
The intensity in his gaze makes my breath catch. This isn't the playful, easygoing Axel I've known. This is someone else, someone determined and powerful and slightly terrifying in his focus.
"Why are you doing this?" I ask softly. "After how I treated you—"
"You know why." His voice cuts me off, his eyes staring boldly into mine. I know what he’s saying… what he’s not saying.
I want to say it, to verbalize, but it catches on the end of my tongue.
I swallow hard, unable to meet his eyes. The weight of the folder in my hands, the evidence of Elliot's true nature, feels like both validation and shame. All this time, I thought I was the one who missed the signs, who failed to see what was happening until it was almost too late.
"Tell me who Elliot is to you," Axel says quietly, his voice gentle but firm. "Not the facts in that folder. Who he was to you, Sadie."
The baby monitor crackles softly in the silence between us. I set the folder down, buying time as I gather my courage.
"I met him when I was twenty-three," I finally say, staring at my hands. "He was thirty-five, successful, charming. Made me feel like the most important person in his world. Like I'd been chosen."
Axel doesn't interrupt, just watches me with those steady eyes.
"Everything happened so fast. We were married within six months. And then…" My voice falters.
"Then things changed. He started isolating me from friends, from Rowan. Said they were jealous, toxic. He monitored my phone, tracked my car. Controlled every penny I had, even my inheritance, as small as it was. My mom left Rowan and me each a little over twenty thousand. It wasn’t much but she worked most of her life for that. "
I take a shaky breath. "When I got pregnant, he told me to get rid of it. Said a baby would ruin everything. When I refused, the threats started. That's when I finally ran."
"I was so stupid," I whisper, shame rearing its ugly head. "I believed everything. Didn't see what was right in front of me."
Axel goes completely still, the kind of stillness that doesn't come from peace but from rage so controlled it has nowhere to go. His jaw tightens, a muscle jumping beneath his skin.
"Did he ever put his hands on you?" he asks, his voice eerily calm.
I shake my head. "No. He was smarter than that. No marks, no evidence."
"Does he have someone watching you here? Besides when he showed up himself?"
"I don't know," I admit. "I never felt watched until that photo appeared."
Axel nods once, processing. When he speaks again, his voice is low, firm, brooking no argument.
"You don't ever face him alone again," he says, leaning forward. "Not in court, not anywhere. I'm here, Sadie. I'm not leaving."