As we were about to board our flight, my stepmother suddenly breached the airport security checkpoint and tried to ki:dnap my baby right out of my arms.

brought us into a secure interview room near Gate B24 while Patricia was taken somewhere else. I could still hear her faintly through the corridor walls, her voice rising and falling like a siren.

Lily had stopped crying, but she kept hiccupping against my chest. Every few seconds, her tiny fingers gripped my shirt as if she were afraid someone might continue reading …