When I got home, I found that my kid and the babysitter were both gone. It was meant to be a routine night of babysitting. When I learned what had happened, who was behind it, and why it was so shocking, I went from being scared to being angry.
I’ve lost money, grieved, and been betrayed in my forty years, but nothing could have prepared me for the chaos that happened last Friday. It was just a routine day at work, but it turned into a nightmare that still makes my hands shake when I think about it.
I need to tell you certain things about what happened so you can understand.
My ex-husband Derek and I got divorced two years ago. It was a pretty disorganized procedure. Lorraine, his mother, loathed me from the start. At first, she hid it well, but as the marriage went apart, her loathing grew into something more personal and unending.
Her anger evolved into an obsession when they split up. She said I was to fault for all of Derek’s problems, as if I had been working against him from the start. Thank God I didn’t have to deal with her much anymore, except when we had to talk about our daughter Harper.
The most important thing in my life is Harper, who is six years old and very brilliant. I adore it when she laughs, asks me questions, and curls up in my lap when she’s sleepy.
Earlier that week, Harper caught a little cold. There was nothing wrong, just a runny nose and some weariness. But her kindergarten had a strict “no sick child” policy, and I was running out of vacation days at work. I didn’t even think about calling Derek or Lorraine for help because I didn’t trust them to handle emergencies.
I contacted Jessica, who usually watches the kids for us.
Jessica was a good and caring college student who was twenty years old and knew how to make Harper feel comfortable and happy. She had been working with us for months and had never given me a reason to be afraid.
I went to work on Friday morning, just as I do every day. Harper was on the couch with a blanket and a stack of coloring pages. Jessica was sitting next to her and reading one of Harper’s favorite books out loud. It all felt quite normal.
That illusion broke down as soon as I got home.
It was a bit after six o’clock. I drove up to the house with a bag of chicken noodle soup from Harper’s favorite deli. I could see us cuddling up in front of the TV right away.
But as I opened the door, the silence was so loud it hurt.
No TV. Harper didn’t laugh. Jessica isn’t humming in the kitchen.
Just sitting still.
“Harper?” I shouted. “Jessica?”
No answer.
I quickly looked throughout the house, checking the living room, kitchen, and Harper’s room. Not a thing.
At that point, I started to freak out.
Jessica contacted me all the time to let me know if she was taking Harper anywhere, even if it was just for a short walk. But there hadn’t been any messages all day.
I called her on my phone. The phone rang and rang until it went to voicemail. I tried again, and this time it went straight to voicemail.
My hands started to shake.
Then I saw something that made my stomach turn: Harper’s pink bag was gone. The one with the patch of a sparkly unicorn that she always wore.
That was when I remembered.
The AirTag.
I put one in her backpack months ago as a “just in case” measure. At the time, I thought it could be a little too protective. But now I was glad I was paranoid right away.
I started the tracking software with nervous hands.
There it was.
It made my head spin.
The airport.
I couldn’t think about it for a second. Did Harper’s backpack make it to the airport?
I didn’t think. I just grabbed my keys and ran.
There were a lot of horns, red lights, and prayers that weren’t quite finished. I changed the AirTag’s location every few seconds. Still at the airport. Still there.
I parked my car outside the terminal without thinking about it, and I almost forgot to put it in park before I hurried inside. I looked over the swarm of travelers, looking for something.
Then I saw it.
The pink backpack.
And next to it was Jessica.
But she wasn’t alone.
Derek was there. And Lorraine.
I was so angry that it practically knocked the air out of my lungs. I hurried toward them, and my voice stood out in the noise of the terminal.
“What the hell is going on?”
Jessica was astonished and spun around. Derek’s face barely moved. But Lorraine smiled at me in a way that made me want to wipe it off her face.
“Oh, Rachel,” she said in that beautiful voice she uses when she wants to sound smart. “Don’t make a fuss here.”
I didn’t pay any attention to her; I was looking at Harper. As soon as she saw me, her little face lit up.
“Mom!” She ran to me and cried.
I grabbed her up and held her so tightly that she squealed. “What’s going on, sweetheart?” I spoke it quietly.
She said in a hushed voice, “They said we were going to the beach.”
I paused. “At the beach? “Who told you that?”
She pointed directly at Lorraine.
My voice shook with wrath as I turned to face them. “Did you take her out of state without telling me?”
Lorraine rolled her eyes. “Rachel, don’t be so dramatic.”
Derek moved forward and spoke in a chilly voice. “She needs to sleep and get better.” We’re planning to keep her for a few weeks. “You’ve been working too hard.”
I screamed, “She has a cold.” “You’re taking someone against their will,” you say.
Lorraine waved her hand in a way that meant “no.” “The air from the ocean will help her.” We previously booked a room at the resort, which is great for her.
The words hit me hard. This wasn’t a choice made at the last minute. They had made arrangements for it. Put stuff in her bag. Got tickets. He definitely deceived Jessica into bringing her here.
Jessica’s face became sour. “Wait, what? You said Rachel knew. You said she would be here with us!
I swiftly turned to her. “You were lied to.” You helped them take my daughter to the airport even though I didn’t want them to.
Jessica’s face went pale. “Oh my God. I had no idea… I promise, I thought…
I didn’t let her finish. Derek and Lorraine were my main focus. “Did you really think you could just take her?” Like you can borrow her?
Derek shrugged. “We thought it would be best for her to stay with us for a while.”
At this point, a few airport security guards had observed what was going on and were coming over.
I said, “This is kidnapping,” in a clear, loud voice.
Lorraine’s smile, which had been so secure, faded. “Rachel, honey, you’re overreacting.” This was a bad idea.
I laughed because I was mad. “Not calling is a misunderstanding. You lied, misled me, and sought to remove my child out of the state without my permission. It’s not an error; it’s a crime.
The police came in and separated us a little bit while they talked to us. Harper was in my arms, and her little fingers gripped my sweater tightly.
I stated again, “You lied to her babysitter and tried to take her out of the state without my knowing.”
Derek sighed. “We didn’t want her to get angry. That’s all.
The officers asked us for our IDs, and all of a sudden, Derek appeared to grasp how serious what they had done was. People were watching. People were talking about them behind their backs. They couldn’t go without making noise now.
One more time, Lorraine tried, but her voice got quieter. “We just wanted what was best for Harper.”
I stared her in the face. “If you ever do this again, I will make sure you never see her again.” That’s a promise.
Please be quiet.
Lorraine’s lips were pressed together. She knew she had lost. Derek said something to himself and handed Harper back her small rolling bag as if he were giving back an umbrella he had borrowed.
I didn’t say anything more. I turned around and walked away, leaving Harper still clutching on to me and letting them stew in their failed plot.
Jessica ran after me, stumbling over her words of remorse. “Rachel, I swear I didn’t know.” They say you said yes to everything. “I thought I was helping…”
I stopped immediately outside the terminal doors to take a break. “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
She took her phone out of her bag and showed me the calls she had missed. “It was buried.” I didn’t hear it until we got here. At that moment, they made it sound like you had to rush since you were late. I really messed things up. “I’m really sorry.”
I believed her. She was not cruel, but she was naive. It’s still hard to trust someone again once they’ve broken it.
I said, “I’ll be in touch in a few days,” and I sounded sleepy. “I need to pay attention to Harper right now.”
She nodded and waved goodbye to Harper, looking sorrowful. My daughter waved back, but just a little.
As I buckled Harper into her car seat, I could tell she was confused. She didn’t really understand what had just happened, and I wasn’t sure how much to tell her yet.
One thing I did know was that this wasn’t over.
Derek and Lorraine had shown me how far they would go. They assumed they could take my child away from me whenever they pleased and ignore my authority.
They didn’t know who they were dealing with.
