Then, before Elissa could react, he reached forward and pulled Locke from her arms.

“No…” Locke whimpered, panic rising in his voice. He clung to her with his uninjured hand. “I want Mommy! I want Mommy!”

But Ernest’s grip was stronger. Slowly, he pried the boy away.

“No!” Locke cried out, his wails growing louder. His tear-soaked eyes stayed locked on Elissa. “Mommy, please come with us! Let’s go home together!”

“Locke, Mommy has to…” Elissa’s lips quivered, her voice caught in her throat. She couldn’t speak—she couldn’t give Locke the answer he longed for.

“Mommy, let’s go home together!” Locke pleaded, his large, tearful eyes locked onto hers. His tiny, uninjured arm stretched out with all its might, desperate to reach her.

Eric turned away, unable to bear the heart-wrenching sight unfolding before him.

“Locke!” At last, Ernest’s voice rang out, stern and resolute. He clutched Locke tightly, carefully guarding his injured arm. “Be good. Come home with me. Mommy… she isn’t coming with us.”

The words hit Locke like a thunderclap—sharp, cruel, devastating. His small frame trembled in Ernest’s embrace.

To him, this was not just rejection—it was the end of everything he knew.

“Why?” Locke’s voice cracked, his eyes flooding with tears as he looked up at Ernest. “Is it because of you, Daddy? Did you make Mommy mad?”

“Elissa!” Until now silent, Savannah suddenly stepped forward and gripped her daughter’s hand, urgency blazing in her eyes. “We need to go. Right now.”

“Mom…” Elissa tried to speak, but her legs felt as if they were rooted to the floor, too heavy to move.

“Listen to me!” Savannah insisted, her tone sharp with desperation. “Locke is alright now—but if you don’t leave, you won’t get another chance!”

The flight was already scheduled. Their tickets were booked. Departure was the day after tomorrow.

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Elissa barely managed a nod. Her voice was hoarse. “Alright.”

“Let’s go.” Without hesitation, Savannah wrapped her arm around Elissa’s and started to lead her away.

But they had barely taken a few steps when Locke’s anguished scream pierced the air. “Mommy! Mommy!”

With every ounce of strength in his small body, Locke thrashed in Ernest’s arms, completely disregarding his injury. “Let me go! I want Mommy!”

“Locke!” Ernest called out urgently. “Stop struggling!”

He too couldn’t bear to watch Elissa walk away, but he couldn’t hold Locke too tightly either. The boy’s arm was freshly cast, and one wrong move could injure it again.

In a split second of distraction, Locke managed to wriggle free, nearly collapsing to the ground.

“Locke!” Alarmed, Ernest quickly set him down to prevent another fall.

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