When Britney wakes up in the middle of the night to find her baby boy, Nathan, missing from his crib, she immediately panics. With only Nathan’s onesie left in his crib, Britney fears her worst nightmare has come true.
Britney never expected her life to be so disrupted. She thought she was going to have a second child with her ex-husband, Karl. But things didn’t work out for the young couple, and months of constant arguing eventually led to a brutal divorce.
Britney was an independent businesswoman and didn’t rely on anyone, not even Karl, for financial support.
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“Just because you pay the bills doesn’t mean you can stop me from seeing my son,” Karl told her during the custody proceedings.
People started asking Britney awkward questions after the divorce, but she didn’t give in. In her eyes, Britney could shoulder the burden of raising Nathan alone, and she was determined to prove everyone wrong. The truth she didn’t want to admit was that she was actually trying to prove something to herself.
He’s my son, and he’ll know he only needs his mother, Britney thought.
“There’s something you’re not telling me.”
The custody agreement stipulated that Britney had to hire a full-time assistant to run the business during her maternity leave. Britney was increasingly anxious about being alone in the house with Nathan, as if anything were to happen, she would be virtually defenseless. Not to mention her strange sleeping habits.
“This is absolutely insane, Britney. You sleep like a corpse. Not a sound. When you were little, we sometimes worried if you were unconscious when you wouldn’t even flinch in your nap at the loudest noises, but you were just asleep,” said Britney’s mother, Daisy.
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Britney decided to invest in a high-quality baby monitor so that if Nathan started crying, it would alert her immediately. Her worries continued to grow, as did her insomnia and even more unpredictable sleeping patterns.
She would fall asleep late at night and wake up a few hours later, worried that something might happen to her son. But when she went to check on him, he slept peacefully, with no cause for concern. One day, when she saw her friend Natasha for lunch, she had visible bags under her eyes.
“I know what you’re going to say, but don’t worry about me. I’m fine. Everything’s fine,” Britney said.
“Yes, of course. I’m going to say it anyway. I’m worried about you, Britney. You’re not sleeping, it shows. I just think it all happened fast, and you should call him,” Natasha said.
“Why does everyone say that? Karl this, Karl that. Like Karl is a knight in shining armor! I’m Nathan’s mom and I’m perfectly capable of taking care of him myself,” Britney replied.
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Natasha sighed, not wanting to upset her friend.
“All right, whatever helps you sleep at night. But there’s something you’re not telling me. I’m not going to push it any further. I just want you to know that I’m here for you,” Natasha said.
A few days later, Britney woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a child’s laughter. Struggling to get out of bed, she walked over to Nathan’s crib, and in the darkness, she could clearly see that he was asleep.
“You can continue to pretend you don’t remember what this is really about.”
She told herself it was just a dream before falling back asleep. She was careful not to turn on the light so as not to wake Nathan. Britney tried not to let herself get paranoid, but she couldn’t help but think something was going on in her house.
Some items in Nathan’s room were out of place. Toys were in places she hadn’t left them when she put him to bed. Britney worried she’d look crazy if she told anyone, especially since she was exhausted from trying to take care of him alone.
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It didn’t help that she had to slowly return to work, at least part-time, so as not to lose loyal customers.
The next night, Britney heard noises coming from Nathan’s room again. This time, she couldn’t tell if it was laughing or crying, so she had to make sure. Half asleep, Britney headed back to Nathan’s room. On the way, she stopped hearing the noises. I’ll turn on the light to make sure, she thought.
She tried to quickly turn the light on and off so as not to wake Nathan. The first time she turned on the light, she saw something in the crib, but she wasn’t sure.
Britney quickly turned the light back on and her eyes widened. Instead of seeing Nathan sleeping in the crib, she only saw his onesie.
Nathan wasn’t in his room. He couldn’t walk or even stand properly yet, so he couldn’t have gone anywhere on his own. Britney’s heart sank, and she stood frozen in place, her hand still on the light switch. Her incomprehension quickly turned into terrifying anxiety as she searched Nathan’s room, looking for any sign of him.
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She went from lucid to alert when she reached for her phone on her nightstand. She ran back into Nathan’s room, her eyes darting from corner to corner as she dialed 911.
“Hello, you’ve reached the police. What can I do for you?” the police operator asked.
“Yes… Uh… He’s my son. I can’t… I can’t,” Britney said quickly before trailing off. She had just noticed something in the crib out of the corner of her eye.
“I warned you what was going to happen, Britney, but you didn’t listen to me.”
“Yes, ma’am, what’s going on with your son? Is he okay? How can we help you?” the operator asked.
Britney slowly leaned over the crib and grabbed a shirt button.
“I’m so sorry, it’s nothing. I’m sorry I called,” Britney replied before hanging up the phone.
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She recognized the shirt button. It bore a personalized inscription from a local tailor. The same tailor from whom Britney had bought Karl a shirt for his birthday a few years earlier. What started as confusion quickly turned to rage when Britney called Karl. He didn’t pick up the first call, and Britney left an angry voicemail.
“Karl! You’d better answer that call. I know you have Nathan! I already told you. You mustn’t see him. Bring him back right away!” she shouted.
She started sending him angry text messages because she didn’t know where Karl lived at the time.
“WHERE ARE YOU?”
“IT’S NOT FUNNY, KARL!”
“SERIOUSLY, PICK UP THE PHONE OR CALL ME BACK.”
“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS? I ALMOST FILED A MISSING CHILD REPORT!”
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After many unsuccessful attempts, Karl finally picked up the phone. Immediately, Karl began to apologize.
“Listen, Britney. Listen. I’m sorry, Britney. I’m sorry, Britney. I just wanted to see Nathan. I have every right. The courts didn’t give you full custody, remember? And now you’ve cut me out of my son’s life, and for what? For your ego?” Karl said.
“Fuck you, Karl. What do you mean, my ego?” Britney retorted.
“Oh, sure. You can keep pretending you don’t remember what this is really about. Nathan and I are a block away. It’s time we talked about this. Because now it’s gone too far,” Karl replied.
Britney waited on the lawn and saw Karl pushing Nathan in his stroller and heading toward the house. Britney put Nathan to bed and went back outside to talk to Karl, who was pacing up and down the driveway.
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“You seem to have a lot to say, Karl. Why don’t you get it off your chest?” Britney said, taking a deep breath.
“Fine. You can keep treating me like I’m some kind of villain, but we both know what this is really about. I’ve always supported your dreams. I quit my job so I could play househusband and take care of Nathan. I was more than happy to do that for us…” Karl began.
Britney looked around nervously before answering, “Okay, so what?”
Karl took a step closer before continuing, “You were so absorbed in your work that you started to forget about us. You were coming home later and later and spending less and less time with your son. I warned you what was going to happen, Britney, but you didn’t listen to me.”
Impatient, but almost as if trying to avoid the conversation, Britney replied, “Get to the point, Karl.”
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“Nathan forgot about you, Britney. He didn’t recognize you. He didn’t remember your face or your smell. You would hold him and he would cry. Suddenly, you started treating me like I was to blame. I could see in your eyes that it hurt you deeply. But I still loved you, Britney. That’s why I didn’t make a scene in court during the divorce or drag out the custody proceedings, but you won’t let me see my son anymore. It’s like you don’t want him to recognize me anymore,” Karl lamented.
Britney tried to maintain her angry attitude, but began to break down and sob. She had bottled up her feelings for so long that she had forgotten how much Karl cared for his family.
Britney remembered how she had attacked Karl, telling him she was in a better financial position than him and therefore better suited to take care of Nathan. She finally understood how much this must have hurt Karl. Britney began to bawl as she faced the truth of the situation.
Karl moved even closer to her before continuing, “So I pulled myself together and went back to my old job, but after work, all I could think about was Nathan. I walked by after work, the lights were off, but I realized you hadn’t changed the locks. I know it’s crazy, but I just wanted to spend time with him, so I started taking him for walks at night. Just quick strolls to the park and back. That’s it. Look, if you really want me to do this, I’ll leave and never come back, but I…”
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Before Karl could continue, Britney hugged him and started crying hysterically. She was having trouble breathing, and Karl did his best to calm her down.
“It was like I wasn’t his mother anymore… It was like I was a ghost!” she said, gasping for air between sobs. “Don’t go. I need your help. I’ve gone crazy here without you. I made a mistake. I’m sorry,” she continued.
“It’s… It’s okay. We’ll figure this out together. If it’s not for us, it will be for Nathan. I’m here. I never wanted to leave,” Karl replied.
Over the next few months, Britney and Karl began couples therapy to resolve their issues. They enlisted the help of Britney’s mother, Daisy, and their friends to babysit Nathan occasionally so that Britney and Karl could work. Together, they managed to find a balanced relationship as co-parents, and soon after, their romance was rekindled.
What can we learn from this story?
- A child shouldn’t be a plaything in a parent’s business. Britney and Karl both love their son, but they’ve let their marital problems prevent them from fulfilling their responsibilities as co-parents.
- Always ask for help when you feel overwhelmed. Britney tried to juggle being a single woman and a businesswoman all by herself, even though she didn’t need it. She was able to count on her mother, her friend Natasha, and, most importantly, Nathan’s father, Karl, for support.
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If you liked this story, you might like this one . It tells the story of a woman who searches for her missing adopted son and finds letters from his biological mother under a mattress.
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