The little boy wore a crisp white shirt and black dress pants, styled like a miniature prince. I could see traces of Hudson in the line of his brows, the shape of his eyes.
But his gaze was cold. A stranger's gaze. When he heard my words, his small brow furrowed hard.
"Thelma!"
Hudson cut me off.
"We agreed on this. Aria is Colton's mother. What are you trying to do, embarrass her?"
"Looks like Aria was right. Every chance you get, you try to steal the children."
"Do you really want Colton to have a murderer for a mother?"
My heart felt like it was sinking through my chest.
"But—"
But he's my child.
I carried him for ten months. I gave birth to him. I never even got to see what he looked like as a newborn before Hudson took him away.
Then Colton spoke.
"You're a bad woman."
His voice was small, but every word reached me with perfect clarity. "Mommy told me. You're a bad woman. You tried to steal Daddy, so they locked you up."
I froze. My whole body trembled.
"Colton!"
Hudson's voice cracked like a whip. He crouched down to the boy's level. "That was very rude. You should call her Auntie Thelma."
Colton flinched, his eyes rimming red.