XLV. Someone took him.

After being pushed back for months, the opening of the Shelby Institute for Children had finally come around. It was a big day and the entire family was warned to be on their best behaviour. Maude who had worked hard alongside Tommy to get everything ready for the institute, who was also now a little over four months pregnant, was very firm about what would happen if anyone got drunk and embarrassed the family in front of all the important men and women who'd attend the opening.

The dark-haired woman stood in front of everyone gathered in the grand hall, sending a smile her husband's way. He was sat in the front row with their fussy son on his lap, staring proudly back at his wife. "Welcome to the opening of the Shelby Institute for non-insured children of the poor," Maude called out to the people sitting in rows in front of her. "I would very much like you to join me in thanking the man that made the founding of this establishment actually possible. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr.Thomas Shelby." She said as her gaze returned to Tommy again.

The people clapped as Tommy stood up with Charlie in his arms, and they soon followed, all of them standing up out of respect. Tommy approached his wife up on the stand and she took Charlie from his arms before stepping off to the side.

"Speech! Come on, speech!" Arthur called out from the second row, making Maude chuckle softly. "Say it, Tom. Say it to 'em!"

Everyone quieted down and sat back down as Tommy overlooked them, his hands resting on his hips."Erm, I didn't come here today to make a speech, but I will say this. These children are now safe. In our care, they will be safe. Because we are from the same cold streets as they are. And in our care, they won't be shipped away to the colonies, or separated from kin, or made to work for men in their various ways. They will grow up here, at home loved in Birmingham. Because this is our city." He called out.

"By order of the Peaky Blinders," Arthur called out and a few of the men of the family chuckled softly at him.

Tommy cleared his throat, slightly glaring at his brother for interrupting him, before turning to his wife and showing a hand in her direction. "And I also want to say thank you to my wife, who stayed up most nights, ensuring these children would have a safe and nurturing environment to grow up in and learn in."He said as he gave Maude a soft smile while everyone began clapping and cheering again.

As Tommy stepped to the side, Polly took her turn to step up to the stand, holding a small paper in her hand. "Now let us sing Immortal, Invisible." She called out.

Just as everyone began signing, Charlie grew fussy in his mother's arms, whining and softly crying. Maude stepped out into the hallway to soothe her son, bouncing him in her arms as she whispered sweet nothings in his ears. Tommy also stepped out into the hallway when he realized they were gone, searching for them.

He saw his wife pace up and down with the toddler in her arms, raising his eyebrows as he shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and approached her. "Why are you two hiding out here?" He asked as he stopped in front of her, reaching out to run a hand through Charlie's dark hair.

"He's fussy." She replied as she pursed her lips, glancing down at the little boy who began whining again as his mother stopped her gentle movements that soothed him.

"Give him here," Tommy said as he reached out for Charlie. Even though Maude's wound had completely healed, now that she was pregnant and her bump was growing, Tommy didn't want her to strain herself too much with any weight on her body. She handed Charlie to him, knowing better than to argue. "It's okay sweet boy." Tommy soothed his son as he began rocking him in his arms and Charlie settled down again. "You're upset, ey?"He asked as he ran a hand through Charlie's hair again.

A door down the hallway behind Tommy opened and she looked over his shoulder, meeting Father Hughes's gaze as he made his way over to them. "Tommy..."She called for her husband's attention and he followed her gaze. He handed Charlie back to her, before taking a protective stance in front of her and his son, blocking Hughes from them.

"The absence of my invitation for this event was obviously an oversight on your part, Mr. Shelby." Father Hughes spoke as he approached them. As he came to a stop in front of Tommy, he pulled out a pair of keys and showed them. "Look, I have the keys. I have allocated myself an office." He informed them before pointing to the door he had just entered. "Just there, two doors in from the street, it's the one that already has the stove and the crucifixion on the window." He continued as Tommy blankly stared at him like he wasn't listening to a single word the priest said. "Mr. Shelby? It is the one that has the crucifixion on the window in orange and red, that will be my office. And I will take them to Saint Aloysius for confession."

Maude glared at the priest over her husband's shoulder, holding on tightly to her son. "You can do all that Father, just know, anyone not hand-picked by me to be part of the staff here, will not be placed on the payroll." She informed him and when his gaze met hers, she gave him a challenging look.

Noticing the man's eyes on Maude, Tommy stepped fully in front of Maude to obstruct the priest's view of her. Father Hughes's gaze returned to Tommy. "You do understand these keys are part of our broader arrangement?" He spoke and Tommy continued to remain quiet. "In the next 24 hours, you will do exactly as you have been instructed. You will not deviate, you'll not fail," he warned before walking away.

Michael stepped out into the hallway, his gaze immediately setting on Father Hughes. He silently stared at the man before everyone gathered in the great hall, began swarming into the hallway, passing through one of the doors to the room where the tea and cake would be served.

Michael approached the two. "The, uh...The Lord Mayor would like you to come and eat cake and drink some tea." He informed them, visibly shaken up with having saw the priest.

Tommy turned to his wife, taking Charlie from her. He held his son in one arm, his other one protectively wrapped around Maude's waist as they followed the people into the big room for tea and cake.

Upon entering the big room where the tea and cake were served, Maude and Tommy were immediately separated from each other. Tommy kept his son with him as he discussed a matter with a few older ladies.

A woman approached Maude, smiling up at her, "Mrs. Shelby, may I please have a word?" She asked politely as she tilted her head to the side, pulling Maude's attention away from her son and husband.

"Oh of course." She nodded in agreement as she turned to the woman, offering her a polite smile in return.

"I would like to allocate an hour a day of each of my lady's time to make winter clothes for the little ones." The woman informed Maude as she clasped her hands together in front of her, her smile never leaving her face.

"Oh, that would truly be appreciated," Maude replied with a nod of her head before reaching out and placing a hand on the woman's shoulder, pointing towards Lizzie by the tea table with her other hand. "Please leave your details with the secretary, Ms. Stark, over there in the gray hat, and then we'll schedule a meeting." She insisted and the woman nodded before walking off towards Lizzie.

Maude let out a soft sigh as she approached Anna who had been watching her, fixing herself a strong cup of tea. "I don't know how you bloody do it," Anna muttered with a shake of her head as she sipped on her tea, looking over at Maude with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, you just give them a friendly smile and direct them to Lizzie," Maude replied and Anna chuckled softly before humming.

Tommy approached Maude, his eyebrows deeply furrowed as he placed a hand on her back to catch her attention. "Maude, sweetheart, where's Charlie?" He asked her as she turned to look at him, his question wiping her smile from her face.

Maude swallowed thickly at the lump forming in the back of her throat, her heart clenching strongly inside her chest. "He was with you." She said as she abandoned her tea on the table and turned to face Tommy fully.

Tommy's heart sank to the deepest pit of his stomach as he stared at his wife. "I sent a maid to bring him to you." He informed her softly.

"No one's given him to me." She replied with a shake of her head, her voice thick with emotion as he eyes pooled with tears and she rested a hand over her heart. "Where is he, Tommy?" She asked as her breathing grew shallow.

Tommy turned away from her, searching around for his son and asking anyone if they had seen him. Anna's eyebrows were deeply furrowed in concern as she looked at Maude, immediately putting down her cup of tea and pressing a gentle hand to Maude's arm.

"Boys," Tommy called out to his and Maude's brothers. "Have you seen Charlie?" He asked them as he raised his eyebrows and all of them shook their head, muttering confusedly that they hadn't seen him or didn't know where he was. Tommy asked his aunt, sister, and Lizzie if they had seen Charlie, and with every no, or shake of their head Maude's heart dropped until she felt nauseous.

Tommy returned to the men again who were now on high alert once they realized what was going on. He pointed between them, assigning them each a section of the building to search, but then Ada ran towards her brother. "Tommy!" She called out to him and Maude followed after her. " Someone said they saw a nurse take him through the back door." She informed them and Maude let out a broken gasp as she slapped her hand over her mouth.

"Fuck." Tommy snapped before turning to his wife, rushing to her side and cupping her cheeks as he forced her to look up at him. "I'll find him. I'll find him, sweetheart." He assured as she began crying, her tears spilling onto his hands. "You stay here." He insisted before glancing at Anna, silently telling her to keep Maude there. "I'll find him." He assured his wife again before following his men out.

Polly rushed over to Maude's side with a cup of water, handing it to her. "Here, have some water." She insisted but Maude pushed the cup away as she shook her head. "Maude, darling, have some water." Polly tried again.

"No, no, no." Maude cried out as she vigorously shook her head, a sob escaping her lips as she backed away from all the comforting hands that surrounded her. "My baby boy is gone." She cried as she pressed a hand over her heart.

"They'll find him," Ada assured the woman, watching with furrowed eyebrows as Maude pushed past everyone, avoiding all grabbing hands as she rushed for the door. "Maude?" Ada called out, sharing a concerned look with Polly as Maude left the room.

"Charlie!?"Maude screamed, her voice cracking as she rushed down the hallway, banging on every door and yanking on all the locked ones, bursting into every open room and searching for her son around every little corner. "Charlie where are you!?"She called out as she came onto a stairwell, clutching onto the railing as she crouched down, sobbing into her other hand as she closed her eyes. Her cries echoed painfully through the space.

She barely managed to put herself up again, gripping onto the railing as she made her way down the stairs, her eyes blurry, her chest aching and her stomach knotted painfully. When she stepped through a door leading outside, her eyes landed on Tommy and Arthur. Her husband looked distraught as Arthur told him something, his eyes filled with tears and his face pale.

"Tommy?" She softly called out to him and when his eyes landed on her, his face fell, knowing he was going to have to break the terrible news to his wife. "Tommy, did you find him?" She asked as she let out a shaky breath, silent tears running down her cheeks.

Tommy approached her, reaching out to cup her cheeks as he lowered his head, gaze on the ground between their feet. He took a shaky breath, closing his eyes before he spoke. "Listen to me sweetheart...someone took him." He informed her softly.

"No...no no." She cried out as she shook her head, her heart ached unbearably and her stomach twisted. She pulled away from Tommy, spinning around as she doubled over and threw up in the bushes.

Tommy was behind her in an instant, rubbing a comforting hand over he back until she was done. She wiped her mouth as Tommy turned her around, pulling her into his arms. "We're going to find him." He assured as he ran a hand through her hair while she cried into the crook of his neck. "We're going to find him and the bastards that took him will pay." He assured.

Arthur cautiously approached the two, hesitantly laying a hand on his brother's back. "Tom you have got to go to the office." He instructed.

"Yeah." Tommy agreed as he continued to hold his sobbing wife to his chest, his head resting against hers as he felt her body shake in his arms.

"You've got to sit by the phone." Arthur continued as his hand slipped from Tommy's back. "Whoever took him is going to call."

"Right," Tommy muttered softly, keeping his hold on his wife as he lead her towards the car parked out front, ready to take them back to the betting shop.

Polly joined them, helping Tommy get Maude into the car as she continued to sob violently against her husband's body, clutching his suit jacket in her hands as he ran a soothing hand through his hair. When the three of them were in the car, Arthur poked his head in through the window. "Stay by that phone. Me, Daniel and Henry, and John will cover the roads." He told his brother before the car drove off.

"I need Michael at the Maypole junction," Tommy spoke as the three of them entered the shop, and he immediately went for the phone, dialing a number as Maude sat down by one of the tables, pressing a hand over her mouth as silent tears ran down her cheeks. "I need Moss to block all the roads south." He said before picking up the phone. "Give me Moss." He demanded to the person on the other line. "Gone where?" He questioned and after a second he put the phone back on the table before picking it up again and throwing it against the wall.

Maude stared at her husband through blurry vision, her heart aching terribly in her chest. "Tommy..." She whispered as she stared up at him as he began to pace.

"It's them." He muttered softly as he paced around the room.

Polly and Maude shared a confused look before they both turned to him. "Who?" Polly questioned.

"It's fucking them." He muttered, and his secrecy only made the ache inside Maude's chest spread, her stomach knotting even more as she felt the bile slowly push its way up her throat.

Polly approached Maude, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Look, it might just be some random woman." She suggested as she gave Maude's shoulder a squeeze and Maude reached up to place her hand on top of Polly's. "Because sometimes women go mad..."

"No, it is them." He argued with a shake of his head.

"Who?" Maude questioned softly as she stared at her husband with a deep frown and furrowed eyebrows, but he remained quiet as he continued pacing with his back to her.

"Did you break the phone?" Polly asked him as she glanced towards the phone on the ground and rushed towards it, crouching down. She held it to her ear before turning to Maude with a sigh. "He broke the phone." She muttered before getting back up. "It's all right, we have got another phone." She said as she rushed into the back office.

A door opened inside the house and Ada and Anna came rushing into the shop. "Tommy?" Ada called out.

"Ada?" He called out as he rushed towards his sister, holding hope that she came with good news, with his son. But Tommy had never been so lucky

"There's someone outside, a priest." She informed her husband.

Maude's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach, her face falling as her eyes shot towards Tommy. He inhaled sharply as he turned to meet his wife's gaze. As he approached her, she got up to her feet and he took her face in his hands. "Stay here, Maude, stay here. " He ordered her, knowing if she went out, she'd kill a man.

"Priest." She whispered with a strained voice as more tears pooled in her eyes "That bastard has my fucking son!?"She screamed as she placed her hands on top of Tommy's, trying to pry them off her face.

"Stay here." He repeated, this time more begging than demanding. He closed his eyes and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before pulling away. " Don't do anything." He pleaded before turning around and rushing out of the shop to meet with Father Hughes.

Maude fell back down on her chair, burying her face in her hands as she began sobbing again. Both Ada and Anna rushed to her side, comforting the grieving mother.