Chapter 3: Caught in David’s Office
I slipped my phone into my coat pocket without ending the call.
The attorney could still hear every word.
David appeared in the doorway.
“What are you doing in my office?”
“I came for Mia’s vaccination records.”
His eyes moved from my face to the open filing cabinet.
“Where are the other papers?”
“What other papers?”
“Don’t play games with me.”
Eleanor stepped around him and saw the manila folder on the desk.
Her hand flew to the pearl necklace she had worn the night before.
“She found it,” she said.
“Found what?” I asked.
“The document carrying my forged signature, or the letter from a doctor I’ve never met?”
David shut the door behind him.
“You’re confused.”
I backed toward the window.
“Open that door.”
“You’re upset.
That’s exactly why we prepared those papers.”
“Three years ago?”
Eleanor folded her arms.
“You’ve never been suited to this family.”
“This isn’t about your family.
This is about my daughter.”
“Our granddaughter,” she corrected.
“A child needs stability.”
“A stable person doesn’t strike a six-year-old over a dress.”
Her mouth tightened.
“Mia was being selfish.”
“She was protecting something that belonged to her.”
David reached for the folder, but I placed my hand over it.
“Move,” he said.
“No.”
“You entered my private office and photographed confidential documents.”
“Documents with my name and false signature on them.”
“You’ve proved our point,” Eleanor said.
“Breaking in, stealing papers, making wild accusations.”
“I used my own key to enter my own house.”
David’s voice dropped.
“Tell me where Mia is.”
“She’s safe.”
“If you don’t bring her home, I’ll report that you took her during an emotional episode.”
“You watched your mother hurt her.”
“And I watched you lose control afterward.”
My fingers curled around the edge of the desk.
“That dinner was planned, wasn’t it?”
Neither of them answered.
I pulled my phone from my pocket.
“My attorney has heard this entire conversation.”
David lunged toward it, but Grace’s voice burst through the speaker.
“Do not touch my client, David.
Emergency services have been contacted.”
His hand stopped inches from mine.
Eleanor stared at the phone.
“You had an attorney listening?”
“I do now.”
“You think one telephone call makes you powerful?” she asked.
“By tonight, a judge will know exactly what kind of mother you are.”
“Then the judge will also see these photographs.”
David’s face changed.
“You sent them?”
“Every page.”
A knock sounded downstairs, followed by the voice of our elderly neighbor, Mrs.
Bell.
“I heard shouting.
Is everything all right?”
Eleanor whispered, “Send her away.”
I shouted first.
“Mrs.
Bell, please stay where you are.
I’m coming downstairs.”
David blocked the doorway.
“Move.”
“Bring Mia home, and we can settle this privately.”
“You mean I can pretend none of it happened?”
“I mean you can avoid embarrassing yourself.”
I held the phone toward him.
“Say that again for Grace.”
He stepped aside.
Mrs.
Bell stood at the bottom of the stairs in slippers and a raincoat.
She held her phone with both hands.
“I called for help,” she said.
“Come stand beside me.”
Eleanor followed me down.
“This is a family misunderstanding.”
Mrs.
Bell looked at her.
“A misunderstanding doesn’t require someone to block a door.”
I walked outside with her.
David stopped on the porch.
“If Mia isn’t home within an hour, I’m filing for emergency custody.”
“You already prepared for that three years ago.”
His jaw tightened.
“You have no idea what you’ve started.”
Grace spoke through my phone.
“Don’t answer him.
Get in your car.”
Mrs.
Bell opened the driver’s door for me.
“I saw Mia’s face last night,” she whispered.
“I should have said something when you arrived home.
I’m saying it now.”
“Thank you.”
I pulled away as David and Eleanor watched from the porch.
Grace called again before I reached the end of the block.
“Go directly to my office.
Do not return to Rachel’s apartment until I tell you.”
“Mia is there.”
“I know.
Rachel just called me.”
My foot lifted from the accelerator.
“Why?”
“Two men came to her building asking which apartment Mia was in.”
“Were they police officers?”
“No,” Grace said.
“They said Eleanor sent them.”
May you like
Then an email appeared on my screen.
David had filed his emergency petition before I even left the driveway.
