Chapter 6: The Morning She Came Back
I didn't sleep.
I sat in Sophie's doorway for most of the night with my back against the frame, listening to her breathe.
Around three in the morning she rolled over and said "Daddy" without waking up and I said "I'm here" and she went still again.
Vanessa slept in our room.
Or didn't sleep.
I didn't check.
At six-fifteen I woke Sophie, dressed her, and told her we were going to see someone special.
"Who?" she said, pulling on her shoes with the focused seriousness she brought to all physical tasks.
"Someone who loves you very much."
She looked up.
"Is it Grandma?"
"No, sweetheart."
She thought about it.
"Is it the lady from my dream?"
I crouched down in front of her.
"What lady?"
"The one with the long hair.
She sings the song." Sophie touched her own hair.
"She always smells like flowers."
I had to look away for a moment.
"Yes," I said.
"It might be her."
Vanessa was in the kitchen when we came downstairs.
She was dressed.
Coffee made.
She looked at Sophie's coat and the small bag I was carrying and her expression didn't change.
"Where are you taking her?" she said.
"Out."
"I'd like a more specific answer than that."
"I know you would."
Sophie tugged my hand.
"Daddy, can I have juice?"
"In the car, bug."
Vanessa stepped sideways, not quite blocking the door but close enough.
"Daniel.
Whatever Rachel told you last night — she's been mentally unwell.
She has a documented history.
If you bring Sophie to her without a legal arrangement in place, you could be violating—"
"The restraining order?" I said.
"The one you filed in my name?"
Her jaw tightened.
"That order is still legally active," she said.
"If Rachel comes within a certain distance of Sophie—"
"I spoke to a family law solicitor at seven this morning," I said.
"She's filing an emergency motion to vacate the order before noon.
On the grounds that the petitioner's signature was obtained without informed consent and the petitioner has no memory of signing the document."
Vanessa's coffee cup came down on the counter.
"You called a solicitor at seven in the morning."
"She's a friend.
She answered."
"This is a mistake, Daniel.
You're making a decision based on one phone call from a woman who walked out on her child—"
"Sophie." I looked down at my daughter.
"Go wait by the front door.
I'll be one minute."
Sophie looked between us.
She was three years old and she understood more than either of us wanted her to.
She walked to the front door and stood with her back very straight, the way she did when she was trying to be brave.
I turned back to Vanessa.
"You told a woman recovering from a serious illness that her partner didn't want her.
You filed legal documents in my name without my knowledge.
You used your professional access to delay her attempts to challenge those documents for two years." I kept my voice low and even.
"And four days ago, you pushed my three-year-old daughter into a swimming pool."
"You can't prove—"
"I have the footage.
I have the screenshot Rachel sent me.
I have the blue folder.
And I have a solicitor who is very interested in how a restraining order came to carry my signature when I have no memory of signing it."
Vanessa was quiet.
"I'm taking Sophie to meet her mother," I said.
"And when I come back, I'd like you to be g*ne."
I picked up the bag and walked to the front door and took Sophie's hand.
"Daddy," Sophie said as we stepped outside.
"You forgot to say goodbye to Vanessa."
"I know," I said.
We kept walking.
Behind us, I heard the kitchen window.
Not the door.
The window.
Like she was watching us leave rather than stopping us.
I didn't look back.
But I took a photo of her car in the driveway with the timestamp on.
May you like
My solicitor had asked me to document everything.
I was starting to understand why.
