Chapter 6: The Morning in Chen's Office
David Chen's office was on the fourth floor of a building that smelled like old carpet and fresh coffee.
His assistant showed Marcus in at two minutes past eight.
Chen was already at his desk.
Mid-fifties, reading glasses pushed up on his forehead, a legal pad covered in handwriting in front of him.
He stood and shook Marcus's hand.
"Sit down.
We have a lot to cover."
Marcus sat.
He placed Grandma's phone on the desk between them.
Chen looked at it.
"Eight videos."
"Eight that I found.
There may be more she deleted."
"We'll have a forensic tech look at it.
Deleted files can often be recovered." Chen picked up a pen.
"Mrs.
Patterson's documentation arrived this morning.
Three months of notes.
Specific dates, specific observations.
The red wrists.
Lily arriving withdrawn on Mondays — which would be after weekends when you weren't home.
A drawing Lily made in class that Patterson kept a photograph of."
"What was in the drawing?"
Chen turned the legal pad around.
He'd written a brief description.
A house.
A small figure standing outside it in the rain.
A larger figure in the window, watching.
Marcus looked at it for a moment.
Then he looked away.
"The vice principal," he said.
"My wife spoke to him."
"Her name is Vice Principal Donna Reyes.
Patterson's report went to her.
She spoke with your wife and then marked the concern as unsubstantiated." Chen set down the pen.
"That's a problem for Reyes, not for you.
If this goes to a formal hearing, her decision to close that report is going to be examined very carefully."
"My wife brought a letter from the family doctor."
"Dr.
Alan Marsh.
Your mother-in-law's neighbor." Chen's expression didn't change.
"I've already pulled his license history.
One prior complaint, dismissed.
We'll subpoena his records.
If he signed a letter without conducting a proper assessment, that's a serious professional issue."
Marcus leaned forward.
"How does their emergency motion look?"
"It was filed at 9:47 last night.
The claim is that you removed Lily from the family home without consent and that you have shown signs of emotional instability following a recent change in your work schedule." Chen's tone was dry.
"The motion was denied this morning at 7:30.
The judge reviewed it and found insufficient grounds for emergency intervention given that Lily is with a family member and there is no documented history of concern regarding you."
Marcus exhaled.
"However," Chen continued, "they will refile through standard channels.
We should expect a formal custody hearing within three to four weeks.
That is where this will be decided." He looked at Marcus directly.
"I want to be honest with you.
Your wife is not without resources.
She has a lawyer who works fast, a family doctor willing to write letters, and a vice principal who closed a report on her behalf.
She has been managing this situation for months.
She is going to fight."
"I know."
"What she doesn't have," Chen said, "is the phone.
The videos.
Patterson's notes.
And your daughter's own account." He picked up his pen again.
"I want to take a formal statement from Lily.
Not today — she needs time.
But within the week.
A child psychologist I work with will conduct it.
It's done in a way that's comfortable for children.
Lily won't feel like she's in trouble."
"She'll cooperate," Marcus said.
"She's been waiting for someone to actually listen."
Chen nodded.
"One more thing." He set down the pen and looked at Marcus steadily.
"Your wife sent you a message this morning.
I know because she copied her lawyer."
Marcus went still.
"She copied her lawyer on a personal text."
"Yes.
It was not a personal text.
It was an attempt to establish a record of you refusing reasonable communication." Chen's voice was even.
"Do not respond to it.
Do not respond to anything from her directly.
Everything goes through me.
If she calls, you say: 'Please contact my lawyer.' Nothing else."
Marcus nodded.
"I mean nothing else," Chen said.
"Not 'I'll think about it.' Not 'for Lily's sake.' Nothing."
"Understood."
Chen stood and extended his hand.
"Go back to your sister's.
Be present with your daughter.
Let me work."
Marcus shook his hand and picked up the phone from the desk.
Chen's assistant was already at the door with a small evidence bag.
"We'll need that," she said.
Marcus handed it over.
He walked out into the hallway and stood at the elevator for a moment.
Eight videos.
A teacher who kept notes.
A doctor who wrote letters on request.
A vice principal who closed a report without investigation.
His wife had built something careful and quiet around his daughter for four months.
And she had done it because she believed he would never find out.
The elevator opened.
He stepped in.
His phone buzzed again.
Not his wife this time.
His mother-in-law.
May you like
The message was three words.
*You will lose.*
