Chapter 7 - Margaret Strikes Back
Two days later, Child Protective Services appeared at our door.
Margaret had reported us.
Of course she had.
The complaint claimed Elena was mentally unstable, chronically exhausted, and unable to care safely for Leo.
For one terrible second, Elena looked like she might collapse again.
I took her hand.
“We have nothing to hide.”
The caseworker was professional.
Calm.
Observant.
We showed her everything.
The hospital report.
The camera footage.
Margaret's schedule.
The photographs Daniel found.
The caseworker watched three minutes of video.
Then she stopped.
“Who made the complaint?”
“We believe my mother.”
She couldn't confirm it.
She didn't need to.
The visit ended very differently from what Margaret intended.
Instead of building a case against Elena, her complaint created another official record of what had happened.
That afternoon, Margaret called me from an unknown number.
I answered.
“You humiliated me.”
“No.”
“You turned Daniel against me.”
“No.”
“You poisoned Elena against me.”
“No.”
She went silent.
I continued.
“You did all of that yourself.”
Her voice became quiet.
Dangerously quiet.
“You think that woman will stay with you forever?”
“She has a name.”
“She'll leave.”
“Goodbye, Mom.”
“You'll come crawling back.”
I hung up.
Then I blocked the number.
Three minutes later, the doorbell rang.
I checked the camera.
Margaret stood outside.
My heart started pounding.
She wasn't alone.
A woman in a gray suit stood beside her.
And Margaret was holding paperwork.
I opened the door but kept the chain secured.
“What?”
She smiled.
That smile scared me more than her anger.
“You wanted consequences?”
She lifted the documents.
“Here they are.”
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She was suing for grandparent visitation.
And she intended to drag Elena through court to get it.
