Chapter 4 - THE PAPER SHE HID
Ethan drove straight to the hospital with Lily and the baby.
He kept one hand on the steering wheel and one on the infant car seat beside him. Lily sat in the back, silent and pale.
At the family services office, a woman named Denise waited with a thick folder.
“I’m sorry,” Denise said. “But we have a serious problem.”
Ethan opened the folder.
Inside was a legal document giving Victoria temporary control of both children if Ethan was found unable to care for them.
The signature looked like his.
But the date was wrong.
“I never signed this on this date,” Ethan said.
Denise looked uncomfortable.
“It was submitted last week.”
“I was in another state last week.”
“That’s what we noticed.”
Ethan turned the page.
There was a witness signature.
Victoria’s older brother, Mark.
Mark had not been at the hospital when Ethan signed anything.
“She forged it,” Ethan said.
“We can’t say that yet.”
“She took my baby and terrorized my daughter. What more do you need?”
Denise lowered her voice.
“You need evidence that can survive court.”
Ethan remembered the baby monitor.
“I have recordings.”
“Then preserve them. Don’t edit them. Don’t send them to anyone except your attorney or law enforcement.”
Lily sat in the corner, hugging her knees.
Denise crouched near her.
“Lily, can you tell me what happened?”
Lily looked at Ethan.
He nodded gently.
“She made me sleep in the laundry room,” Lily whispered.
Ethan’s face tightened.
“Why?”
“She said the baby cried because I was bad at taking care of him.”
Denise wrote carefully.
“Did she ever hurt you?”
Lily looked down at her wrist.
“She squeezed me when I tried to put him down.”
“Anything else?”
“She made me stand in the kitchen for hours.”
Ethan shut his eyes.
His daughter had been suffering inside the same house while he believed Victoria was helping him.
Denise asked, “Did Victoria ever leave you alone with the baby?”
“No,” Lily said. “She said if I told Dad, she would send me to a place where nobody would come for me.”
Ethan felt his blood turn cold.
At that moment, his attorney called.
“Ethan, don’t go home,” the attorney said. “Victoria has filed an emergency petition claiming you are unstable and dangerous.”
Ethan stared at Lily.
Outside the office, a police cruiser stopped near the entrance.
Two officers stepped out.
May you like
One of them held a document.
“Mr. Carter,” the officer said, “we need you to come with us.”
