Chapter 6 - THE HAWTHORNE FAMILY ATTACKS BACK
Daniel hired a crisis attorney before breakfast.
By lunch, he had a public relations consultant.
By dinner, local gossip sites were reporting a “high-profile marital dispute.”
Someone had leaked a photo of me leaving the estate in the Porsche.
The caption read:
TECH HEIRESS FLEES FAMILY ESTATE AFTER DOMESTIC MELTDOWN.
I stared at the headline.
Rebecca snatched my phone away.
“Stop reading.”
“They’re calling me unstable.”
“They’re scared.”
“They’re winning the narrative.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“They’re spending money trying to build one.”
There’s a difference.
Daniel called a press contact and claimed the allergy incident was “a tragic misunderstanding.”
Margaret released a statement through a family friend.
I would never intentionally harm my grandson.
The accusation is painful and absurd.
I laughed when I read it.
Then the police asked to interview her.
Suddenly the statement disappeared.
Richard called two board members.
He told them I was emotionally compromised.
One of them called me.
“Claire, Daniel says you’re going through some kind of breakdown.”
“Did he mention that his mother gave my son peanuts?”
Silence.
“No.”
“Did he mention the forged signatures?”
Longer silence.
“No.”
“Then maybe Daniel isn’t the best source.”
By afternoon, the company board voted to suspend him from all operations pending audit.
Daniel lost his corporate email.
His company access.
His executive badge.
And his office.
At 4:20 p.m., security escorted him out.
Marcus sent me the building footage.
Daniel looked furious.
He pointed at the guard.
“You work for me.”
The guard answered calmly.
“No, sir.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“I own this company.”
The guard almost smiled.
“No, sir.”
That video gave me five seconds of satisfaction.
Then Rebecca called.
“We have a problem.”
“What now?”
“Daniel filed for emergency custody.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He claims you removed Noah from the marital home without consent.”
“He told me to leave.”
“I know.”
“He told me to get out of his life.”
“I know.”
“He watched me drive away.”
“I know.”
“Then how can he—”
“Because custody court is about what he can allege before evidence catches up.”
I sat down.
“What does he say?”
Rebecca read from the petition.
“Mother displayed extreme emotional instability at family gathering.”
My jaw tightened.
“Mother endangered child through aggressive use of emergency medication.”
I actually laughed.
“Using his EpiPen?”
“Yes.”
“What else?”
“Mother fled in a vehicle while highly emotional.”
I shook my head.
“And?”
Rebecca paused.
“Father fears mother may use child to retaliate in marital dispute.”
The room went quiet.
There it was.
The exact accusation Daniel had planned years earlier.
Use Noah against me.
Rebecca said, “We’re responding immediately.”
“Can he take Noah?”
“Not if I have anything to say about it.”
But that night, there was a knock on my hotel door.
I checked the camera.
Two police officers.
My heart stopped.
I opened the door.
“Mrs. Hawthorne?”
“Yes?”
“We need to speak with you regarding your son.”
I looked toward Noah’s bedroom.
“What about him?”
One officer held a paper.
“Your husband has obtained an emergency temporary order.”
My body went cold.
“What kind of order?”
May you like
The officer looked uncomfortable.
“One requiring you to surrender the child to his father tonight.”
