Chapter 9 - The Custody Draft
I sat down because my knees suddenly didn’t trust me.
Lily slept three feet away.
Margaret wanted custody of my daughter.
Not someday.
Not in some imaginary emergency.
There was a draft.
A plan.
A prepared argument.
“You said nobody was taking my child.”
Margaret opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Daniel stepped forward. “It was a contingency.”
“For what?”
“If you had a breakdown.”
“I didn’t.”
“But you could have.”
I stared at him.
There are sentences that end a marriage long before a judge does.
That was one of them.
Dana leaned toward me. “Emily, do you have somewhere you can stay today?”
“My sister’s.”
Daniel immediately said, “No.”
Everyone looked at him.
He realized his mistake.
“I mean, Lily has everything here.”
“So do I,” I said. “Apparently even a case file.”
Charles stood. “We can arrange transportation.”
Daniel moved toward the bassinet.
I got there first.
He stopped a few feet away.
“Don’t do this,” he said.
His voice was softer now.
Almost loving.
That was worse.
“Do what?”
“Take my daughter because you’re angry at me.”
I picked Lily up.
“She is not leverage.”
“I’m her father.”
“And I’m her mother.”
Margaret stepped between us. “You are not leaving with that baby while you’re this emotional.”
Dana’s chair scraped back.
“Mrs. Mercer, do not physically interfere.”
Margaret lifted both hands. “I didn’t touch anyone.”
Not yet.
I walked toward the stairs to pack.
Daniel followed.
“Emily, listen to me.”
“No.”
“For five minutes.”
“You’ve had months.”
At the bottom of the stairs, he said something that made me stop.
“Your sister can’t protect you from what happens if you trigger that trust.”
I turned.
Daniel’s face was gray.
“What happens?” I asked.
He swallowed.
“You think debt acceleration hurts me?”
His eyes shifted toward Charles.
“It takes down your father too.”
Charles didn’t move.
But I saw it.
May you like
A flicker.
Daniel had finally said something Charles did not expect.
