Chapter 15 - The Nursery
The photograph wasn't from Daniel.
It wasn't from Carol or Ben either.
Maya traced it through the delivery service to a woman named Denise Hall, Margaret's next-door neighbor.
Denise agreed to speak with us.
She was sixty-two, blunt, and visibly nervous.
"Margaret told people the baby would be staying with her," Denise said. "Not visiting. Staying."
"When?" Maya asked.
"Months ago. Before the shower."
I gripped the edge of my chair.
"Did she say why?"
Denise looked at me. "She said Emily wasn't built for motherhood. Her exact words."
Denise had more.
Margaret had asked her whether she knew any retired nurses who could testify about infant care. She had complained that Daniel was "too soft" to stand up to me. She had ordered duplicate nursery furniture and bragged that she was "preparing for the inevitable."
"There was a man at Margaret's house two weeks ago. She introduced him as someone helping with the case. They carried boxes from Daniel's car into her office."
"What kind of boxes?"
"Files. Electronics. I saw an old phone on top."
The wiped phone.
Evidence had been moved to Margaret's house.
Maya didn't smile, but her eyes sharpened. "That matters."
By the time Noah and I were discharged, the case had become a storm of declarations, preservation demands, and emergency motions.
I moved into Rachel's apartment temporarily. We set up a bassinet beside her bed because I was too afraid to sleep alone.
Every time I felt overwhelmed, Margaret's words appeared in my head.
See? Unstable.
"Stop," she said one night.
"Stop what?"
"Trying to look perfect for people who lied about you. You're allowed to be tired."
I sat on the kitchen floor with Noah against my chest.
"What if they use everything?"
"Then we tell the truth about everything."
The next morning, Maya called with news.
The court had ordered both sides to preserve and produce relevant electronic evidence.
Daniel's attorney turned over a batch of messages between Daniel and Margaret.
Most were careful.
One was not.
Margaret had written:
Once the judge gives you temporary custody, do not let Emily see him alone. If she gets attached, this becomes harder.
Daniel replied:
He's her baby too, Mom.
May you like
Margaret's answer came thirty seconds later.
Not if we do this right.
