Chapter 12 - The Application
The boarding school application had been printed but not mailed.
That was the only good thing Marcus could find in it.
Nia’s name was typed across the top.
Age: 10.
Reason for placement: Severe behavioral instability affecting family safety.
Marcus stared at the phrase until his vision blurred.
Attached were statements.
Most were unsigned.
One described Nia as manipulative, aggressive, food-obsessed, and emotionally volatile.
Another claimed she had threatened Caleb.
Marcus turned the page.
A signature appeared at the bottom.
Dr. Helen Ward.
Child psychologist.
He did not know the name.
He called the office.
The receptionist confirmed Nia had never been a patient.
“Then why is your doctor’s name on this document?”
A long silence.
“Can you email us a copy?”
He did.
An hour later, Dr. Ward herself called.
“That is not my signature.”
Marcus stood by the window in Denise’s living room.
“Do you know my wife?”
“I have never met her.”
“Then how did your name—”
“I write articles on childhood behavior. My bio and signature image are online.”
Forgery.
Not just cruelty.
Planning.
Simone had been building a case to remove Nia.
Marcus forwarded everything to Dana and the investigator.
That evening, Denise sat beside him on the porch.
“You can’t blame yourself forever.”
“I brought Simone into her life.”
“You also believed someone you loved.”
“I ignored things.”
“You missed things. That is not the same as agreeing with them.”
Marcus did not answer.
Nia opened the screen door.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“There’s a lady here.”
A child welfare investigator, Mara Bell, stepped onto the porch.
She spent an hour speaking separately with Nia and Caleb.
Then another hour with Marcus.
Before leaving, she asked one final question.
“Mr. Reed, do you have access to household finances?”
“Yes.”
“Check them.”
“For what?”
“Patterns. Private schools. Travel. Storage units. Anything unusual.”
Marcus opened his banking app.
At first, nothing jumped out.
Then he saw monthly payments to a storage company across town.
$187.
For fourteen months.
He had never rented a storage unit.
The account was joint.
The payments came from Simone’s card.
The next morning, with Dana’s advice and documentation showing he was a joint account holder, Marcus went to the facility.
The manager confirmed Unit 314 was rented under Simone Reed.
Marcus’s name was listed as an authorized access person.
He stared at the padlock.
The manager cut it.
The metal door rolled upward.
Inside were six plastic bins, two suitcases, a folding table, and one locked filing cabinet.
On top of the cabinet sat a framed photograph.
Marcus picked it up.
Simone was smiling beside a man he recognized.
Evan Cole.
May you like
The date stamped on the back was only eleven months old.
And they were holding hands.
