Chapter 17 - The Fake Test
Dana called it escalation.
Marcus called it desperation.
The judge called it concerning.
At the emergency hearing, Simone sat across the courtroom in a gray suit, hands folded neatly, looking nothing like the woman who had cut a child’s lunchbox in half.
Her attorney argued that stress had distorted family relationships.
Evan’s attorney produced the fake drug test.
Dana produced the forged psychologist statement.
The child advocate produced the pantry video.
No one raised their voice.
That made it worse.
Truth sounded cleaner when read into a record.
The judge ordered supervised contact for Simone with both children pending further proceedings. Evan received a structured path toward supervised visits with Caleb after an independent drug test and background review.
Marcus was granted temporary exclusive use of the home.
When he returned there for the first time with Nia, she stopped in the kitchen doorway.
Her body stiffened.
Marcus noticed.
“Want to stay at Grandma’s longer?”
She looked around.
“No.”
“You sure?”
“I want it to feel like our house again.”
So they changed it.
Not dramatically.
They moved the table.
Bought new plates.
Nia picked bright yellow placemats.
Caleb, during a visit approved by the caseworker, chose a ridiculous red toaster.
They laughed for the first time in weeks.
That night, Marcus cooked spaghetti.
Nia served herself.
Then froze with the spoon over the pot.
“Is this too much?”
Marcus put down his fork.
“No.”
“You didn’t even look.”
“I don’t need to.”
“What if I waste it?”
“Then next time you take less.”
She stared at him.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Her shoulders dropped.
A small thing.
A giant thing.
After dinner, Marcus opened the pantry.
He had replaced the old knob with one that could never lock from the outside.
Nia stood beside him.
“Can we paint it?”
“What color?”
“Blue.”
“Why blue?”
“Because Simone hated blue.”
Marcus almost smiled.
“Blue it is.”
Then the doorbell rang.
It was Tasha.
She held a flash drive.
“I found something.”
Marcus let her in.
“I backed up my old phone before Simone fired me,” she said. “There are more videos.”
His chest tightened.
“How many?”
“Four.”
Nia appeared in the hallway.
Marcus immediately said, “Go upstairs, baby.”
She did not move.
Tasha looked at Marcus.
“One isn’t of Nia.”
Marcus frowned.
“Who is it?”
Tasha’s face fell.
“Caleb.”
Marcus looked toward the stairs.
“What did she do to him?”
Tasha swallowed.
May you like
“She made him practice crying.”
And then she said, “Because she wanted the camera to believe Nia hurt him.”
