Chapter 6 - The Custody Threat
The retaliation came exactly as Sarah predicted.
Two weeks after the incident, I was served with legal papers.
Evan was filing for full, sole custody of Maisie.
His petition claimed I was "unstable, violent, and alienated the child from her family."
He cited the three slaps I gave him as proof of domestic violence.
He claimed Maisie was in danger in my care.
I sat in Sarah’s office, shaking with rage.
“He doesn’t even know her bedtime routine,” I said.
“He doesn’t know her pediatrician's name.”
“He doesn't know she’s allergic to strawberries.”
“And he wants full custody?”
Sarah remained perfectly calm.
“It’s a scare tactic,” she explained.
“Margaret is paying his legal fees.”
“They want to frighten you into dropping the restraining order and settling on their terms.”
“Will it work?” I asked, terrified.
“Not on my watch,” Sarah replied fiercely.
“We are going to depose them.”
“Under oath.”
“We are going to ask them every single question about Maisie’s life.”
“And we are going to let Evan prove to the court just how little he knows about his own daughter.”
The thought of sitting in a room with them made my skin crawl.
But I looked at a photo of Maisie on my phone.
I would walk through fire for her.
“Schedule it,” I told Sarah.
The days leading up to the deposition were grueling.
I gathered every document, every medical record, every text message.
I proved that I was the one who bought her clothes, made her meals, and took her to the doctor.
Evan had been a ghost in his own home long before the birthday dinner.
He was a man who lived under his mother’s shadow.
And he had expected me to live there, too.
May you like
But the shadows were lifting.
And the truth was about to be dragged into the light.
