Chapter 2 - The Signatures
The grand foyer went completely silent.
I stared at the thick stack of papers in Margaret’s trembling hand.
My military training kicked in, suppressing my panic and forcing my mind to analyze the threat.
“Emergency custody orders require evidence of abuse or severe instability,” I stated calmly.
Margaret smiled, her confidence returning as she waved the documents in the air.
“I have sworn affidavits from sixty party guests stating you acted erratically and fled the house in a manic state,” she said.
I looked at Wesley, expecting him to rip the papers out of his mother’s hands.
He did not move.
He stared at the floor, refusing to make eye contact with me.
A sickening realization washed over me.
“Wesley,” I whispered.
“Did you know about this?”
He flinched as if I had struck him.
“Nora, you have to understand my position,” he stammered.
“She threatened to completely cut me out of the family trust if I didn't cooperate.”
My husband, the father of my child, had sold our daughter for a guaranteed inheritance.
My father stepped forward, his heavy boots echoing loudly on the marble floor.
He gently took the custody papers from Margaret’s hand.
She smirked at him, assuming she had backed a senior military officer into a legal corner.
My father scanned the first page and nodded slowly.
“Judge Harrison signed this?” my father asked.
“Yes, and it is fully binding,” Margaret replied proudly.
My father pulled a sleek black radio from his tactical belt.
He pressed a button and spoke clearly into the microphone.
“Bring the judge inside.”
May you like
The front doors burst open again, letting in a gust of cold autumn wind.
Two federal agents walked into the foyer, dragging Judge Harrison between them in heavy steel handcuffs.
