Chapter 8 - The Custody Battle That Wasn't
Because Mark was facing up to fifteen years in federal prison, the divorce and custody proceedings were a total landslide.
Mark tried to fight it from his jail cell, claiming he still had a right to see his son. But the family court judge took one look at the police report documenting the night Clara and Leo were found sleeping in the car, coupled with Mark's pending federal felonies, and slammed the gavel down.
“Mr. Vance,” the judge said via video link to the county jail. “You have demonstrated a shocking, abhorrent lack of care for your child's physical and emotional safety. You are a danger to this family's stability.”
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Clara was granted 100% sole legal and physical custody of Leo. Mark was stripped of all visitation rights. He wasn't even allowed to send a letter without it being screened by a court-appointed monitor.
When we walked out of the courthouse that day, the sun was shining brightly through the Portland clouds. Clara took a deep breath of the crisp air, closing her eyes. The heavy chains of her abusive marriage were finally, permanently broken.
