Chapter 4 - The Legal Loophole
I froze in absolute horror as the police officer reached for his handcuffs.
Lily screamed and wrapped her small arms tightly around my waist.
Grace began to sob hysterically, burying her face into her older sister's shoulder.
Ethan stood up on the diner booth seat and balled his tiny hands into fists.
Before the officer could touch me, Eleanor stood up and firmly placed herself between us.
She introduced herself to the officers as my legal counsel.
Eleanor demanded to see the official court order granting Grant sole custody of the children.
The officers exchanged a confused glance, admitting they only had a verbal complaint from the father.
Eleanor smiled a terrifying, razor-sharp smile that commanded total respect.
Without a judge's signed emergency order, this mother has equal legal rights to travel with her children.
She informed the officers that they were attempting to execute an illegal arrest and threatened them with a massive civil rights lawsuit.
The taller officer cleared his throat, realizing he had overstepped his legal boundaries.
He apologized gruffly, tipped his hat, and walked quickly out of the diner.
I collapsed back into the booth, shaking uncontrollably as I hugged my crying children.
Eleanor paid for our breakfast and told me to follow her car to her private office.
When we arrived at her secure building, she let the children watch television in the lobby.
Eleanor sat me down at her heavy oak desk and opened her laptop to check the county court records.
She typed furiously for a few minutes before letting out a heavy, troubled sigh.
Grant is moving faster than we thought, she warned me.
He just filed an emergency ex parte motion to strip you of all parental rights.
Eleanor turned the laptop screen toward me so I could read the official legal filing.
Grant had listed a brand new primary caretaker for my children, citing my alleged severe mental instability.
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I stared at the name printed on the legal document and felt my stomach drop to the floor.
The new designated mother of my children was his twenty-two-year-old mistress, Vanessa.
