Chapter 6 - The Letter Prepared Before Midnight
The lawyer's letter was frightening because of how ordinary it looked.
It had a neat letterhead, careful phrasing, and no mention of the slap.
It said Daniel wanted his daughter back in a stable family environment.
It implied that I was acting impulsively.
Rachel read it and pointed out that a letter was not a court order.
"We'll get a licensed attorney to review this," she said.
"But don't let the stationery decide what is true."
I called a local family-law office that had an emergency consultation available the next morning.
Until then, I sent Daniel a calm message confirming that Lily was safe and offering a brief video call if she wished to speak.
He replied that he would only talk if I brought her to his parents' house.
I didn't agree.
When Lily asked to call Daddy that evening, we tried again.
Daniel answered from his childhood bedroom.
For thirty wonderful seconds, he sounded like the father I remembered.
He asked about her stuffed rabbit and whether her cheek felt better.
Then Patricia's voice came from off camera.
"Tell Daddy why you were naughty at dinner."
Lily froze.
I ended the call and held her while she cried.
Later, I wrote Daniel that future calls needed to be free of questions blaming Lily for what happened.
He accused me of coaching her.
The accusation struck harder than I expected.
I had spent years insisting his family didn't mean the things they said.
Now he was telling people that my daughter's feelings belonged to me, not to her.
The following morning, my attorney, Nora Collins, examined the timeline, photographs, records, and correspondence.
She asked questions Rachel hadn't known to ask.
She also corrected my assumptions about which remedies were realistic and which would take time.
"Our first goal is a safe, workable plan for Lily," she said.
"Not a courtroom speech."
I agreed.
As we left the office, Nora handed me a copy of Daniel's lawyer's filing notice.
A temporary-hearing request had been submitted that morning.
On the first page, an attached statement carried a signature I recognized.
Megan's.
May you like
Under oath, she claimed I had struck her first.
