Chapter 16 - THE WITNESS SHE DIDN'T EXPECT
Judge Sloan recessed the hearing for lunch after Linda's testimony.
No one in our group was hungry.
We sat in a conference room eating crackers from Ava's diaper bag because they were the only food available.
Ava sat on the carpet chewing a silicone ring.
Her entire future had been discussed for hours while she remained fascinated by a blue toy.
That contrast kept me from collapsing.
Elise received a message from the investigator handling the flash drive.
The drive had been imaged safely.
It contained more than four hundred files.
Photographs.
Draft affidavits.
Scanned IDs.
Screenshots of messages.
Bank forms.
And a folder labeled RACHEL - FITNESS.
My stomach turned.
"Can we use it today?"
"Only if we can establish chain and authenticity quickly."
"Linda just testified it came from Mom."
"That helps."
"What's in the folder?"
Elise scrolled through the preliminary inventory.
"Photos of your apartment."
"We know about those."
"Copies of your therapy appointment confirmations."
I froze.
"What therapy appointments?"
"Three sessions last year."
I stared at her.
After the divorce filing, I had seen a counselor three times through my employee assistance program.
I had not told my mother the counselor's name.
"How did she get those?"
"We don't know."
"Does she have therapy records?"
"Not according to this inventory."
Relief came quickly and then anger followed.
Even seeking counseling had been collected as evidence against me.
"What else?"
"Screenshots from a private mothers' group."
My face went hot.
"Private?"
"Posts under your profile name."
I remembered one post asking whether it was normal to resent how little sleep newborns allowed.
Another asked for recommendations for affordable formula.
Another said I felt guilty for missing my old life sometimes.
Normal exhausted-parent thoughts.
In my mother's folder, they would become a dossier.
"Who gave her those?"
Claire looked horrified.
"I'm not in that group."
"Someone is."
Elise kept scrolling.
Then she stopped.
"Helen."
"What?"
"There's a membership screenshot."
Helen Brooks had joined the private group under the name Helen B. Carter.
She had been reading my posts for months.
"She was watching me online."
"Yes."
"For Mom."
"Probably."
"Can we prove it?"
"There are messages between them on the drive."
Elise read one aloud.
Patricia: Anything useful today?
Helen: She posted about being exhausted and missing work.
Patricia: Save it.
I closed my eyes.
My mother had outsourced surveillance of my most vulnerable conversations.
The hearing resumed at one-thirty.
Before Elise could call her next witness, David Keene stood.
"Your Honor, my client wishes to withdraw the emergency petition."
I looked at Elise.
She had expected this.
Judge Sloan looked over her glasses.
"Ms. Warren?"
Elise stood.
"We do not object to withdrawal of the emergency request, but there are pending requests for protective relief, preservation of evidence, and findings relevant to future contact."
Keene looked exhausted.
"The petition is being withdrawn."
Judge Sloan nodded.
"That does not erase testimony already received."
My mother leaned toward him angrily.
He whispered something back.
She shook her head.
The judge continued.
"Given the allegations of identity misuse, fabricated medical records, and improper attempts to alter custodial arrangements, the court will hear the limited protective matters."
My mother had tried to end the game once she began losing.
The court did not let her take the board home.
Elise called Helen Brooks.
Everyone turned toward the courtroom door.
No one entered.
The clerk called her name again.
Still nothing.
Keene said he had no knowledge of her location.
Elise handed the clerk a subpoena return showing Helen had been served.
Judge Sloan frowned.
Then the back door opened.
A woman entered beside a deputy.
Helen looked nothing like the confident person I remembered from church potlucks.
Her hair was pulled back.
Her face was gray.
She carried no purse.
The deputy spoke quietly to the clerk.
Helen had been located in the courthouse parking garage after attempting to leave despite being under subpoena.
My mother stared at her.
Helen did not look back.
She took the witness stand.
Before answering questions, Helen's attorney stepped forward and stated that she would invoke her right against self-incrimination regarding certain subjects unless granted appropriate protections.
My stomach sank.
Elise remained calm.
She adjusted her questions.
"Ms. Brooks, do you operate Family Care Advocacy Services?"
"Yes."
"Did Patricia Hale hire you?"
Helen looked at her attorney.
"I can answer that."
She looked back at Elise.
"Yes."
"When?"
"February."
February.
Before Ava was born.
"For what purpose?"
"Initially, estate research."
Samuel, seated behind us, went still.
"Whose estate?"
"Harold Ellis."
"Did Patricia ask you to determine whether an unborn grandchild might inherit?"
"Yes."
"Did she ask you how a maternal grandparent could control such funds?"
Helen hesitated.
"Yes."
My mother closed her eyes.
"What happened after Ava was born?"
"Patricia asked me to gather information showing Rachel needed help."
"What kind of information?"
"Financial stress, mental health issues, parenting problems."
"Did Rachel authorize you to gather that information?"
"No."
"Did you join a private parenting group under another name?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Patricia asked me to monitor Rachel's posts."
"Did you take photographs of Rachel and Ava?"
Helen looked at her attorney again.
He whispered to her.
"Yes."
"How many times?"
"I don't know."
"More than ten?"
"Yes."
"More than twenty?"
"Probably."
"Did Patricia pay you?"
"Yes."
"From what account?"
Helen's attorney stood.
"She invokes."
Elise nodded.
The refusal itself could not be treated as guilt, but the boundary told us where danger began.
Elise shifted.
"Did you prepare a document using Dr. Mira Patel's name?"
Helen's attorney stood again.
"She invokes."
"Did you help create an email account using Rachel Morgan's identity?"
"She invokes."
"Did you help submit an account request using Ava's information?"
"She invokes."
My mother stared straight ahead.
Then Elise asked something unexpected.
"Did Patricia ever tell you she believed Rachel was actually unfit to parent?"
Helen's attorney did not stand.
Helen looked confused.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"She said Rachel was overwhelmed."
"That is not my question."
Elise stepped closer.
"Did Patricia ever tell you, in your private conversations, that she genuinely believed Ava was unsafe with Rachel?"
Helen stared at my mother.
My mother finally looked at her.
The room seemed to contract around that exchange.
Helen whispered, "No."
My heart stopped.
"What did she say instead?"
Keene objected to hearsay.
Elise argued state of mind and motive.
The judge allowed a limited answer.
Helen swallowed.
"She said Rachel would never give her enough access voluntarily."
My hands began to shake.
"Access to what?"
"Ava."
"And?"
Helen closed her eyes.
"The trust."
My mother whispered, "Helen."
The judge looked sharply toward her.
Helen continued.
"Patricia said if Rachel thought she could raise Ava without family, she needed to learn what family could do."
I felt something inside me go quiet.
Not because the sentence surprised me.
Because it confirmed the motive in language my mother would never use around witnesses.
Elise asked, "Did Patricia instruct you to create a record of concern?"
Helen's attorney stood.
"She invokes."
"Did Patricia instruct you to exaggerate ordinary parenting struggles?"
"She invokes."
"Did Patricia tell you Christmas dinner was an opportunity to provoke Rachel in front of witnesses?"
Helen's attorney opened his mouth.
Helen answered first.
"Yes."
Her lawyer stared at her.
Elise stopped.
"What exactly did she say?"
Helen's eyes filled.
"She said Rachel always runs when embarrassed."
I looked at my mother.
Helen continued.
"She said she would say something about Ava being abnormal."
My stomach twisted.
"Why?"
"Because Rachel would either explode or leave."
"And either reaction would be useful?"
"Yes."
"Useful for what?"
Helen's voice dropped to almost nothing.
"Emergency guardianship."
No one in the courtroom moved.
Then Helen added one final sentence without being asked.
"But Patricia wasn't planning to keep guardianship temporary."
My mother stood again.
"Stop talking."
Keene grabbed her arm.
Judge Sloan ordered her to sit.
Elise looked at Helen.
"What do you mean?"
Helen stared directly at me for the first time.
"There was a second petition."
My mouth went dry.
"For what?"
Helen answered.
May you like
"To terminate both parents' custodial rights permanently."
