Chapter 5
By noon, I had my own attorney.
Her name was Rebecca Shaw.
She was fifty-two, calm, precise, and completely unimpressed by panic.
That helped.
I sat in her office with the copied petition in front of us.
The signature looked like mine.
Almost.
Same slant.
Same capital D.
Same ugly loop in the B of Brooks.
But I knew I had never signed it.
Rebecca adjusted her glasses.
“When was this supposedly executed?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“Where were you?”
I checked my calendar.
Then I remembered.
“Chicago.”
“For work?”
“Yes.”
“Can you prove that?”
“Flights. Hotel. Meetings. Corporate security badge logs.”
“Good.”
She read the notary block.
“Notary is local.”
“So somebody forged it.”
“Possibly.”
“Possibly?”
“I don’t use stronger words until I can prove them.”
I liked her already.
“What does this petition actually do?”
“It appears to authorize you, as Tyler’s parent, to request approval to move trust-backed equity into a replacement residence after sale.”
“So Melissa wanted me to look like I approved it.”
“Maybe.”
“Why?”
“That is the question.”
She turned a page.
“The proposed replacement property is listed.”
I stared.
“What?”
She rotated the document.
There was an address.
Frisco, Texas.
I knew it.
Diane’s neighborhood.
“Melissa’s mother lives two streets away.”
Rebecca looked at me.
“Do you recognize the exact property?”
“No.”
She typed the address into her computer.
A real-estate listing appeared.
Five bedrooms.
Pool.
New construction.
Under contract.
Buyer identity unavailable.
I felt cold.
“When did it go under contract?”
She checked.
“Twelve days ago.”
“Melissa put a house under contract?”
“Don’t assume.”
“I know my wife.”
“Based on the last twenty-four hours, I would suggest accepting that you may not know everything your wife has been doing.”
That shut me up.
Rebecca leaned back.
“Your immediate priorities are the children and evidence preservation.”
I nodded.
“She’s been documenting Tyler.”
“I want copies.”
“She coached Ava to lie.”
“I want you to write down exactly what Ava said, but do not interrogate her again.”
“I didn’t interrogate her.”
“Good. Keep it that way.”
“She told Grace the police could take Tyler.”
“Write it down.”
“She slapped me in front of an officer.”
Rebecca stopped.
“An officer witnessed it?”
“Yes.”
“That will be documented.”
“I don’t want revenge.”
“Good.”
“I just want the kids safe.”
“That is exactly what you tell yourself every time emotion takes over.”
I stared at her.
She continued.
“You are about to go through a situation where every text, every raised voice, every decision may be examined later. Do not give Melissa the unstable husband she has apparently been preparing to describe.”
I understood.
It still made me angry.
“What about Tyler?”
“You are his surviving parent?”
“Yes.”
“His mother is deceased?”
“Yes.”
“Then Melissa has no independent custody claim over him.”
Relief hit me.
“But?”
Rebecca gave me a small look.
“You knew there was a but.”
“Always.”
“If Melissa alleges that Tyler poses a danger to your daughters, she can raise that in litigation concerning Ava and Grace.”
“So she can’t take Tyler, but she can make me choose.”
“She can try to convince a court that certain living arrangements are necessary for the girls.”
Exactly what Tyler had said.
Rebecca continued.
“That does not mean she will succeed.”
“What do I do?”
“You act like a father, not a defendant.”
I frowned.
“Meaning?”
“Support all three children. Do not pressure Ava and Grace to take sides. Do not speak badly about their mother in front of them. Get Tyler appropriate support if he needs it. Preserve evidence. Follow the law.”
“And the forged document?”
Her eyes hardened.
“That is separate. I’m sending it to a forensic document examiner and contacting the notary.”
My phone buzzed.
A message from Melissa.
We need to talk without lawyers.
I showed Rebecca.
She almost smiled.
“No.”
“What do I say?”
“Nothing right now.”
Another message.
The girls need their mother.
Then:
Tyler has poisoned them against me.
Then:
If you want any chance of fixing this, meet me alone tonight.
Rebecca handed the phone back.
“Still no.”
“She’ll say I refuse to communicate.”
“Send one message.”
I typed while Rebecca dictated.
Please communicate regarding the children in writing. I will cooperate with reasonable arrangements for Ava and Grace to spend time with you. I will not discuss legal or property matters without counsel.
Melissa responded in less than twenty seconds.
You’re going to regret this.
Rebecca read it.
“Save that.”
Back home, Karen had ordered pizza.
Nobody ate much.
Ava kept glancing at the front door.
Grace asked whether Mommy was coming home.
I told her I did not know.
Then Grace asked if Mommy still loved us.
That one nearly killed me.
“Of course she does.”
Ava looked at me suspiciously.
“You’re mad at her.”
“Yes.”
“Can you be mad and still love someone?”
I looked at all three children.
“Yes.”
Tyler stared at his plate.
“That sounds awful.”
Karen choked on a laugh.
Even Ava smiled.
For ten seconds, the room felt human again.
Then the doorbell rang.
All three children froze.
I checked the camera.
Diane.
Alone.
Rebecca had told me not to create unnecessary conflict.
So I opened the door but did not invite her in.
“What do you want?”
“To see my granddaughters.”
“They’re eating.”
“I brought their things.”
She held up two bags.
“That’s fine.”
She tried to step inside.
I blocked the doorway.
Her expression hardened.
“I am not Melissa.”
“No. You’re the person Ava says helped tell her to lie.”
Diane went pale.
“She misunderstood.”
“That phrase is getting popular.”
“Daniel, you are destroying this family.”
I laughed once.
“You came here to say that?”
“I came here because Melissa is terrified.”
“Of what?”
“Losing her children.”
“She called the police and accused me of kidnapping them.”
“Because you kept them.”
“They live here.”
“So does she.”
“Then why was she packed before our argument?”
Diane’s eyes shifted.
Tiny movement.
But I saw it.
“She was upset.”
“She planned this.”
“No.”
“What is the house in Frisco?”
Her face changed.
There.
Confirmation.
I lowered my voice.
“You know.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Two streets from you. Under contract twelve days ago.”
She stared at me.
I continued.
“It appears in a document with my forged signature.”
Diane’s lips parted.
“I should go.”
“Who forged my signature?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who is buying that house?”
Silence.
“Diane.”
She looked toward the driveway.
Then she whispered, “You weren’t supposed to find out like this.”
My skin prickled.
“Find out what?”
Her eyes filled.
“Melissa was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“After Hawaii.”
“Tell me what?”
She shook her head.
“Ask her.”
I almost closed the door.
Then she said something that stopped me.
“She isn’t trying to steal Tyler’s money.”
I turned back.
“I never said she was.”
Diane realized her mistake.
Too late.
“How do you know about the trust?”
“Melissa told me.”
“What did she tell you?”
“That Sarah’s money has controlled your marriage from the beginning.”
I stared at her.
“That makes no sense.”
“She said you refused to sell because Tyler would lose his connection to his mother.”
“That’s not true.”
“She said every major decision had to account for that trust.”
“I didn’t know the value.”
“But you knew it existed.”
“Barely. I had forgotten the structure.”
Diane’s expression became almost pitying.
“You really didn’t know what was happening.”
“No. Apparently I married people who communicate through secret attorneys.”
She winced.
“Melissa wanted the Frisco house for all of you.”
“All of us?”
“Yes.”
“Including Tyler?”
Diane hesitated.
There was my answer.
I stepped closer.
“She wanted to use Tyler’s trust equity to buy a house he wouldn’t live in.”
“No.”
“Then explain.”
“She thought a fresh start would help.”
“A fresh start for whom?”
“For your marriage.”
“My marriage didn’t need Tyler removed to survive.”
Diane looked down.
“She thought it did.”
The words were quiet.
Honest.
For the first time, honest.
I stared at her.
“Why?”
Diane took a long breath.
“Because Melissa believes you still love Sarah.”
I said nothing.
“She has believed it for years.”
“Sarah is dead.”
“That doesn’t mean Melissa stopped competing with her.”
The truth of that was so ugly I almost rejected it.
Then I remembered every time Melissa had gone quiet when Tyler mentioned his mother.
Every time Sarah’s family photographs disappeared into drawers.
Every time Melissa referred to the house as “the place you bought with her.”
Diane continued.
“She thought moving would finally make you let go.”
“So she planned to get rid of Tyler too?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“A school.”
My stomach twisted.
Diane looked ashamed.
“She found a residential program outside Austin.”
“He doesn’t need residential treatment.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“I told her that.”
“But you still helped her.”
“I thought she wanted him there for one semester.”
My voice rose.
“One semester?”
“Daniel—”
“He’s eleven!”
“I know.”
“And what were you going to tell him?”
“That he needed help.”
“He needs a family.”
Diane started crying.
For once, I did not care.
“You coached Ava.”
“I never told her to lie.”
“She says you did.”
“I told her that if Tyler frightened her, she should say so.”
“Did he frighten her?”
Diane said nothing.
“That’s what I thought.”
Behind me, a small voice said, “Grandma?”
Ava stood in the hallway.
Diane wiped her face.
“Honey.”
Ava walked toward the door.
“Did you know Mom was sending Tyler away?”
Diane looked shattered.
“Ava, grown-ups were trying to solve some problems.”
Ava’s face tightened.
“He is not a problem.”
Diane started crying harder.
Ava came beside me.
“He’s my brother.”
I put my hand on her shoulder.
Diane whispered, “I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Ava’s voice shook.
“Because if you knew, you wouldn’t help.”
Then she walked away.
Diane stood on the porch for several seconds.
Finally, she handed me the bags.
“I’m sorry.”
I almost shut the door.
Then she said, “There’s something in Melissa’s desk you need to see.”
I stopped.
“What?”
“Bottom drawer. There’s a blue folder.”
“What’s in it?”
May you like
Diane looked toward the street.
“The real reason she wanted you in Hawaii.”
