Chapter 4 - The Custody Battle Begins
The arraignment was a media circus. Child abandonment cases involving upper-middle-class, seemingly "perfect" suburban parents always drew the news vans. I sat in the back of the courtroom with a sharp, no-nonsense family lawyer named Sarah I had hired using my savings.
Liam and Chloe were led in wearing orange jumpsuits, their wrists shackled. Chloe looked terrible—her roots were showing, her spray tan was fading into a sickly yellow, and she was sobbing uncontrollably, playing the ultimate victim.
My parents were sitting in the front row, glaring daggers at me.
The judge, a stern woman with zero tolerance for nonsense, read the charges. Liam’s high-priced defense attorney, paid for by my parents, immediately requested bail and the immediate return of the children, citing Chloe’s pregnancy and "post-partum depression from previous births" as a medical excuse for her lapse in judgment.
“Your Honor,” Sarah stood up, her voice ringing clearly through the courtroom. “My client, Maya Vance, has emergency custody. We are filing for permanent guardianship and requesting a strict no-contact order. These children were left alone for twelve hours before discovery. The eldest child reported that this is not the first time they have been left alone overnight.”
The courtroom erupted into gasps. Even Liam looked shocked. He clearly hadn't known Tommy told the social worker about the weekend they went to Vegas a year ago, leaving Tommy in charge with nothing but a frozen pizza.
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The judge slammed her gavel. “Bail is set at $100,000 each. The children will remain in the custody of their aunt. No contact is granted. If the defendants make bail, they are to surrender their passports and stay away from Ms. Vance’s residence.”
As Liam was led away, he looked back at me. There was no arrogance left, only pure, unadulterated hatred. I held his gaze without blinking.
