Chapter 6 - Legal Warfare
They hadn't just abandoned us; they had robbed my daughter. The money wasn't "family money." It was insurance payout from my late husband's passing, kept in that specific account for Daisy’s future. My father had used an old legal loophole from when the account was first created a decade ago to drain it.
When Ethan arrived that evening and saw me staring blankly at the wall, he immediately knew something was wrong. I showed him the bank statement and the text.
Ethan didn't yell. Instead, a terrifyingly calm expression took over his face. "This is grand larceny. Legal loophole or not, that money belongs to a minor and was derived from a life insurance policy. They just committed a felony, and they were stupid enough to write a confession via text message."
"I can't afford a lawyer now, Ethan," I said, burying my face in my hands. "The ICU bills are going to be astronomical, and now her college fund is gone."
"You won't have to," Ethan said, pulling out his phone. "My brother is a senior partner at one of the top corporate and family law firms in the city. He hates bullies. Let me call him."
Within two hours, Ethan’s brother, Marcus, arrived at the hospital. He was a sharp-dressed man with an aura of absolute competence. He reviewed the texts, the account creation documents I pulled up online, and the timeline of events.
"This is a slam dunk," Marcus said, a cold smile touching his lips. "They withdrew this money a day after attempting to fraudulent take medical custody of Daisy, and then sent an extortionate text. I’m filing an emergency injunction first thing in the morning to freeze their personal accounts. We’re also filing criminal charges for grand theft."
Marcus looked at me gently. "Focus on Daisy’s physical therapy. Let me handle the monsters. I promise you, by the time I’m done with them, they will wish they had just bought the cupcakes."
Over the next week, Daisy made miraculous strides. She moved from the ICU to a regular pediatric ward. She began to eat solid food, and her laughter—a beautiful, musical sound—returned to the room. Ethan brought her coloring books, and the two of them would spend hours drawing imaginary castles. Watching them together, a strange, warm feeling began to bloom in my chest. A feeling I hadn't felt since my husband died. Hope.
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Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Marcus’s legal guillotine was falling on my family.
My father’s personal and business accounts were frozen by a judge's order within forty-eight hours. Because he had used the stolen funds to pay off a massive credit card debt Madison had accumulated for her daughter’s lavish party, he couldn't immediately return the money. He was facing active jail time.
