Chapter 5 - The Family Intervention
Ryan and Ashley were bailed out by my parents after spending five days in jail. The conditions of their bail stated they could not have unmonitored contact with the children.
One Saturday afternoon, a heavy knock echoed through my house. I checked the doorbell camera. It was my parents. They looked furious. I told the kids to go play in the backyard and opened the front door, leaving the screen door locked.
“Let us in, Hannah,” my father demanded, his face red. “We want to see our grandchildren.”
“You can see them when CPS arranges a supervised visit,” I said smoothly. “You aren't coming in.”
Mom stepped forward, weeping. “Hannah, please. Ryan lost his job because of the arrest. Ashley is a wreck. If you just drop the charges, tell them it was a misunderstanding, they can get the kids back. We’ll help them. We promise.”
“You’ve been promising to help them for ten years, Mom,” I said. “And your version of helping was forcing me to do it. They left a baby in freezing temperatures to prove a point. They are unfit.”
“They are their parents!” Dad yelled, hitting the door frame. “You have no right to steal them!”
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“If you don't leave my property right now, I am calling the police and having you trespassed,” I warned, pulling out my phone.
They glared at me, spouting curses and disowning me, before retreating to their car. I stood shaking for a few minutes, mourning the parents I thought I had. But when I looked out the back window and saw Maya pushing Sam on the swing, laughing with pure joy, my resolve hardened into steel. They were my family now.
