Chapter 4 - Drawing the Battle Lines
The next morning, my phone erupted with calls and texts from Mark.
“Clara, bring Lily home now. You’re behaving like a child. If you don't return by noon, I will call the police and report you for kidnapping our daughter.”
My heart hammered against my ribs, but looking at the certificate of trust on Maya's table gave me a cold, hard courage I didn't know I possessed.
“We need a lawyer, Maya. The best family lawyer in the city,” I said.
“I know just the person,” Maya replied, a fierce smile spreading across her face. “Her name is Diane Vance. She specializes in high-net-worth divorces and custody battles. She’s a shark.”
Within two hours, we were sitting in Diane’s high-rise office. Diane looked over the trust document, the photos I had taken of the red mark on Lily’s cheek, and the security footage I had managed to download from my phone—which had been connected to the smart cameras in Eleanor’s living room before they cut the feed.
Diane’s eyes lit up. “This is gold, Clara. They physically assaulted a minor, threatened you, and attempted to coerce you to misappropriate a trust fund. We aren’t just filing for divorce. We are going for sole physical and legal custody, a restraining order, and financial damages.”
May you like
“But Mark’s family is powerful,” I whispered. “They have connections everywhere.”
“They have money, Clara. But you have the truth, the evidence, and now, the financial means to fight them on equal footing,” Diane said, tapping the Swiss trust certificate. “Let’s draft the papers. We serve them today.”
