Chapter 6 - Family Does Not Mean Safe
Daniel's mother, Carol, called me that night.
“Please don't take this to court tomorrow.”
“It's already in court.”
“Daniel would never hurt Caleb.”
“Then he can explain why his medication nearly stopped Caleb's breathing.”
Carol started crying.
“Amber has always been impulsive. Daniel probably gave her the pills because she was anxious.”
It was possible.
I wanted it to be possible.
For nearly an hour after the call, I tried to build an innocent version in my head.
Daniel gave Amber medication.
Amber acted alone.
Daniel panicked when he realized what she'd done.
Then my lawyer forwarded Daniel's emergency custody filing from six weeks earlier.
I had read it before.
This time one paragraph felt different.
Daniel had argued that my “work demands and poor judgment regarding medications and alcohol within the home” created an unsafe environment for Caleb.
At the time I had been furious because I rarely drank and took no controlled medication.
His lawyer had called the language boilerplate.
Now a drugged child had been found beside a bottle Amber claimed came from my bag.
I called my attorney.
“Was he trying to create evidence for something he'd already accused me of?”
“Don't assume yet,” she warned. “Let investigators establish that.”
That was difficult but necessary.
Meanwhile Aaron refused Amber's calls to Lily under the CPS safety plan.
Carol accused him of using the crisis to steal custody.
Families started choosing sides.
Caleb heard enough from the hospital corridor to ask why Aunt Amber wasn't allowed to visit.
“Because something happened that adults have to figure out,” I told him.
He looked at me for a long moment.
“Daddy told me Aunt Amber was going to prove you're not always right.”
I kept my expression steady.
“When?”
“When he took me for pancakes.”
“What else did he say?”
Caleb shrugged.
May you like
“That soon the judge would know where I should live.”
The custody fight had entered my son's vocabulary before I knew anyone was teaching it to him.
