Chapter 4 - WHAT MICHAEL SIGNED
I stared at my husband.
"You signed what?"
He looked at the floor.
"Temporary guardianship paperwork."
The hospital room became very quiet.
"Why?"
"My mother said it was for emergencies."
"Whose emergencies?"
"Travel. Medical situations."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I thought you'd sign too."
"You thought wrong."
Detective Brooks asked, "Did you read it?"
Michael hesitated.
That was my answer.
At two in the morning, police escorted us home.
Margaret and Vanessa were gone.
The kitchen still smelled like burned oil.
Emma's chair had been moved.
The blood on the tile had been wiped.
Brooks noticed immediately.
"Who cleaned this?"
I looked at Michael.
He called the house manager.
No answer.
The envelope sat on my desk.
Untouched.
Brooks photographed it before opening.
Inside was not preschool paperwork.
It was a petition naming Margaret Patterson as emergency guardian of Emma.
Attached was a statement claiming I had untreated anxiety, violent outbursts, and a history of leaving Emma unsupervised.
My signature line was blank.
Michael's was not.
He looked like he had been punched.
"I didn't see this page."
I laughed once.
"You signed a document about our child without reading it."
"My mom gave me a stack."
"Stop saying your mom like that excuses you."
He flinched.
Brooks turned to the final page.
A notary stamp.
Dated yesterday.
But the notary signature was already there, even though I had never signed.
"Forgery prep," Brooks said.
Then she found another attachment.
A medical evaluation.
My name.
My date of birth.
A diagnosis I had never received.
"Major depressive disorder with impaired judgment."
The doctor's name was Dr. Evan Keller.
Michael stared.
"That's Mom's psychiatrist."
I felt cold.
Detective Brooks looked toward the hallway.
"Your mother wasn't just planning a custody dispute."
She held up the fake evaluation.
"She was building a legal record."
Then a crash sounded from upstairs.
May you like
We all froze.
Someone was still in the house.
