I looked at her hand reaching toward my baby.
Then I remembered rain soaking through my shoes. The taxi driver shouting, “Stay with me.” My son entering the world with no one but me.
“No.”
Her face twisted. “You can’t keep him from us forever.”
“Yes,” Mara said calmly, opening the final folder. “She can.”
Vivian froze.
“Emergency protective order,” Mara continued. “Temporary guardianship restrictions. Evidence of harassment, abandonment during a medical emergency, and credible concerns of financial exploitation. A judge signed it this morning.”
Derek collapsed into a chair. “This is insane.”
“No,” I said. “Insane was thinking cruelty leaves no evidence.”
