Chapter 7
Detective Howard stopped treating our situation like a family dispute after that message.
Two officers stayed near my mother's hospital room.
Another drove us back to the hotel.
By morning, we were moved again.
This time to a secure apartment normally used for protected witnesses.
Noah thought it was an adventure.
I let him.
He didn't need to know why an officer sat downstairs all night.
He didn't need to know I barely slept.
At seven in the morning, Renee arrived.
She brought coffee and worse news.
"Daniel filed something."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
"Emergency custody petition."
Nia stood.
"He actually filed it?"
Renee nodded.
"Yesterday afternoon."
"On what grounds?"
She opened the document.
"That Nia attempted to flee with Noah."
I stared at her.
"He caused that."
"I know."
"And now he's using it?"
"Yes."
Renee continued.
"He also claims you're unstable and violent."
Of course.
"What evidence?"
"A statement from a neighbor saying you've had aggressive outbursts."
"What neighbor?"
She read the name.
I didn't recognize it.
"Fake?"
"Possibly."
"There are also photographs of you punching your garage wall."
My face went cold.
Nia stared at me.
"When?"
I remembered.
Three months ago.
Nia and I had a terrible argument.
After she went inside, I hit the wall once.
Daniel had visited later that evening.
"You see?" Renee said quietly.
"He has been building this for months."
I sat down.
My brother had watched my marriage weaken.
Then instead of helping, he had collected every bad moment.
Every argument.
Every mistake.
Every weakness.
"What does he want?"
That was the question none of us could answer.
Money?
Insurance?
Noah?
All of it?
Renee tapped the paperwork.
"There is something unusual."
"What?"
"Daniel isn't asking for permanent custody."
Nia frowned.
"Then what?"
"Temporary emergency guardianship."
"For how long?"
"Until a court decides you are fit."
I laughed bitterly.
"He creates the problem, then volunteers to solve it."
"Exactly."
Renee leaned closer.
"And once he controls Noah legally, transferring physical placement becomes much easier."
The red-door house.
My stomach twisted.
"What kind of man calls himself a child-placement consultant?"
Renee hesitated.
"Someone who knows how to move children through legal systems."
Nia covered her mouth.
"No."
I stood.
"Nobody moves my son anywhere."
"They won't."
Renee's voice was firm.
"We have the files."
"Enough to stop the hearing?"
"Maybe."
I hated that word.
"Maybe?"
"The documents came from a stolen flash drive."
Nia stiffened.
"I took it because I was scared."
"I understand."
"But the court may question how we obtained it."
"So Daniel can forge evidence and we have to worry about procedure?"
"Welcome to court."
I paced the room.
Noah sat nearby building a tower from plastic blocks.
He suddenly looked up.
"Daddy."
I stopped.
"Yeah?"
"You're doing the angry walk."
I stared at him.
"The what?"
"The angry walk."
Nia almost smiled despite everything.
I sat beside him.
"I'm okay."
He handed me a block.
"No you're not."
I took it.
"No."
I sighed.
"I'm not."
"Is Uncle Danny mad at us?"
I looked at Renee.
Then at Nia.
"No."
I decided not to lie.
"Uncle Danny made some bad choices."
Noah looked down.
"Is he going to jail?"
"I don't know."
"Will he come here?"
"No."
That part I said firmly.
"He won't."
A few hours later, Detective Howard called.
The warrant had been approved.
Police were searching Daniel's house and the red-door property.
For the first time in days, I felt like something was moving in our direction.
Then Howard added, "Daniel isn't at home."
My relief disappeared.
"Where is he?"
"We don't know."
"What about Reese?"
"Also missing."
I stood.
"You lost both of them?"
"We never had them in custody."
Nia started pacing now.
"What did you find at the red-door house?"
Howard paused.
"Rooms prepared for children."
The air left my lungs.
"What?"
"Three bedrooms. Toys. Clothing."
Nia sank into a chair.
Howard continued.
"Documents suggesting multiple guardianship cases."
My skin went cold.
"Noah wasn't the first."
"We don't believe so."
"How many?"
"We're still determining that."
I looked at my son.
He was building his tower again.
"What about the man who broke into my mother's house?"
"We're investigating."
"That's not enough."
"Marcus."
"No."
I lowered my voice.
"You told me not to confront my brother. I listened."
"I know."
"You told me to wait. I waited."
"I know."
"Now he's gone."
Howard remained silent.
I continued.
"If Daniel comes near my family—"
"Call us."
I almost laughed.
Then the apartment buzzer sounded.
Every adult in the room froze.
The officer stationed downstairs called my phone immediately.
"Mr. Miller?"
"Yeah?"
"You have a visitor."
"Who?"
"She says she's Daniel's wife."
I looked at Nia.
Daniel had been divorced for almost two years.
"What wife?"
The officer answered.
"Her name is Tasha Miller."
My knees nearly gave out.
Tasha.
Daniel's ex-wife.
The woman who disappeared from family gatherings after their divorce.
The woman Daniel told us had cheated and abandoned him.
"Send her up."
Minutes later, Tasha stepped through the door.
She looked exhausted.
She saw Noah.
Then she started crying.
"I'm sorry."
I stared at her.
"For what?"
"For believing I could stay out of this."
She reached into her bag.
"I heard police searched Daniel's house."
"You knew?"
"Not everything."
"What did you know?"
She handed me an envelope.
Inside were printed emails.
Daniel's name appeared again and again.
So did Malcolm Reese.
And Victor Hale.
Tasha's voice shook.
"Daniel didn't start with you."
I looked up.
"What are you talking about?"
May you like
She wiped her tears.
"Three years ago, he tried to do the same thing to me."
