“She’ll hire a lawyer,” Richard said. “And I’d bet my license she hires Michelle Williams. She’s the best defense attorney in the city for cases like this. She’s brilliant, she’s ruthless, and she’s an expert at making monsters look like victims.”
Marcus felt his blood run cold. “So she could… she could win?”
“Not if we’re smarter,” Richard said. “But Marcus, I need you to understand. Veronica is going to attack you. She will say you’re an unfit, absent father. She’ll say you neglected these children and left them with her. She’ll say Mrs. Deborah is a disgruntled employee. She will twist every truth to her advantage.”
“What do we have to fight that?”
“We have the truth. We have the photos. We have Mrs. Deborah’s testimony. And,” Richard said, kneeling down to Mary’s eye level, “we have Mary.”
Mary shrank back. Richard kept his voice gentle. “Mary, I know this is scary. But do you think you could be brave enough to tell a judge what happened when your daddy wasn’t home?”
Mary looked at her father, then at Mrs. Deborah, then back at Richard. Her voice was just a whisper. “Will the judge… will he believe me?”
“Judges are very, very good at knowing when children are telling the truth,” Richard said.
Mary was quiet for a long time. Then, she looked at her baby brother, asleep in her father’s arms. “If it means James is safe… I’ll tell them. I’ll tell them everything.”
Richard smiled, a real, warm smile. “Mary, you are a very brave girl.”
As they left the law office, Marcus felt like he was stepping off a cliff into the unknown. The legal machine was in motion. Veronica was about to be cornered. And he had no idea how a cornered animal would fight back.
But he had his children. He had Mrs. Deborah. And he had the truth. The real fight for his family’s future was just beginning.
Two days later, the doorbell rang. Marcus was in the living room, building a block tower with Mary and James, who was giggling every time it fell. He opened the front door to find a man in a formal suit holding an envelope.
“Process server,” the man said flatly. “I have documents for a Mrs. Veronica Johnson.”
Marcus’s heart hammered against his ribs. This was it. “She’s… she’s upstairs.”
Five minutes later, a bloodcurdling shriek echoed from the second floor. It was Veronica.
“What is this?!” she screamed, thundering down the grand staircase, waving the legal papers in her hand. Her face was contorted with rage, her perfect hair in disarray. This was a side of her Marcus had never seen. “Marcus! How could you? After everything I have done for you, for this family!”
Mary and James, hearing that voice, immediately scrambled to hide behind their father.
“Veronica,” Marcus said, his voice surprisingly calm and steady. “I think you should call your lawyer.”
“I don’t need a lawyer! This is slander! It’s all lies!” She thrust the papers toward his face. “You can’t take these children from me! I’m the one who raised them! I’m the one who was here when you were off playing businessman!”
“You hurt them,” Marcus said simply.
“I disciplined them!” she shrieked. “Something you never did! They were running wild when I got here. I taught them manners! I taught them respect!”
Mrs. Deborah appeared in the hallway, ready to spirit the children away from the shouting. When Veronica’s eyes landed on her, they narrowed with venom.
“You,” Veronica hissed, pointing a finger at the housekeeper. “This is your fault, isn’t it? You, with your jealous whispers. You’ve been poisoning him against me!”
“I only told the truth,” Mrs. Deborah said quietly but firmly.
“The truth?” Veronica let out a high, cold laugh. “The truth is you’re a bitter old woman who couldn’t stand to see me in charge. The truth is Marcus was never home, so he has no idea what really happened!”
“I have photographs,” Mrs. Deborah said.
Veronica’s face went pale. “What… what photos?”
“Photos of the marks. Photos of the locked doors. Photos of what you did to those babies,” Mrs. Deborah said, her voice growing stronger.
For a beat, Veronica was stunned into silence. Then, the color rushed back to her face, this time in a flush of pure rage. “You think you’re so clever, you old… You have no idea what you’ve just started.”
She grabbed her designer purse from the hall table. “I’m calling Michelle Williams. You know who that is, Marcus? She’s the best lawyer in this city. And when she’s done with you, you won’t have a penny left. She is going to tear you apart in court.”..
