Chapter 13 - THE FATHER’S PETITION
Daniel appeared through a video screen from jail.
His shoulder was bandaged.
His face looked pale.
He wore the expression of a wounded man instead of the man who caused the wounds.
His attorney described him as a devoted father.
She said Samuel had been taken to the airfield for protection.
She claimed Daniel feared I would harm the baby after my miscarriage.
The lie was so cruel that the courtroom went silent.
My attorney, Nina Brooks, played the hospital recording.
Daniel’s voice could be heard in the hallway.
Nobody will believe her.
Then Lorraine’s voice.
The boy changes everything.
Get him out before she sees him.
Nina presented flight records.
Forged passports.
The tracker hidden in Mia’s shoe.
The rope fibers.
The backyard recordings.
Daniel watched without reacting.
Then Nina played the final morning.
His voice filled the courtroom.
All you make is worthless daughters.
You are a broken wife.
Sophie sat outside with a counselor.
She did not hear it.
I was grateful for that.
The judge leaned toward the screen.
“Mr. Mercer, do you deny that this is your voice?”
Daniel looked at me.
“No.”
His attorney whispered urgently.
He ignored her.
“I was angry.”
“You repeatedly assaulted a pregnant woman.”
“She provoked me.”
The judge’s face hardened.
“She caused you to tie her to a porch?”
Daniel stopped.
The judge denied visitation.
He terminated Daniel’s temporary parental authority pending criminal trial.
Then he addressed the trust petition.
“The Court will not allow a parent to profit from conduct involving kidnapping or abuse.”
Daniel’s attorney objected.
The judge continued.
“The trust issue will be reviewed separately.”
Outside the courthouse, reporters surrounded me.
I did not give them details.
I said only one thing.
“My daughters were never worthless.”
“My son is not a prize.”
“And no family tradition can excuse violence.”
The statement spread across the state.
Women began contacting Officer Holloway.
Some recognized Daniel.
Others recognized Lorraine.
One woman said Lorraine had arranged her private adoption twenty years earlier.
Another said Daniel had dated her while using a different last name.
A third claimed she gave birth to a girl at the Mercer ranch.
The investigation identified seven possible victims.
The ledger had only five women.
That meant another record existed.
Marissa remembered Lorraine keeping a red book.
“It had names of buyers,” she said.
“Judges.”
“Doctors.”
“Lawyers.”
“Where is it?”
Marissa closed her eyes.
“Under the porch pillar.”
Detectives returned to the rental house.
They removed the boards around the post.
Inside the hollow pillar, they found a red leather book.
The first page contained Paul Grayson’s name.
May you like
The final page contained a name none of us expected.
Officer Grace Holloway.
