Chapter 10 - THE BOXES IN THE GARAGE
The temporary court order arrived two days later.
Skylar remained with me.
Brandon could see her under agreed conditions.
Gertrude could not contact her directly.
The judge also ordered both sides not to remove, destroy, or transfer property from the marital residence while financial issues were being reviewed.
That was when I finally returned home.
I brought Rebecca.
Nathan came too.
Brandon had temporarily moved into Gertrude’s apartment.
Hailey was supposed to remove only her personal belongings.
When I opened the garage, I understood why Gertrude had been so furious about the cards.
Twenty-seven cardboard boxes were stacked against the wall.
Each one had a label.
Some said BOOKS.
Some said CLOTHES.
Some said OFFICE.
Then I found one marked CHARLOTTE.
I opened it.
Inside were my things.
My framed college diploma.
My grandmother’s jewelry box.
Photo albums.
Winter clothes.
Files from my office.
They had already begun packing me out of my own home.
Nathan swore under his breath.
Rebecca photographed everything.
Skylar’s room was worse.
Half her closet had been emptied.
Her bookshelf had been moved.
Several toys were inside boxes marked STORAGE.
On her desk was a folded piece of paper.
I opened it.
It was a printed room-assignment chart.
MASTER BEDROOM — BRANDON.
GUEST SUITE — GERTRUDE.
OFFICE — HAILEY.
UPSTAIRS BEDROOM — SKYLAR.
And beside my name:
TEMPORARY RENTAL.
No address.
No discussion.
Just a destination assigned by people who had apparently believed I would eventually become too confused, scared, or exhausted to resist.
Then Nathan called from my office.
“Char.”
His voice sounded wrong.
I hurried downstairs.
The locked filing cabinet beside my desk had been forced open.
Tax documents were missing.
Old passports were missing.
A folder containing Skylar’s birth certificate was missing.
And the small fireproof box where I kept backup financial records had disappeared.
Rebecca immediately called the police non-emergency line to document the missing property.
While we waited, I checked my office security camera.
I had installed it months earlier after noticing papers moved around.
The camera saved motion clips online.
Most showed nothing important.
Me working.
Skylar borrowing tape.
Brandon looking for printer paper.
Then I found a clip from nine days earlier.
Gertrude entered my office at 2:13 p.m.
She looked directly toward the hallway.
Then she used a small metal tool to open the filing cabinet.
Hailey joined her.
Together, they removed documents.
Then Brandon appeared in the doorway.
For ten terrifying seconds, he simply watched.
I held my breath.
On the video, Gertrude handed him my passport.
Brandon looked at it.
Then he said something the camera microphone captured perfectly.
“We only need enough to make Charlotte think she has no choice.”
The room around me went silent.
Nathan looked furious.
Rebecca looked almost relieved.
Not because it was good.
Because finally, we had them speaking plainly.
Then the video continued.
Gertrude closed the cabinet and said:
“Once the money clears, she won’t be able to afford a fight.”
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That was the moment their plan stopped being a family dispute.
It became evidence.
