Chapter 5 - THE CAMERA ON THE LAWN
I did not get out of the car immediately.
Laura was on speakerphone.
“Do not argue.”
“I know.”
“Do not take Marianne’s phone.”
“I know.”
“Do not accuse anyone of crimes on camera.”
“I know.”
“Jennifer.”
“What?”
“Breathe before you open the door.”
I hated that she had to tell me.
Not because she was wrong.
Because Daniel knew exactly how to provoke me.
The police officers were speaking with him near the driveway.
Marianne stood several feet away recording everything.
She wore dark sunglasses despite the cloudy morning.
I opened my car door.
Daniel immediately raised his voice.
“There she is.”
One officer turned toward me.
I walked slowly.
“Jennifer Bennett?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Officer Ramirez.”
He gestured toward the other officer.
“We received a call regarding a child custody dispute.”
“There is no custody order yet.”
Daniel interrupted.
“Exactly.”
I looked at the officer instead of Daniel.
“My daughter stayed with my mother last night because my husband and I separated after I discovered financial misconduct and an affair.”
Daniel laughed.
“See?”
I did not look at him.
Officer Ramirez continued.
“Is the baby inside?”
“Yes.”
“Is she safe?”
“Yes.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“I want to see my daughter.”
The officer looked at me.
“Do you have concerns about him being around the child?”
I chose my words carefully.
“I have concerns about him removing her without agreement because he explicitly told me last night that I was not allowed to leave with her.”
Daniel shook his head.
“That is not what I said.”
There were approximately twenty witnesses who could disagree.
I did not argue.
Marianne moved closer with the camera.
“Jennifer, why are you refusing to let a father see his child?”
I ignored her.
She repeated it.
“Jennifer?”
Officer Ramirez looked at Marianne.
“Ma’am, please give us some space.”
“I’m documenting.”
“That’s fine.”
“Then I’m allowed to stand here.”
He looked tired already.
Daniel smiled toward Marianne’s camera.
“I just want to hold my daughter.”
I recognized the performance.
Gentle voice.
Relaxed shoulders.
Sad expression.
He had used it at family gatherings for years.
The reasonable husband.
The patient son.
The calm man dealing with an emotional woman.
I almost admired how quickly he stepped into the role.
Officer Ramirez asked whether Daniel had a key to my mother’s house.
“No,” my mother called through the closed door.
Daniel raised his hands.
“I’m not trying to enter.”
My mother opened the door halfway.
Lily was not visible.
She looked at the officer.
“I’m Margaret Ellis.”
“Ma’am, is the child okay?”
“Yes.”
“Any medical issues?”
“No.”
Daniel turned toward the camera.
“I have not seen my daughter since yesterday.”
That was technically true.
It also sounded more dramatic than eighteen hours.
Marianne whispered loudly.
“This is cruel.”
My mother looked at her.
“You helped him plan to take Lily from Jennifer.”
Marianne’s camera shifted.
“That’s a lie.”
“I read the messages.”
Daniel interrupted.
“We are not discussing stolen private messages.”
Officer Ramirez looked at him.
“What messages?”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“Nothing relevant.”
I almost smiled.
He had walked into that himself.
I looked at the officer.
“My attorney is filing an emergency custody petition tomorrow.”
Daniel said, “Based on fabricated accusations.”
Officer Ramirez raised a hand.
“I’m not deciding custody.”
Daniel looked frustrated.
“I understand.”
“Without a court order, this is primarily a civil issue.”
“So she can just keep my child from me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Daniel took a breath.
Then his posture changed.
More sorrow.
Less anger.
“I’m worried about Jennifer’s mental condition.”
There it was.
My stomach tightened.
Marianne lowered her voice.
“She has been unstable since the birth.”
My mother swore.
I felt heat rush into my face.
Laura’s voice came through the speaker in my hand.
“Jennifer, say nothing.”
Daniel heard.
“Is that your attorney?”
I ignored him.
He looked at the officer.
“She has an attorney telling her what to say.”
Officer Ramirez glanced at my phone.
“That’s her right.”
Daniel changed strategy.
“She had postpartum episodes.”
I stared at him.
“She forgot appointments.”
Officer Ramirez said nothing.
“She cried constantly.”
Still nothing.
“She once left the stove on.”
My heart stopped.
That one was new.
“I never did that.”
Daniel pointed.
“See how defensive she gets?”
I actually laughed.
I could not help it.
Officer Ramirez looked at me.
I composed myself.
“I’m sorry.”
Daniel turned toward Marianne’s camera.
“This is what I’ve been dealing with.”
My mother stepped onto the porch.
“Turn that camera off.”
Marianne smiled.
“No.”
“Then record this.”
She looked directly into the phone.
“Your son was sleeping with another woman while his wife recovered from childbirth.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
Officer Ramirez sighed.
“Everyone needs to calm down.”
I walked toward the porch.
Daniel moved with me.
“I want to see Lily.”
I stopped.
“Not without an agreement.”
“What agreement?”
“Through our attorneys.”
He laughed.
“She’s my baby, not a business asset.”
The hypocrisy almost took my breath away.
I looked at him.
“You literally wrote a custody strategy while she was six weeks old.”
Marianne’s camera dipped.
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“That conversation is being misrepresented.”
“Then your lawyer can explain it.”
He stepped closer.
“Do you really want to do this?”
“Yes.”
“You want to make our daughter grow up in a courtroom?”
“No.”
“You are creating that.”
I whispered.
“You planned it before I knew there was a war.”
For one second, Daniel’s performance slipped.
His face became hard.
Officer Ramirez saw it.
Then Daniel forced the softness back.
“Jennifer, please.”
“No.”
“Let me hold her.”
“No.”
His jaw tightened.
“Fine.”
He turned toward the police.
“I want it documented that my wife is withholding my child.”
Officer Ramirez nodded.
“We can document what happened.”
Daniel looked satisfied.
Then the officer continued.
“We’ll also document that there is no custody order and that both parties have been advised to resolve access through counsel.”
Daniel’s satisfaction disappeared.
Marianne stopped recording.
Apparently that was not the ending she wanted.
The officers left ten minutes later.
Daniel and Marianne remained.
I stood on the porch.
“You need to leave.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Monday changes nothing.”
“We’ll see.”
“Your lawyer is selling you fantasies.”
“You tried to sell my company shares.”
Marianne froze.
Daniel went still.
For the first time, I had surprised both of them.
“What?”
His voice was quiet.
“You heard me.”
I held up my phone.
“I was at Whitmore Packaging this morning.”
Marianne looked at Daniel.
He looked at her.
There it was again.
That silent exchange.
I continued.
“The transfer failed.”
Daniel’s face gave away nothing.
“The partners’ signatures were forged.”
Marianne swallowed.
Daniel slowly smiled.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Then you have nothing to worry about.”
He stared at me.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Laura.
Do not discuss more.
I stepped backward.
“Leave.”
Daniel did not move.
Then Marianne grabbed his arm.
“Come on.”
He looked at her.
She whispered something.
They walked toward their car.
I waited until they reached it.
Then Daniel turned.
“One thing.”
I said nothing.
“You might want to ask your attorney why she hasn’t told you about the loan.”
My heart sank.
“What loan?”
He smiled.
Marianne pulled open the passenger door.
Daniel kept looking at me.
“The one secured by your shares.”
They drove away.
I immediately called Laura.
She answered.
“Tell me he’s gone.”
“He is.”
“What happened?”
“What loan?”
Silence.
My stomach tightened.
“Laura?”
“Who told you?”
“Daniel.”
Another pause.
“Laura.”
Her voice changed.
“Jennifer, I found something this morning.”
“What?”
“I was waiting to verify it.”
“What did you find?”
“A lien.”
I gripped the porch railing.
“On my shares?”
“Yes.”
“For how much?”
She hesitated.
“Forty-eight thousand dollars.”
I closed my eyes.
May you like
Then Laura said something worse.
“The lender says the loan was issued to you.”
