Chapter 4
I woke up at five in the morning.
The kids were still asleep. Curled together on the couch. I covered them with another blanket. Made coffee.
Then I called my lawyer.
Marcus Bennett. The best in the country. Ruthless. Expensive. Worth every penny.
"I need you here in thirty minutes," I said when he answered. "Bring your best team. Divorce. Emergency custody. Criminal charges. The whole thing. And Marcus?"
"Yes?"
"She doesn't get a single thing. Not the house. Not the cars. Not a dime. Not even a toothbrush. She leaves with nothing but the clothes on her back."
There was a pause.
"Nathan," Marcus said carefully. "You know Victoria's father sits on three federal benches. Her brother runs the largest media conglomerate on the East Coast. She has connections that go—"
"I don't care," I said. "I have proof. And witnesses. She's been abusing the children. For years. I saw it myself last night. In my basement. With a riding crop."
Another pause. Longer this time.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes," Marcus said.
He showed up with three associates. Two laptops. A stack of blank forms.
I gave him James's envelope.
He looked through it. His face got darker with every photograph.
"This is good," he said when he finished. "Very good. But we need more. Medical records. The children's testimony. Any other witnesses. And we need to file for emergency custody today. Right now. Before she gets her lawyers involved and spins this."
I nodded.
"I'll take the kids to the hospital. Get them examined. Document everything."
Marcus stood up. "I'll have the custody papers filed within the hour. I'll also put a restraining order in place. She can't come within five hundred feet of you or the children. Or the penthouse. Or their school. Or anywhere you regularly are."
He paused. Looked me in the eye.
"She's going to fight dirty, Nathan. You know that. She will accuse you of everything under the sun. Abuse. Kidnapping. Parental alienation. She will try to paint you as an absent, unstable father who snapped and stole the children. The media will eat it up. Her family owns half the news outlets in this country."
"Let them try," I said. "I have truth on my side. And I have more money than her entire family combined. If she wants a war in the press, I'll buy every network. Every newspaper. Every billboard in the country. I will bury her so deep she'll need a ladder to see daylight."
Marcus studied me for a second. Then he nodded.
"Good. That's the Nathan I need right now. Let's go to work."
I woke the kids gently.
Told them we were going to see a doctor. Just to make sure they were okay.
Leo tensed up immediately.
"Is she going to be there?" he asked.
"No," I said. "She will never be anywhere you are again. I promise."
The hospital examination was the hardest thing I had ever done.
I had to wait outside while the doctors examined them. I paced the hallway for two hours. Every sound from inside the room made my chest tighter.
When the doctor finally came out, her face was white.
She held out the report to me. Her hand was shaking.
"Mr. Harrington," she said. Her voice was tight with anger. "There are... there are injuries here. Old injuries. Healing fractures. Scarring consistent with repeated blows. All three children show signs of severe malnutrition and chronic sleep deprivation. And... and there are signs of psychological trauma that I can only describe as catastrophic."
She paused. Swallowed hard.
"Who did this to them?"
"Their mother," I said. My voice was flat. Dead.
The doctor closed her eyes. For a second, I thought she might cry.
"I'll make sure every single injury is documented. Photographed. Dated. I'll testify myself. Whatever you need. These children... they're lucky you found them when you did."
Lucky.
I walked into the examination room.
My three children were sitting on the table. Holding hands. Pale. Quiet.
But when they saw me...
they smiled.
Small. Tired. But real.
I went to them. Held them.
"We're done here," I said. "We're going home."
Home.
May you like
For the first time in a long time...
I meant it.
