Chapter 8: Nora’s Real Letter
Naomi held out her hand.
“Give me the envelope.”
Marlene pressed it to her chest.
“It belongs to the court.”
The judge nodded to the clerk.
“Bring it here.”
Gabriel watched the clerk open it and unfold two pages.
The first carried Nora’s handwriting and signature.
Marlene leaned toward him.
“She knew what you were.”
The judge read silently, then looked at Naomi.
“The letter expresses concern about Mr.
Hart’s travel.”
Amelia began to cry.
Gabriel covered his face.
“Nora asked me to stop traveling before she got sick.
I promised her.”
“You promised me too,” Amelia said.
He lowered his hands.
“And I broke it.”
Marlene sat straighter.
Naomi studied the second page.
“Your Honor, may I see the original envelope?”
She held it toward the light, then pointed to the postal mark.
“This envelope was issued last year.
Nora passed away three years ago.”
Marlene’s attorney withdrew his hand from her arm.
Naomi placed another document beside it.
“The first page is genuine.
It was taken from an older letter.
The second page, the one requesting custody, was printed with a font based on Nora’s handwriting.”
Marlene stood.
“That is absurd.”
Everett rose from the back row.
“No.
It’s true.”
She turned on him.
“Sit down.”
He walked to the witness chair carrying an old tablet.
“I found the original letter in our attic this morning.”
Gabriel swallowed.
“Dad, what does it say?”
Everett pressed play.
Nora’s voice filled the courtroom.
“Gabriel worries that being home less means providing more.
If I’m not there to remind him, tell him Amelia needs his time, not another gift.”
Gabriel bowed his head.
Nora continued, “Marlene loves fiercely, but she confuses control with care.
Never let her make Amelia feel like a burden.”
Marlene rushed toward the tablet.
A deputy stopped her.
“That recording was private!”
Everett looked at her.
“So was our granddaughter’s trust.”
Marlene’s attorney gathered his papers.
“Mrs.
Hart, you assured me the letter was untouched.”
“You work for me,” she hissed.
“Not anymore.”
The judge denied Marlene’s guardianship petition and ordered that she have no unsupervised contact with Amelia.
He then turned the financial documents over to investigators waiting outside.
Marlene stepped toward Gabriel before the deputies led her away.
“You’ll fail her within a month,” she said.
“Then she’ll beg for me.”
Gabriel held Amelia against his side.
“She will never have to beg for a seat, a meal, or her father again.”
In the hallway, Celia waited with an investigator.
“I gave them my phone,” she said.
“There’s something you still haven’t seen.”
May you like
She opened a message thread.
Marlene’s final message read: ONCE I HAVE GUARDIANSHIP, WE MOVE THE REST OF THE TRUST AND LEAVE THE COUNTRY.
