Chapter 6: The Move He Made That She Didn't See Coming
Grace called at seven-fifteen in the morning.
Lucy was in the kitchen with Ethan, who was eating toast and explaining at length why beetles were more interesting than butterflies.
Edward was pouring coffee.
The morning felt almost ordinary.
"Julian filed an emergency custody motion," Grace said.
"Last night.
Ten-thirty p.m."
Lucy set down her cup.
"He can't do that.
We're still legally married."
"He's claiming you've removed Ethan from the family home without consent and that you're living in an unstable environment.
He's asking for temporary sole custody pending a full hearing."
"The family home was a cinderblock shack."
"I know that.
You know that.
But the motion was filed in family court." A pause.
"Judge Pruitt's courtroom."
Lucy walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway.
"I thought we said Pruitt couldn't touch the federal case."
"He can't.
But custody is a state family court matter.
That's exactly his jurisdiction." Grace's voice was careful, measured.
"Julian knew what he was doing.
He's splitting the battlefield.
He can't stop the fraud case, so he's opening a second front where he has an advantage."
"He's using Ethan," Lucy said.
"Yes."
She stood in the hallway with her back against the wall.
Through the kitchen door she could hear Ethan telling Edward that the beetle he'd found yesterday had six legs, which meant it was a real insect, not a spider, because spiders had eight.
"What do we do?" she asked.
"We respond today.
I've already drafted an opposition.
We document the living conditions at Edward's house, we document your history as primary caregiver, and we request an emergency transfer to a different judge on grounds of Pruitt's documented social relationship with Julian."
"Will that work?"
"It's the right move.
Whether it works depends on how fast the court acts." Grace paused again.
"There's something else.
The motion includes an affidavit.
From a witness."
"Who?"
"Mrs.
Okafor.
Your neighbor."
Lucy went still.
"Mrs.
Okafor has been watching Ethan for me for two years.
She's the one who—"
"The affidavit says that Ethan frequently appeared underfed, that the living conditions were unsafe for a child, and that you were often absent for long periods."
"That is not true."
"I believe you.
But Julian got to her first.
The affidavit is signed and notarized."
Lucy closed her eyes.
Mrs.
Okafor, who had held Ethan when he had fever.
Who had given Lucy soup when she was sick.
Who had told her once, *You're doing so well, my dear, so well.*
"He threatened her," Lucy said.
"Or paid her.
One of the other."
"Possibly.
But we can't prove that yet."
"I can talk to her."
"Not yet.
Not until we know more." Grace's voice firmed.
"Lucy, listen to me.
This is what he does.
He finds the people you trust and he turns them into weapons.
Don't go to her alone.
Don't contact Julian.
Don't respond to anything without calling me first."
"He's trying to take my son."
"He's trying to scare you into dropping the fraud case.
Custody is leverage.
If you back down, I guarantee the motion disappears."
Lucy opened her eyes.
Down the hallway, Ethan laughed at something Edward said.
A clear, bright sound.
"I'm not backing down," she said.
"I know.
So here's what happens today.
You bring Ethan to my office this afternoon.
We document everything — his health, his demeanor, his relationship with you.
I have a child welfare consultant on retainer.
We build the counter-record before the hearing."
"When is the hearing?"
"Pruitt scheduled it for Friday."
Three days.
"Grace," Lucy said.
"Is there any chance Pruitt actually grants him temporary custody?"
A silence that lasted one second too long.
"There's a chance," Grace said.
"Which is why we work today, tomorrow, and Thursday.
And why we file the judicial conflict motion first thing this morning."
Lucy said goodbye and stood in the hallway for a moment with the phone at her side.
Then she went back into the kitchen.
Ethan looked up from his toast.
"Mama, Grandpa Edward says beetles can lift fifty times their own weight.
Is that true?"
"It is," she said.
She sat down next to him and put her arm around his small shoulders.
"It's one of the most impressive things about them."
Ethan considered this seriously.
"I want to be strong like that."
"You already are," she said.
Edward caught her eye over Ethan's head.
She gave him the smallest nod.
He set down his coffee cup and reached for his phone to call his attorney.
Friday was three days away.
But Julian had made one mistake he hadn't accounted for.
He'd filed the motion at ten-thirty at night.
The federal asset freeze had been granted at five-thirty that same evening.
He hadn't been able to move a single dollar before he filed.
May you like
Which meant that whatever he'd promised Mrs.
Okafor — he hadn't paid her yet.
