Chapter 7: Mercer & Voss
The first letter from Mercer & Voss arrived on Tuesday.
Rachel read it, set it down, and called me.
"They're going after custody," she said.
"Primary residential custody of all three children, including the baby."
I sat down.
"On what grounds?"
"Emotional instability during pregnancy.
They're citing your decision to leave the marital home as evidence of impulsive and erratic behaviour.
They're also claiming that removing the children from a stable environment without prior legal arrangement constitutes a unilateral parenting decision that demonstrates poor judgment."
"He brought his mistress to a family dinner."
"I know."
"In front of his mother, his brother, and a six-year-old."
"I know, Charlotte.
And we have the recording.
But I want you to understand what Mercer & Voss does.
They file aggressively and early.
They want you frightened.
They want you to make a mistake." Rachel's voice was steady.
"Do not make a mistake."
"What kind of mistake?"
"Any kind.
Don't respond to Brandon directly.
Don't send messages.
Don't let him into Diane's house without prior arrangement.
Don't discuss the case in front of the children.
If he shows up unannounced, call me before you open the door."
"He wouldn't—"
"He retained Mercer & Voss.
He would."
I pressed my hand flat against the kitchen table and breathed.
"What do we do?"
"We file our response.
We submit the recording.
We submit David Fenwick's testimony and the forensic accounting report.
We request an emergency financial order to freeze the joint assets and the private account before Brandon moves anything else." Rachel paused.
"And we request that the court appoint a guardian ad litem for the children."
"What does that mean?"
"An independent person — usually a family law attorney or a social worker — appointed by the court to represent the children's interests specifically.
Not yours.
Not Brandon's.
The children's." Another pause.
"Given what's on that recording, I think a guardian ad litem will be very useful to us."
I thought about Lucas packing Amelia's bag.
About the way he had looked at Brandon in the bedroom doorway and then looked at me and made his choice without anyone asking him to.
"Do it," I said.
The emergency financial order was granted on Thursday.
Brandon called Rachel's office four times that day.
May you like
She returned none of the calls personally — her assistant took messages, politely, and filed them.
On Friday, I went into labour.
