Chapter 4 - The Predator Returns
“Ethan? Are you here, darling?”
My mother’s voice floated up the stairs, calm, airy, and entirely unbothered by the fact that she had spent the night being questioned by the police.
I stood up slowly, slipping Hannah’s phone into my pocket. I walked to the top of the stairs, looking down into the foyer. Patricia was standing there, looking immaculate in a cream-colored trench coat, her hair perfectly coiffed. Beside her stood a tall, intimidating man in a bespoke gray suit carrying a leather briefcase.
“What are you doing here, Mother?” I asked, my voice chillingly calm.
“I came to collect some of Owen’s things, and my own belongings,” Patricia said, stepping into the living room as if she owned the place. “This is Arthur Sterling, my legal counsel. Arthur, this is my son, Ethan. As I told you, he’s terribly confused and under a lot of stress.”
Arthur Sterling offered a cold, professional nod. “Mr. Parker, we are here to execute a temporary emergency custody petition filed with the family court this morning. Given the open police investigation regarding the injuries to your wife, and the alleged hostile environment in this home, Child Protective Services has authorized your mother to act as the temporary kinship guardian for Owen upon his discharge from the hospital later today.”
“You’re lying,” I said, stepping down the stairs, my eyes locked on my mother. “CPS hasn't granted anything. The investigation isn't over.”
“Oh, but it is practically decided, Ethan,” Patricia purred, smiling gently. “The hospital records show Hannah had a severe infection and narcotics in her system. My narcotics, which she clearly stole from my purse because she couldn't cope with the pain of childbirth. I told the social worker how she begged me for them. I tried to stop her, but she became violent. That’s likely how she got those horrible bruises—I had to restrain her from hurting herself or the baby.”
The sheer web of deceit she had spun in less than six hours was terrifying. She had turned her own criminal acts into a narrative of grandmotherly heroism.
“You fed her those pills,” I said, stopping three feet away from her. “You locked her in that room. You let her body rot from an infection while you played fantasy mother with my son.”
“Do you have proof of these slanderous accusations, Mr. Parker?” Arthur Sterling interrupted, pulling a document from his briefcase. “Because unless you have definitive evidence, your outbursts only validate our filing that you are emotionally unstable and unfit to retain custody of the child. I suggest you step aside and let us gather the infant's necessities.”
Patricia smirked, a tiny, triumphant glint in her eyes. She thought she had won. She thought she had broken me, just like she had broken my father years ago until he fled the country, leaving me alone with her.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out Hannah’s shattered phone.
“I don’t just have proof, Mr. Sterling,” I said, unlocking the screen and hitting play on the voice memo.
My mother’s venomous voice filled the elegant foyer. “I am saving this boy from a useless, incompetent mother! If you ever try to call Ethan again, I will tell the courts you tried to drown this baby…”
As the audio played, the color completely drained from Patricia’s face. The smug composure melted away, leaving behind the pale, gaunt look of a trapped animal.
Arthur Sterling froze. He looked at the phone, then slowly looked over at his client. The seasoned attorney knew a losing battle when he heard one. He quietly closed his briefcase.
“Mother,” I whispered, the word tasting like ash in my mouth. “Get out of my house before I call the police and have you arrested for aggravated assault, kidnapping, and chemical endangerment of a dependent.”
Patricia’s eyes flared with a sudden, psychotic rage. She lunged forward, her manicured nails clawing toward my face. “Give me that phone, you ungrateful little bastard! I made you! You would be nothing without me!”
Sterling immediately grabbed her arm, pulling her back. “Patricia, stop! Stop right now! We are leaving.” He looked at me, his face pale. “Mr. Parker, my firm is formally withdrawing from representing your mother effective immediately. Good day.”
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He practically dragged her out the front door, but as she was forced onto the porch, Patricia screamed back at me, her face contorted in a mask of pure hatred. “This isn't over, Ethan! I will burn your life to the ground before I let that pathetic girl keep my grandson!”
The door slammed shut. I sank to my knees on the hardwood floor, the adrenaline leaving my body all at once. The first battle was won, but the war for my family’s survival had only just begun.
