He Left Our Daughter To Drown But I Saved The Footage Chapter 04
I picked Maisie up from the medical station and took her to a furnished short-term rental downtown.
The apartment was on the second floor, with no standing water in sight, but the first thing she asked when we walked in was,
“Mom, does the door lock?”
I showed her how the deadbolt worked twice before she finally sat down, clutching her stuffed rabbit.
My phone hadn’t stopped buzzing.
Evan sent a string of texts, first accusing me of taking our child without his permission, then escalating to threats.
“If you don’t give me the address in thirty minutes, I’m calling the police.”
I screenshotted every message and didn’t reply.
Then Brooke called.
“Claire, for the kids’ sake, don’t make this bigger than it is. Evan was just trying to help us—”
“If you gave a damn about my kid,” I cut in, “you would have asked Evan one simple question before you got in that car: ‘What about Maisie?’ Instead, you just smiled and took the passenger seat.”
Silence.
I hung up and blocked her number.
A moment later, my lawyer called.
“Evan just went to the police, claiming you’re emotionally unstable and have illegally taken your child. They didn’t file a report, but he’s already trying to win this in the court of public opinion.”
“He’s going to paint me as the crazy ex-wife.”
“Exactly. And there’s one more thing. The soccer team is holding a post-hurricane fundraiser tomorrow night. They’re honoring him for rescuing a team family during the storm. Brooke organized it.”
My lawyer forwarded me the invitation.
On the flyer, Evan was smiling like a local hero under the headline: Honoring a Guardian in the Storm.
Jenna had been about to take Maisie to the small park downstairs. I looked at the invitation and stopped her.
“Don’t go to the park.”
Then I turned back to my lawyer.
“Prepare the emergency custody petition. And hire a process server. I want the papers served at that event tomorrow night.”
“Are you sure you want to be there for that?”
“Yes.”