She Framed Me As Unfit So I’ll See Her In Court Chapter 27
The screen had barely gone dark before a message from my legal aid attorney popped up.
“The custody evaluator has already contacted both sides. She’ll interview you and Caleb separately next week. Beth will also give a formal recorded statement, and the original data on the phone she submitted must be preserved.”
I replied, “Received.”
All of that was expected.
A moment later, another message came in.
“As we were organizing the chats, we found another category of evidence. Caleb repeatedly froze Sloan’s credit card, restricted her access to their joint account, and threatened that if she did not cooperate in trying to get custody of Maya, he would make sure she never saw their own child.”
“This may involve emotional domestic abuse and financial control. In accordance with policy, we have made an anonymous report to a domestic violence victim support agency.”
I stared at the screen.
Those overlooked lines in the chat history were tearing open another wound in Sloan and Caleb’s marriage.
I closed my eyes.
Maybe Sloan really was afraid of him.
Maybe she had to explain every dollar she spent. Maybe every day she lived with the fear of having her own child taken away. What Caleb did to her did not become acceptable just because she had hurt me.
But the control she suffered did not erase the fact that she posted my address, framed Maya, and brought a strange man to my front door.
That night, Maya had been trembling in my mother’s arms.
Caleb had not pressed send for her.
I could acknowledge that she was a victim.
I also had to acknowledge that she was an abuser.
Both things were true.
I exited the chat with my lawyer and sent my mother a message instead.
“I’m bringing Maya home this weekend. She says she wants mac and cheese.”
My mother replied almost instantly.
“Of course! I’ll make a huge pan!!! Come home early!”
Three exclamation points crowded the screen.
I looked at them for a long time and finally smiled.
That was why I had saved every screenshot and written down every case number.