Chapter 8: What Denise Built
Ruth's voice was measured, but I had learned in the past weeks to hear the things underneath it.
"Ethan's attorney made contact this morning," she said.
"Before your meeting, it seems.
Denise moved quickly."
"What are they filing?"
"A motion for temporary custody.
They're arguing that you removed the child from the marital home without notice, that your current living situation is temporary and unstable, and that Ethan should be granted primary residential custody pending a full hearing."
I sat down.
"They're going for primary custody."
"It's an opening position.
It's aggressive, and it's meant to pressure you into a settlement that favors Ethan on the financial side in exchange for dropping the custody motion." Ruth paused.
"It's a common tactic.
It doesn't mean they'll succeed.
But I want you prepared."
"What do we have?"
"Quite a lot." I could hear papers moving.
"The hotel receipt and Kayla's testimony establish the affair.
Greg Reeves has provided the emails — fourteen months of correspondence between Ethan and Sasha Reeves, including several sent from the marital home, some during evenings when you were present in the house.
That establishes pattern and duration." Another pause.
"I also want to use the timeline of the birth itself.
The photographs Ethan sent from the resort pool.
The text messages.
The thumbs-up."
"All of that is documented."
"All of it.
And Nina is willing to provide a statement as a medical professional who was present at the birth and can speak to the circumstances."
I pressed my hand flat against the kitchen table.
"What about Denise's argument about stability?"
"That's where we're strongest," Ruth said.
"You own the items you removed from the marital home — I have your receipts and the documentation from your grandmother's estate.
Your sister's home is stable, established, and you have a documented support network.
Ethan, by contrast, is currently living alone in a house he cannot furnish, with a documented history of absence during a medical emergency, and emails that will be very uncomfortable to explain in front of a judge."
"When is the hearing?"
"Three weeks.
But Madison — before then, Denise is going to try to reach you directly.
She may try to negotiate outside the attorneys.
She may try to use Ethan as a messenger.
She may try to use your son as leverage — suggesting that a long hearing is harmful to an infant, that you should settle quickly for his sake."
"She already tried the stability argument on the phone."
"She'll try harder.
Don't take any calls from her or Ethan without telling me first.
Don't agree to any meetings without me present."
"Understood."
"One more thing." Ruth's voice shifted slightly.
"I received a call this morning from a woman named Sasha Reeves."
I hadn't expected that.
"What did she want?"
"She wants to speak with me.
She says she has information relevant to the case.
Information about Denise Walker specifically." A pause.
"She wouldn't tell me more over the phone.
But she was very clear that she wants to speak before the hearing."
I stared at the wall.
Sasha Reeves.
The woman in the Instagram photo.
The one Ethan had moved to after Kayla.
The one whose husband had given me fourteen months of emails.
She was calling my attorney.
"What do you think she has?" I asked.
"I don't know yet," Ruth said.
"But in my experience, when the other woman calls the wife's attorney three weeks before a custody hearing, she's not calling to cause trouble." A brief pause.
"She's calling because she found out something that frightened her."
The line was quiet for a moment.
"Set the meeting," I said.
"Already done," Ruth said.
"Tuesday.
Ten o'clock."
I hung up and looked out the window at Claire's backyard.
The light was flat and gray.
My son was asleep upstairs.
Three weeks.
I had three weeks before a judge would look at my life and Ethan's and decide what our son's days would look like.
May you like
Denise thought she was the one who had been preparing.
She had no idea what Tuesday was going to bring.
