Chapter 7 - THE OTHER TARGET
Lucas had spent two days thinking Evelyn wanted Hannah removed.
He had been wrong.
She wanted control over him too.
Inside the Sophie Plan folder were notes about Lucas’s work schedule, his travel days, his prescriptions after a back injury, and even a copy of an old speeding ticket.
Nothing serious by itself.
Together, they were arranged like pieces of a character assassination.
Impulsive.
Frequently absent.
Uses pain medication.
Anger incident witnessed by family member.
That last line referred to the night Lucas shoved Evelyn away from Hannah.
“She wanted you to react,” Priya said.
Lucas stared at the page.
“She attacked my wife so I would attack her.”
“She may have hoped for exactly that.”
Hannah looked exhausted but suddenly fierce.
“She needed me to look unstable and you to look violent.”
Lucas felt rage rise in his throat.
Priya cut him off before he spoke.
“Do not call her. Do not text her. Do not give her another sentence she can use.”
The next morning, the emergency hearing began by video.
Evelyn appeared from her attorney’s office wearing a gray suit and a small bandage near her temple.
She looked wounded.
Careful.
Respectable.
When the judge asked why she believed Sophie was unsafe, Evelyn lowered her eyes.
“I love my son. I love my granddaughter. I wish I didn’t have to be here.”
Lucas almost laughed.
Then Evelyn’s attorney introduced the screenshots, the psychiatric letter, and photographs of bruising on Evelyn’s shoulder.
Priya responded with the hospital report, the assault statement, and the digital evidence showing the messages came from Evelyn’s tablet.
The judge’s expression changed.
Then Priya asked for permission to submit one additional item.
A pharmacy report.
The blue bottle from Evelyn’s trash contained the same sleep medication found in Hannah’s bloodstream.
Evelyn’s attorney objected.
The judge overruled him.
For the first time, Evelyn looked frightened.
Then the judge asked a question nobody expected.
“Mrs. Mercer, who is Dr. Peter Sloan to you?”
May you like
Evelyn’s eyes flicked toward her attorney.
And that tiny movement told Lucas everything.
