Chapter 4 - SOMEONE HAD BEEN BUILDING A CASE
The CPS investigator arrived with a folder already thick enough to terrify us.
Her name was Naomi Reed. She was calm, professional, and clearly unhappy that the situation had exploded before she could make contact.
"Mrs. Voss," she said to Elise, "we received three separate reports concerning your son's safety."
Elise asked who reported her. Naomi said the sources were anonymous.
The reports claimed Elise drank around Owen, ignored his crying, and regretted motherhood. None of it was true.
Then Naomi read the last allegation.
"The caller stated there was a risk of intentional harm involving household appliances."
Every person in the room turned toward Lenora.
The report had been filed twenty-six hours before I found Owen in the washer.
Daniel spoke first. "You're telling me someone predicted this?"
Naomi's eyes stayed on her notes. "I'm telling you someone reported a specific concern before tonight."
Lenora shook her head. "Maybe Elise talked about it."
Elise laughed once, without humor. "You stole my phone. You disconnected the cameras. You carried my baby into the laundry room."
"Prove it."
"We will," Daniel said.
Naomi asked for Owen's pediatric records, feeding logs, discharge paperwork, and access to the home. Elise agreed to everything.
Then Naomi asked a question that made Daniel go silent.
"Who is the child's legal father?"
"I am," he said.
"Biological?"
His jaw tightened. "No."
Lenora looked almost pleased.
Daniel turned on her. "How did you know?"
Naomi raised a hand. "This is not the place for that argument."
But the damage was done. Lenora had introduced a secret, then attached it to a child-safety investigation.
After CPS left, Elise opened the fertility clinic portal from her laptop.
Her password no longer worked.
She requested a reset.
The email arrived instantly.
Password changed six days ago from a new device.
Location: Mesa, Arizona.
Daniel stared at the map.
His mother's house was in Mesa.
Then Elise opened the account activity log.
Someone had downloaded every consent form, donor record, and embryo-transfer document.
May you like
Including one file Elise had never seen before.
It was titled: PATERNITY CHALLENGE - DRAFT.
