Chapter 8 - The Place She Found
Andrew searched his email for the name Maya gave him: Pine Crest Academy.
He found an unopened message in his promotions folder from a private residential school two hours away.
It wasn't a traditional boarding school.
Its brochure advertised behavioral intervention for children whose families struggled with defiance.
"Emma's six," he told Maya.
"She isn't defiant. She's scared."
"The school has not accepted her," Maya said.
"We're looking at an inquiry, not a placement. But somebody made that inquiry using her name."
He called the school through its published number, then waited for Maya to join the discussion.
The admissions coordinator confirmed that Clara had scheduled an intake consultation for the following month.
The file included a description of Emma as "aggressive around a pregnant caregiver" and claimed her father supported a temporary separation.
"That's false," Andrew said.
"We'll flag the record and stop processing it," the coordinator replied.
"We cannot proceed without appropriate legal authorization."
Andrew requested the original paperwork and the date it was submitted.
His hand shook when he saw it.
Three weeks before the baby shower.
Tessa found him sitting alone on the back steps.
"I thought marrying again would give Emma a bigger family," he said.
"Instead I let her believe she was being replaced."
"You didn't cause Clara to hurt her," Tessa said.
"But you can stop ignoring what Emma tells you. That's the part you control."
Meanwhile, Clara appeared at a follow-up appointment accompanied by Judith.
She had no serious injury from the slap but documented soreness and distress, and her obstetrician advised her on monitoring her pregnancy.
Andrew accepted the report without dispute.
His regret about hitting her was real.
So was his decision not to return Emma to the house.
The next morning, a protective-services worker called Andrew.
May you like
"We need to speak about the reports concerning both the child and the adults," she said.
"And there's one more allegation in the file that you haven't heard."
