Chapter 18 - The Last Petition
The petition had never been served.
That was the frightening part.
Vanessa had prepared it in advance.
It claimed Anne and Thomas Brooks obtained Eli through an illegal adoption and were therefore unfit custodians.
The proposed emergency guardian was Vanessa Mercer.
She planned to use the truth as a weapon.
First, expose the fraudulent adoption.
Then frighten the Brooks family with the possibility of losing Eli.
At the same time, have me declared incompetent and take Oliver.
Two boys.
Two trust shares.
One guardian.
Her.
"She was going to control both," I said.
Grant claimed he never approved that part.
Criminals always discover moral limits when prosecutors enter the room.
The district attorney charged Vanessa and Grant with a list so long I stopped trying to remember each count.
Celia entered witness protection temporarily.
The hospital announced an independent review of old adoption and birth records.
None of that fixed Oliver's nightmares.
None of it returned Rachel.
Justice and repair are not the same thing.
At a preliminary hearing, Vanessa saw me across the courtroom.
Outside, reporters shouted questions.
Did I think Vanessa had loved me?
Would I seek custody of Eli?
Was Oliver safe?
I answered only the last two.
"Eli has parents who love him. We are working together as a family, not fighting over him. Oliver is safe, and his privacy matters."
That night, Oliver found me in the kitchen.
The old tablet had been replaced with a new panel, but the rectangular mark remained on the wall.
"Are they going to take it away forever?" he asked.
"The old tablet? It's evidence."
"Good."
I expected him to say he hated it.
Instead he touched the empty space.
"It believed me when nobody else did."
The sentence broke something in me.
"I should have believed you without it."
"You believe me now."
"Always."
DNA IDENTIFICATION IS COMPLETE. ELI'S ORIGINAL BIRTH RECORD HAS BEEN RESTORED.
Then another message arrived.
May you like
HE WANTS TO KNOW HIS REAL MIDDLE NAME.
I knew exactly where to find it.
