Chapter 8 - What Josie Saw
Josie chose a busy diner beside a pharmacy. She was a small woman with tired eyes and the calm voice Daniel remembered from the nights when Noah wouldn't sleep.
"Your son had reflux," she said. "Some nights he cried even when everyone did everything right. That wasn't anyone's fault."
"What did Vanessa do?"
"She'd insist on soothing him alone. Then she'd leave him crying while she went into another room. When I tried to pick him up, she told me I was making him dependent."
Daniel rubbed his forehead. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I did. I left a note with my final invoice. She said you'd received it."
He hadn't.
Josie opened a photo on her phone. It showed a typed form labeled HOUSEHOLD INCIDENT LOG. Under Noah's name, someone had recorded fictional episodes: Daniel leaving bottles out, Maria refusing feeding instructions, the baby being unattended.
"She asked me to sign it," Josie said. "I wouldn't. So she fired me."
"Did you ever see her hurt him?"
"No. I won't claim something I didn't see. But she seemed more interested in creating a record than helping him feel safe."
That distinction mattered to Daniel. He had spent a day imagining the worst and letting every fear become a fact. Josie was showing him how to keep the two separate.
Outside, Ruth called from Simone's office. She sounded furious.
"Vanessa filed an emergency request in family court," she said. "She claims you're unstable and that Maria is the reason Noah needs protection."
Daniel stood so fast his coffee spilled.
"What does she want?"
"Temporary control of his care while the court evaluates you. And she attached Josie's incident log as evidence."
Josie looked up. "That log has my name on it, doesn't it?"
May you like
"Yes," Ruth said over the speaker.
Josie's voice went flat. "Then she forged my signature."
