Chapter 9 - The Hearing
Monday morning, Daniel carried Noah through the courthouse security line with a diaper bag over one shoulder. A reporter stood near the entrance, waiting for someone else. Daniel still flinched when he saw a camera.
Inside the courtroom, Vanessa wore cream-colored clothes and no jewelry except her wedding ring. She looked like a woman whose family had been unfairly torn apart.
"I love that little boy," she told the judge. "I was trying to iron a curtain. Maria made a scene, and Daniel overreacted."
Simone didn't raise her voice. "Why was the camera disconnected?"
Vanessa studied the tabletop. "I thought it had a faulty connection."
"You also filed a complaint about Maria hours before the incident."
"There had been problems for weeks."
"Then why did you ask to be listed as Noah's temporary decision-maker only after your husband began questioning you?"
Vanessa's attorney objected to the characterization. The judge asked for facts rather than conclusions.
Josie testified that she had not signed the incident log. Maria described watching Vanessa pull the camera plug. Daniel testified about what he'd seen after the feed returned. He admitted the video did not show the unplugging itself.
"You've been grieving," Vanessa's lawyer said. "You've fallen asleep while your son cried."
"Yes," Daniel answered. "I was exhausted. I also arranged help. That doesn't excuse me from checking whether it was good help."
The judge left Noah with Daniel under existing parental authority while agencies reviewed the allegations. Vanessa received no emergency caregiving authority. The court arranged a later evidentiary hearing, and both sides were told not to interfere with witnesses.
Outside, Vanessa brushed past Daniel.
"You'll come asking me to help," she whispered. "You have no idea what it takes to raise him alone."
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As she walked away, Simone looked at her phone.
"The security company answered our preservation request," she said. "Owen wasn't just working on the Wi-Fi."
