Chapter 12 - THE TICKETS
I had never bought the tickets.
The card number was mine.
The billing address was mine.
The email confirmation went to an account one letter different from mine.
Charles had planned everything.
Brooks contacted airport security and the airline.
The reservation included passport information.
Emma's was correct.
Mine was correct.
Someone had copies of both.
Denise remembered Margaret taking my passport file.
The federal petition asked the court to seize Emma's passport and restrict me from leaving the state.
I laughed when I read it.
"They're accusing me of the exact thing they're trying to do."
Brooks nodded.
"Classic projection with paperwork."
The hearing was set for eight in the morning.
Margaret did not need to appear in person.
Charles could.
Except Charles was missing.
At 5:30 a.m., police found his SUV abandoned near the airport.
Blood on the steering wheel.
No body.
No Charles.
No Margaret.
At court, Margaret's substitute attorney argued I was unstable, violent, and preparing to flee.
Then he mentioned Vanessa.
"My client's daughter was assaulted by Mrs. Patterson."
My slap.
The one after Emma was hit.
I could feel every eye turn toward me.
My attorney, Lena Ortiz, stood.
"Context matters."
She played the kitchen video.
The judge watched Vanessa strike Emma.
Watched Margaret direct her.
Watched me run in.
Then watched Margaret lunge for my phone after the message.
The judge's face hardened.
The petition against me was denied.
Protective orders were granted against Margaret and Vanessa.
Then Lena introduced the forged tickets.
The airline's fraud team confirmed the purchase came from Charles Vane's office IP address.
The courtroom shifted.
Margaret's case collapsed in under twenty minutes.
Then the clerk approached the judge with a new document.
He read it.
Looked at Michael.
"Mr. Patterson, your mother has filed an emergency corporate action."
Michael stood.
"What action?"
The judge handed it to Lena.
She read aloud.
A board resolution removing Michael as acting CEO of Patterson Foods for mental incapacity.
Effective immediately.
May you like
Signed by six directors.
Including Michael's uncle, Stephen Patterson.
