Chapter 4
The police did not arrest Marvin that night.
Lawyers rarely fall quickly.
They prefer paper shields.
But Vanessa was detained for filing a false report, attempted fraud, and child endangerment.
My house became a crime scene.
The fake belly was bagged.
The phone was copied.
The legal documents were seized from Marvin’s briefcase after the officer obtained a warrant.
Noah sat on the couch wrapped in a blanket.
Grace made hot chocolate he did not drink.
My mother stood in the kitchen staring at the floor.
She had loved Vanessa.
Or maybe she had loved the idea of me being married again.
That hurt more than I expected.
“Daniel,” she said, “I didn’t know.”
I looked at her.
“You told Noah he needed to be nicer to Vanessa.”
Her face crumpled.
“I thought he was acting out.”
“He was terrified.”
Noah looked down.
My mother covered her mouth.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
Noah did not answer.
He did not owe her comfort.
A detective named Cara Brooks arrived near midnight.
She asked Noah questions with a child advocate present.
He told her Vanessa made him touch her fake belly.
Then screamed when he got near it.
She recorded him crying.
She told him the baby would die because of him.
She said I would hate him.
I left the room before I broke something.
Grace followed.
“She targeted him,” she said.
“She targeted Laura.”
Laura was my dead wife.
Noah’s mother.
The trust came from her family.
Vanessa had not faked a baby for attention.
She had faked a baby to erase my real child.
Detective Brooks came out later.
“There may be more,” she said.
My stomach clenched.
“There always is.”
She held up a document.
“Did you sign an amended prenuptial agreement yesterday?”
“No.”
May you like
She looked grim.
“Then someone forged your name.”
