Chapter 6 - The Custody Petition
Marcus filed for emergency temporary custody Sunday night.
The petition arrived electronically at 8:43 p.m.
Claire was sitting beside Ethan’s bed when Maya called.
“Don’t panic.”
“Whenever you say that, I panic.”
“Marcus filed a motion asking for emergency temporary parental responsibility.”
Claire stood.
“He wants Ethan?”
“He’s asking the court to restrict your parenting pending evaluation.”
“On what basis?”
“The breakfast incident, your travel schedule, the psychiatric letters, and allegations that you removed Ethan from the family home during a storm.”
Claire stared at the staff apartment walls.
“I took him fifty yards away with a sheriff’s deputy.”
“I know.”
“He was eating crumbs off the floor.”
“I know.”
“Their pantry was locked.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you talking like this is possible?”
“Because courts read documents before they hear stories.”
Claire walked into the hallway so Ethan could not hear her.
“What happens?”
“An emergency judge reviews whether there’s credible evidence of imminent danger. I’m filing our opposition tonight with the pediatric report, Deputy Ortiz’s incident number, pantry photographs, and Sophie’s declaration.”
“Can he take Ethan?”
“Not because he filed paper.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“Say that again.”
“He does not have an order.”
Marcus texted five minutes later.
You forced this.
Claire handed the phone to Maya without answering.
The next morning the court denied Marcus’s request for immediate ex parte transfer but scheduled an expedited temporary-orders hearing for Thursday.
It was a small victory.
Marcus turned it into a weapon.
By eight a.m. Monday, a local business blog had published:
BELLAMY ALPINE LEADERS IN FAMILY CUSTODY DISPUTE AHEAD OF EMERGENCY BOARD MEETING
Maya cursed.
“He leaked the filing.”
“Can we prove it?”
“No.”
The board meeting began at nine by secure video because mountain roads remained unreliable.
Claire joined from the staff apartment.
Marcus appeared from the chalet study wearing a charcoal suit.
He looked rested.
That offended Claire almost as much as anything else.
Nine directors appeared on screen.
General counsel opened the session.
Marcus spoke first.
“This is painful for me as a husband and father.”
Claire almost shut the laptop.
Instead she remained still.
“I have spent months trying privately to address Claire’s deteriorating judgment,” Marcus continued. “Yesterday she responded by removing our child, accusing my mother of abuse, and attempting to destabilize a critical corporate transaction.”
Claire watched the faces.
Some believed him.
Others merely feared scandal.
When her turn came, she held up the photograph of Ethan under the table.
“My three-year-old son was denied breakfast while food intended for him was locked in a pantry.”
Marcus interrupted.
“That is disputed.”
“Then let Sophie speak.”
General counsel objected that household employees were outside the meeting’s scope.
Claire said, “You made my household the scope when you put my marriage in the board packet.”
Daniel Cho supported her.
Two directors agreed.
Sophie was admitted for a five-minute statement.
Her voice trembled once.
Only once.
She told them about Marcus instructing Margaret to keep Ethan under the table until Claire arrived.
Then Maya, attending as Claire’s personal counsel, asked permission to play the recording.
Marcus’s lawyer protested.
The board chair allowed it.
We need an incident. The board meets Monday.
No one spoke afterward.
For the first time, Marcus looked rattled.
Claire leaned toward the camera.
“You were about to suspend me based on an incident the CEO predicted before it happened.”
Director Alan Finch rubbed his forehead.
Marcus recovered quickly.
“The recording is fragmentary and illegally obtained.”
Maya answered, “Sophie was a participant physically present within hearing range. We’ll address admissibility in the appropriate forum.”
Claire shifted.
“Now let’s discuss High Crest Strategic Services.”
Marcus’s face changed again.
Sam Greene was on the call.
Claire looked directly at him.
“Sam, how much has Bellamy Alpine paid High Crest?”
Sam swallowed.
“Approximately six-point-four million.”
“What did we receive?”
“Various consulting services.”
“Do you have work product?”
“I would need to review the files.”
“Who owns Red Summit Capital?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who owns High Crest?”
“I don’t know.”
Claire let the silence sit.
“You are our CFO.”
Marcus cut in.
“This is exactly the unfocused paranoia I described.”
Daniel Cho interrupted.
“Actually, I’d like answers too.”
The board vote on Claire’s suspension was postponed.
But so was the Black Pine sale.
For six hours.
At 4:17 p.m., Marcus circulated a written consent proposal allowing the sale committee to negotiate while the investigation continued.
He only needed one more director.
At 4:32, Claire received an anonymous text.
Stop looking at High Crest if you want Sophie left alone.
May you like
Attached was a photograph.
Sophie walking into the sheriff’s office.
