Chapter 7 - The Complaint.
Emily called Ryan from the police station parking lot.
He answered on the second ring.
"Hey."
His voice was casual.
That made her angrier.
"Did you call Detective Morales about me?"
Silence.
"Emily—"
"Did you?"
"I asked a question."
"About having me evaluated."
"About making sure Sophie is safe."
Emily looked through the windshield at Mark, who was standing ten feet away trying not to interfere.
"Sophie is safe with me."
"She almost rolled into a fire pit yesterday."
The words hit exactly where Ryan intended.
Emily lowered the phone.
For half a second, she could not speak.
Then she lifted it again.
"You know I locked that stroller."
"I know you say you did."
"And you know someone unplugged the camera."
"That doesn't prove anything."
"It proves enough that you should be asking questions instead of building a case against me."
Ryan exhaled.
"I'm not building a case."
"Then what are you doing?"
"Protecting my daughter."
Emily closed her eyes.
There was the phrase again.
My daughter.
Not our daughter.
"Don't come to Dad's today."
"You can't tell me that."
"I just did."
"Emily, you are proving my point."
She hung up.
Mark walked over.
"You okay?"
"I'm starting to understand why Patricia kept calling me emotional."
"Why?"
"Because if she says it enough, eventually Ryan can repeat it like it's a diagnosis."
Mark opened the passenger door.
"Then we stop arguing with adjectives and stick to facts."
The facts arrived at 2:20 that afternoon in the form of a county family-services worker named Allison Reed.
She stood on Mark's porch holding a folder.
Emily felt her knees weaken when she saw the badge.
"Ms. Carter?"
"Yes."
"We've received a child safety concern involving your infant daughter."
Mark appeared behind Emily.
"From Ryan?"
Allison did not answer.
"I can't identify the reporter."
Emily laughed bitterly.
"Of course."
Allison was calm, professional, and far less accusatory than Emily expected.
She asked to see where Sophie slept.
She checked the bassinet.
She looked at the formula and stored breast milk.
She asked whether Emily had ever left Sophie unattended near open flame.
"No."
"Was the stroller brake engaged at the party?"
"Yes."
"How certain are you?"
"Completely."
Allison made a note.
"The report says you told guests you couldn't remember whether you had locked it."
Emily stared at her.
"I never said that."
Mark stepped forward.
"I was there."
Allison looked at him.
"The report also says you became aggressive toward family members after the incident."
Mark's jaw tightened.
"I asked questions."
"I'm not making a judgment."
Allison turned back to Emily.
"It also states you've been sleeping less than two hours a night and experiencing periods of confusion."
Emily felt suddenly cold.
Those details came from private conversations with Ryan.
She had told him, while crying at three in the morning, that some nights she barely slept.
She had once put the television remote in the refrigerator and laughed about it because exhaustion had made her forget what she was holding.
Now those moments had been stripped of context and written into an official complaint.
"Whoever reported this knows things I only told Ryan."
Allison's face remained neutral.
"I can't discuss the source."
Emily nodded slowly.
"You don't have to."
After forty minutes, Allison closed the folder.
"I don't see any immediate safety concern in this home."
Emily's shoulders dropped.
"Does that mean this is over?"
"Not necessarily."
"Why not?"
"Because the stroller incident was serious enough that I need documentation."
Mark retrieved the police report number and Nora's camera information.
Allison listened.
Then Emily showed her Ryan's messages and the anonymous texts.
For the first time, Allison's expression changed.
"Send copies of these to me."
"I will."
"And keep records of all communication with the child's father."
Emily swallowed.
"Do you think he's trying to take Sophie?"
Allison chose her words carefully.
"I think you should speak with a family-law attorney before assuming anything."
That answer frightened Emily more than a direct yes would have.
After Allison left, Mark locked the front door.
"We're getting you a lawyer."
Emily nodded.
Her phone vibrated.
It was a message from Ryan.
Hope the visit went okay.
Emily stared at the screen.
She had not told him Allison was coming.
She typed one sentence.
How did you know about the visit?
Ryan did not answer.
Instead, a different message arrived from the unknown number.
Now you understand what they're doing.
Emily's breath caught.
A photograph followed.
It showed Ryan sitting in a coffee shop across from a woman in a gray suit.
A legal folder lay open between them.
May you like
On the cover, printed in black letters, were the words:
TEMPORARY CUSTODY PETITION.
