Chapter 4 - The Legal Ambush
Two state child-welfare officers and a high-powered corporate attorney stepped out of the vehicle, holding thick manila folders.
Michael immediately stepped in front of Eleanor, his posture shifting into that of a predator guarding its territory.
"Evelyn," Michael called out calmly toward the house. "Take the girls up to the media room and close the doors."
"Right away, Michael," Evelyn’s voice came from the hall.
Within moments, the state officials were standing in Michael’s formal reception room.
The attorney, a sharp-faced man named Harrison Vance who represented the Mercer family, stepped forward with an arrogant smile.
"Mr. Anders," Vance said, opening his folder. "My name is Harrison Vance. I represent Lydia and Charles Mercer. We are accompanied today by Senior Inspector Miller from Rhode Island Child Protective Services."
Michael stood by the cold fireplace, his arms crossed over his chest. "State your business, Mr. Vance. Quickly."
"We are executing an emergency custody evaluation," Inspector Miller, a stern-faced woman, stated, holding up an official document. "A formal petition has been filed by Mrs. Lydia Mercer alleging that Eleanor Hayes is currently keeping her three minor daughters in an unstable, unapproved living arrangement without legal guardianship or independent income."
Vance smiled thinly. "Furthermore, Mr. Anders, the petition alleges that you—a single, unmarried man with no family relation to these children—are harboring a vulnerable widow under circumstances that present severe reputational and moral risks to the minors."
Eleanor walked into the room, her voice trembling with indignation. "Lydia beat me! She forced us to work like servants in her house for two years without pay!"
"Do you have police reports to substantiate those claims, Mrs. Hayes?" Vance asked smoothly, turning to her with a predatory glint in his eyes. "Do you have medical records from those two years? Bank accounts showing you attempted to secure independent housing? Or did you simply jump at the chance to move into a billionaire’s seaside mansion the moment he offered?"
Eleanor felt the room spin.
She had no police reports. She had been too terrified of Lydia’s threats to ever call the authorities. She had no bank accounts because Daniel’s debts had wiped out everything they owned.
"She has medical reports from three weeks ago," Michael said, his voice dropping into a register so cold that Inspector Miller visibly stiffened. "Documenting severe blunt-force trauma to her face and upper body, signed by Dr. Arthur Vance, former Chief of Trauma at Massachusetts General Hospital."
Harrison Vance didn't blink. "A single private doctor paid by you, Mr. Anders. Hardly an impartial source in the eyes of a family court judge."
Vance closed his folder with a heavy snap.
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"We are serving you with a court summons, Mrs. Hayes. A emergency custody hearing has been scheduled for Friday morning in Rhode Island Family Court. Unless you can prove you possess an independent, legal income, permanent housing separate from Mr. Anders, and a stable environment, the court will issue an interim order transferring temporary legal guardianship of Grace, Faith, and Hope to their grandmother, Lydia Mercer."
Vance leaned in toward Eleanor, dropping his voice to a hiss. "You have forty-eight hours, Mrs. Hayes. You can't hide behind his money forever."
