Chapter 7: My Mother Came to Take My Daughter
“She's claiming she has temporary custody of Lily.””
For three seconds, I couldn't hear anything else.
Then I stood so quickly that my chair crashed backward.
“Put the hospital administrator on the phone!””
The nurse sounded frightened.
“Mrs. Whitmore, we're following the documents presented to us. Your mother has an emergency order signed by a judge.””
“An emergency order based on what?””
“She claims you're currently unable to provide a safe environment for your daughter.””
I looked at Daniel.
He had already grabbed his coat.
“Do not release Lily,” he said loudly enough for the nurse to hear.
“That order must be independently verified by our legal team.””
The nurse hesitated.
“Sir, I can't make that decision.””
“Then get your hospital's legal department involved immediately.””
I snatched the phone back.
“Please. My daughter almost drowned yesterday. My mother deliberately damaged her life jacket.
The police have the footage. She is dangerous.””
“I understand, ma'am.””
“No, you don't. She's the reason my daughter is in that hospital.””
The nurse promised to keep Lily in her room while the hospital administrator reviewed the order.
I ended the call.
Rebecca was already standing.
“I'm coming with you.””
Daniel shook his head.
“You should stay here. If Diane knows you're involved, she may try to approach you.””
Rebecca grabbed her handbag.
“She has been controlling my life for thirty years. I'm done hiding.””
I looked at her.
“Then we're going together.””
The drive to the hospital was a blur.
When we reached the pediatric unit, two security guards stood outside Lily's room.
My mother was there.
She wore a navy-blue suit, pearl earrings, and the expression of a woman attending an important charity luncheon.
Beside her stood Arthur Collins.
The former financial adviser.
And in his hand was a leather folder.
Diane smiled when she saw me.
“Jasmine. I'm glad you came.””
I walked straight toward her.
“Get away from my daughter.””
She raised one hand.
“Please lower your voice. This is a hospital.””
“You brought a fake custody order to take a three-year-old child from her mother?””
“It's a legal document.””
“It's a lie.””
Arthur stepped forward.
“Mrs. Whitmore, perhaps we should let the attorneys handle this.””
I turned toward him.
“You forged my signature.””
His expression tightened.
“I don't know what you're talking about.””
“You notarized an amendment to my father's trust using a signature I never gave.””
“That's a serious accusation.””
“So is helping someone steal fourteen million dollars.””
My mother stepped between us.
“Enough. You're embarrassing yourself.””
I stared at her.
“You tried to drown Lily.””
Diane's face hardened.
“That's enough.””
“No. You don't get to silence me anymore.””
She looked at the guards.
“Please escort her away.””
One guard moved slightly.
Daniel stepped forward and showed him his identification.
“I'm Jasmine's attorney. Before anyone does anything, I'd like to see the original court order.””
Arthur opened his folder.
“Here.””
Daniel read the document carefully.
His expression became increasingly serious.
Then he looked at Diane.
“Who submitted this petition?””
“I did.””
“On what evidence?””
“Jasmine has become unstable. She's making wild accusations against family members, and she's involving a child in her delusions.””
I stepped forward.
“You're unbelievable.””
Daniel raised his hand to stop me.
“Mrs. Whitmore, this order is temporary. It does not authorize your mother to remove Lily from the hospital without the hospital's cooperation and confirmation of the order's validity.””
Diane smiled.
“That's why we're here.””
Daniel continued reading.
Then he stopped.
“There's a problem.””
“What problem?”” Diane asked.
“The document references an evaluation conducted by a licensed psychiatrist.””
“Yes.””
“Who conducted it?””
“My daughter's doctor.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Jasmine, have you ever been evaluated by this person?””
“No.””
He turned the page.
The psychiatrist's name was Dr. Michael Grant.
I recognized it.
He had been my mother's personal physician for years.
Daniel called the court clerk listed on the order.
While he waited, Diane approached me.
“You should have listened to me,” she whispered.
I stared at her.
“Listened to what?””
“You were never supposed to open your father's safe.””
My blood ran cold.
“So that's what this is about.””
She leaned closer.
“Your father made promises he had no right to make.””
“He left the trust to both of us.””
“Rebecca has no claim to anything.””
Rebecca stepped forward.
“That's a lie, Diane.””
My mother turned.
For the first time, she looked genuinely shocked.
Rebecca stood only a few feet away.
“Hello, Diane.””
My mother's lips parted.
Then she laughed.
“You.””
“Yes. Me.””
“You should be dead.””
The words fell into the corridor like a glass breaking.
Everyone went silent.
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears.
“I was twenty-nine years old when you told me I was dead. You showed me a fake death certificate. You said nobody would ever believe me.””
Diane looked around.
“She's lying.””
Rebecca pulled the original beneficiary certificate from her handbag.
“My father gave me this.””
My mother stared at the document.
Arthur took a step backward.
Daniel noticed.
“Mr. Collins, stay where you are.””
Arthur swallowed.
“I have nothing to do with this.””
Rebecca held up another document.
“Then perhaps you can explain why your signature appears on the fraudulent amendment.””
Arthur's face went pale.
Diane turned toward him.
“Say something.””
He looked at her.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he whispered, “You told me the documents were legitimate.””
My mother slapped him.
“Shut your mouth!””
The security guards immediately stepped between them.
Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
“Yes?””
A pause.
Then he smiled for the first time that morning.
“Thank you.””
He ended the call.
“The court clerk has confirmed that the judge who supposedly signed this order has no record of issuing it.””
My mother froze.
“What?””
Daniel held out his hand.
“Give me the document.””
Diane clutched the folder.
“You can't take my property.””
“It's evidence.””
The hospital administrator arrived with two police officers.
They reviewed the paperwork and asked Diane to accompany them to a private office.
She refused.
“I am Lily's grandmother. I have every right to protect her.””
One officer remained calm.
“Ma'am, we're investigating the authenticity of this document. We need you to cooperate.””
Diane pointed at me.
“She is manipulating everyone! Her father did the same thing before he died!””
I stepped toward her.
“My father is dead. Stop using him to excuse what you've done.””
Her face twisted.
“You ungrateful little girl.””
Then she said something I would never forget.
“If you had never been born, none of this would have happened.””
The officer escorted her away.
Arthur followed, looking like a man who had suddenly realized the ground beneath him had disappeared.
I rushed into Lily's room.
She was sitting on the bed with her rabbit.
“Mommy?””
I hugged her.
“I'm here, baby.””
“Did Grandma come to take me?””
I swallowed.
“She won't take you anywhere.””
Lily buried her face against my chest.
“Can we go home?””
I kissed her hair.
“Soon.””
For the first time since the pool incident, I believed we might actually be safe.
But then Daniel entered the room.
He held his phone in one hand.
“Jasmine, there's something you need to see.””
“What now?””
“The police searched the documents your mother brought.””
He placed a photograph on the bed.
It showed a second custody petition.
This one had not been signed by a judge.
It had been prepared but never filed.
At the bottom was a handwritten note.
*Once Lily is with me, Jasmine will have no reason to fight.*
I stared at it.
“Why would she write that?””
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
“Because your mother wasn't planning to stop at temporary custody.””
He lowered his voice.
“She intended to take Lily somewhere nobody could find her.””
My daughter squeezed my hand.
And I realized that the woman who had raised me had become the greatest danger my child had ever faced.
But we still didn't know the most important thing.
Why was Diane so desperate to control the trust?
Daniel's next sentence answered part of that question.
“Jasmine, we've located the missing fourteen million dollars.””
“Where?””
He looked at Rebecca.
“Most of it was transferred into an account belonging to someone named Michael Carter.””
Rebecca went completely still.
“That isn't possible.””
Daniel frowned.
“Why?””
Rebecca looked at me.
“Because Michael Carter was Diane's first husband.””
She took a shaky breath.
“He supposedly died twenty-four years ago.””
May you like
Then she whispered:
“I think he's alive.””
