Chapter 6: The Signature I Never Gave
I stood in Kayla's bedroom holding the permission form.
My name was printed at the bottom.
The signature looked like mine.
But I hadn't signed it.
Brittany had somehow obtained a document authorizing her to be contacted about Kayla's school affairs.
And the form had been submitted three days before I shaved her name out of our family calendar and told her she could never be alone with my daughter again.
"Denise," I called.
She appeared in the doorway.
"What is it?""
I handed her the paper.
She read it once.
Then again.
"Darius, did you sign this?""
"No.""
"Then how did it get into Kayla's backpack?""
I looked at my daughter.
She was still coloring, unaware of the danger surrounding her.
"That's what I'm going to find out.""
I immediately called the school.
The administrator confirmed that the form had been submitted through the school's online parent portal.
According to their records, Brittany had been listed as an authorized emergency contact.
I asked when the change had been processed.
"Last Thursday," the administrator replied.
The same day Brittany had shaved Kayla's head.
"Who submitted it?""
"The request came through an account registered under your email address.""
My stomach tightened.
"Can you send me a copy of the submission history?""
"Of course. We can also suspend the new authorization while we verify the information.""
"Please do that immediately.""
I ended the call and contacted Reynolds.
He listened without interrupting.
When I finished, he said, "This is becoming more serious.""
"She tried to make herself an authorized contact after I told her not to touch Kayla's hair.""
"Do you have any evidence she accessed your account?""
"Not yet.""
"Then let's establish that first. Change your passwords, secure your email, and ask the school to preserve the original submission records.""
I did exactly that.
An hour later, the school sent me the document history.
The form had been submitted from a device registered to our home internet connection.
The timestamp was 2:46 p.m.
At that time, I had been at a construction site.
Brittany had been home with Kayla.
But something else appeared in the records.
A second document.
It was an authorization request for the school to release certain student information to Brittany.
The request had been rejected because the supporting identification was incomplete.
I stared at the screen.
"She was trying to get access to everything.""
Reynolds agreed.
"Preserve the records. I'll advise you on the appropriate legal response.""
That afternoon, I contacted the school principal and arranged a meeting.
I also asked that Kayla be released only to me or Denise until the school received verified instructions from the proper authorities.
The principal was understanding.
"We'll make sure your daughter is protected," she promised.
When I returned home, Denise was helping Kayla put on her pink scarf.
Kayla looked up.
"Daddy, are we going somewhere?""
"Just for a little while, princess.""
"Can I bring my rabbit?""
"Absolutely.""
She climbed off the couch and ran to get it.
Denise waited until Kayla was out of earshot.
"Do you think Brittany was planning to take her?""
I looked at the permission form.
"I don't know.""
"Could she legally do that?""
"She's not Kayla's legal guardian. But she might have been trying to create the appearance that she had permission.""
Denise shook her head.
"That woman needs help.""
I didn't answer.
Because I was beginning to suspect that Brittany wasn't acting impulsively.
She had been preparing for something.
And the haircut might have been only one part of it.
That evening, Reynolds called again.
"Mr. Mitchell, we've received an update from the authorities reviewing the old residential records.""
"Did they find Sophie?""
"They found a record indicating that a child matching Sophie's birth details was transferred to a different placement under a new name.""
"Where?""
"An address outside the county. The placement was approved through an emergency guardianship arrangement.""
"Who signed it?""
He paused.
"Brittany Collins.""
I closed my eyes.
"Was Sophie still a minor?""
"Yes.""
"How old?""
"Six.""
Six years old.
The same age as Kayla when Brittany shaved her curls.
I gripped the phone.
"Did Vanessa know?""
"Her correspondence suggests she suspected something was wrong. She had requested an emergency review shortly before she died.""
"Why wasn't it completed?""
"Because the case was delayed when the original records were transferred. Then Vanessa died.""
I stared at the wall.
All those years, Vanessa had been trying to protect a little girl.
And Brittany had been sitting across from me at dinner, smiling as if nothing had happened.
"Richard, I want Sophie found.""
"We're working with the authorities.""
"Then keep working.""
After the call, I sat alone in the living room.
I opened Vanessa's old letter again.
Her words seemed heavier now.
Never allow anyone to control the money I left for her.
I had spent years believing that Vanessa's greatest concern had been making sure Kayla would never struggle financially.
Now I wondered whether she had been warning me about something much more dangerous.
At 9:36 p.m., someone knocked on the front door.
Three firm knocks.
I checked the security camera.
Brittany.
She stood on the porch holding a large white envelope.
I didn't open the door.
I spoke through the intercom.
"What do you want?""
"We need to talk.""
"There's nothing to discuss.""
"Please, Darius. Just five minutes.""
"No.""
She looked directly into the camera.
"I brought something for Kayla.""
My jaw tightened.
"Leave it on the porch.""
Brittany placed the envelope on the doormat.
Then she looked up again.
"You should know that Vanessa wasn't the person you think she was.""
I said nothing.
"She lied to you about everything.""
I picked up the phone and contacted the non-emergency police line to report that Brittany was at the property despite being told not to approach Kayla.
While I waited, Brittany continued speaking through the camera.
"You want to know why I cut Kayla's hair?""
My heart began pounding.
"Because I was trying to protect her.""
I stared at the screen.
"Protect her from what?""
Brittany leaned closer to the camera.
"From becoming exactly like her mother.""
The officers arrived shortly afterward.
They spoke with Brittany outside and instructed her to leave. I kept the envelope and informed Reynolds about the incident.
He advised me not to open it until we had documented its condition.
The next morning, he arranged for it to be reviewed.
Inside were several printed photographs.
The first showed Kayla as a toddler sitting on Vanessa's lap.
The second showed Vanessa standing outside a hospital.
The third showed Brittany beside a young girl.
Sophie.
But it was the final photograph that made Reynolds go completely silent.
It showed Vanessa holding a newborn baby.
On the back, in Vanessa's handwriting, were the words:
*"The child Brittany believes disappeared was never the child she was looking for.""*
I looked at Reynolds.
"What does that mean?""
He turned the photograph over again.
Then he opened the accompanying document.
It was a birth record.
A second birth record.
The baby's name was Sophie Collins.
The date matched the day Olivia had died.
I stared at it.
"Wait. You're telling me Sophie had a sister?""
Reynolds nodded slowly.
"According to this document, yes.""
"Where is she?""
He turned another page.
There was a handwritten name.
*Kayla Mitchell.*
My entire body went cold.
I looked at him.
"That's impossible.""
Reynolds didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, "Darius, I think Vanessa was trying to tell you something about Kayla's biological history.""
I stared at my daughter's name.
The little girl upstairs who had been crying over her missing curls.
The little girl who believed her mother had abandoned her.
The little girl Brittany had spent eighteen months trying to control.
And suddenly, I understood why Brittany had looked so terrified when I mentioned Vanessa's letter.
She hadn't been afraid of losing her marriage.
She had been afraid of losing access to Kayla.
Reynolds slid another document across the desk.
"There's one more thing you need to see.""
I looked down.
It was a court petition filed several years earlier.
The petitioner was Brittany Collins.
And the request was not about money.
It was a request for custody of a child named Kayla.
May you like
My daughter.
Filed before Brittany had ever met me.
