Chapter 5 - THE VIPER'S STRIKE
Victoria didn't stop at tabloids. A week later, Child Protective Services arrived at the gates.
I was terrified. Two stern-faced agents sat in our living room, claiming they had received an anonymous tip about "unsafe living conditions and emotional abuse" regarding Leo. I felt my entire world spinning. Victoria was trying to take my son away not through power, but through the state.
Ethan was a force of nature. He didn't yell; he was far more terrifying than that. He sat perfectly still, his high-powered legal team mobilized within minutes. He systematically dismantled the agents' claims, providing pediatric records, character witnesses, and a tour of Leo's newly designed, state-of-the-art nursery.
When the agents left, apologizing profusely for the "misunderstanding," I broke down.
"She's not going to stop, Ethan," I sobbed, sinking onto the sofa. "She has endless resources."
Ethan knelt in front of me, taking my shaking hands in his. "Rosa, look at me. Victoria is a nuisance, but she is powerless against me. I have already initiated a lawsuit against her for defamation and filing a false report. She will spend the next decade drowning in legal fees."
He brushed a tear from my cheek, his thumb lingering on my skin. "You are not alone anymore. You don't have to fight these battles by yourself."
As we sat there, the heavy oak doors opened. The air in the room seemed to freeze. I looked up and felt the blood drain from my face.
Standing in the doorway, leaning heavily on a silver-tipped cane, was Eleanor Caldwell. The matriarch had returned.
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"Well," Eleanor said, her sharp eyes darting from Ethan to me, and finally settling on the hallway where Leo’s toys were scattered. "It seems I have missed quite a bit of family drama."
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