Chapter 10 - David’s Desperate Tactics
The next morning, my phone buzzed with a series of frantic, threatening text messages from David.
“You locked me out of my own house? I’m calling the police, Sarah! This is marital property! I will have you arrested for locked-out fraud!”
“I’m coming to the hospital to get my daughter. You have no right to keep her from me.”
I didn't reply. I forwarded every message directly to Clara Vance and the chief of hospital security.
At 11:00 AM, the glass doors of the pediatric wing were pushed open. David stood in the hallway, his face twisted in a mask of pure, ugly rage, flanked by two local police officers he had managed to convince to accompany him.
“There she is!” David pointed a shaking finger at me as I stood outside Lily’s room. “Officers, that is the woman who is illegally keeping my daughter from me and denying me access to my home!”
The lead officer, a stern-faced man named Officer Miller, walked up to me. “Ma'am, we have a report of a marital dispute. We need to verify the custody status of the minor.”
Before I could answer, Clara Vance stepped out from Lily’s room, holding a stamped, legal document.
“Officer Miller,” Clara said, her voice dripping with a cold, professional authority that made David step back. “I am Clara Vance, counsel for Sarah Carter. This is an emergency temporary protective order signed by Judge Henderson three hours ago. Mr. Carter is legally barred from coming within one thousand feet of his wife, his daughter, or their residence pending the criminal investigation into financial elder and child abuse.”
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Officer Miller took the document, scanned the official state seal, and looked at David with a hard, flat expression.
“Mr. Carter,” the officer said, his voice cold. “You need to leave this facility immediately. If you do not, we will arrest you for violating a state protective order.”
