Chapter 23 - I’LL BE GOOD
Eli screamed and reached both arms toward Daniel.
“I’ll be good! Daddy, please!”
Hannah dragged him toward Diane.
“Stop acting like a baby!”
The words came from panic, but panic did not make them harmless.
Diane took Eli by the shoulder. Her cardigan was neat, her expression controlled. She told Daniel the court evaluator was upstairs and the visit would last ten minutes.
Daniel called the caseworker again. No answer.
He made the worst decision of his life.
He returned to the car, intending to reach the corner, call Rebecca, and bring police back without alerting Diane.
The front door closed.
Eli’s crying continued from inside.
Daniel remained behind the wheel for six seconds, frozen with guilt. Hannah stepped onto the porch and motioned for him to leave.
He drove away.
At the corner, Rebecca finally answered.
“There is no visit,” she said. “The order is fake. Get Eli out now.”
Daniel turned around immediately.
Two patrol cars intercepted him after a dispatcher flagged his frantic call as a possible custody breach. Officers detained him long enough to verify the forged order. By the time they reached Diane’s house, the door stood open.
No one was inside.
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The red office camera had been ripped from the wall.
Eli’s backpack was gone.
