Chapter 8 - EMMA'S NOTEBOOK
Emma kept a notebook under her bed.
Not diary.
Mostly drawings.
Dogs.
Houses.
Cartoons.
Then pages changed after surgery.
Little boxes.
Rachel told her to rate herself every day.
GOOD.
DIFFICULT.
BAD.
Emma thought it was therapy.
It was not.
One page:
I cried during stretch.
BAD.
Another:
I asked Dad to stay home.
DIFFICULT.
Another:
I said I hate exercises.
BAD.
Then one page written in Rachel’s handwriting:
If I refuse again, Harbor Ridge may be better for me.
Emma had copied underneath:
I DON’T WANT TO GO.
Daniel sat on the floor holding the notebook.
Emma watched him.
“Rachel said kids stay there until they behave.”
Daniel felt rage rise.
Then remembered CPS.
Court.
His slap.
His own capacity to turn anger into evidence.
He put the notebook down.
Asked:
“Did she tell you not to tell me?”
Emma nodded.
“She said you’d cancel it because you spoil me.”
There.
Rachel had been preparing Emma psychologically for removal.
Not necessarily kidnapping.
Not secret commitment.
May you like
A formal trust-funded placement.
That was why she needed the record.
