Chapter 5 - The Village of Protection
While the storm raged through the Miller household, my house became an intentional fortress of recovery. Abigail’s school had been notified of the situation, and the guidance counselor, a wonderful woman named Mrs. Harlow, had set up a daily check-in for her.
On Wednesday afternoon, my best friend, Marcus Vance—who also happened to be a senior partner at Vance & Associates Legal Defense—came over to my house with a large box of deep-dish pizza and a folder of court filings.
Abigail was sitting on the living room floor, showing Marcus’s seven-year-old daughter, Chloe, her Lego castle. The sound of their high-pitched laughter was the best medicine my house had seen in years.
"The state attorney isn't playing around, Catherine," Marcus said, leaning against the kitchen counter as he watched the girls play. "The video footage from the Virginia Department of Transportation is crystal clear. You can see the van pull onto the shoulder of Route 15. You can see Theresa physically push Abigail’s purple backpack out the door, followed by the girl. The van is stationary for exactly forty-two seconds before it accelerates away, leaving an eight-year-old child running into the dust cloud."
I closed my eyes, the image burning into my brain even though I hadn't seen the video myself. "Is it enough for a felony charge?"
"It’s enough for reckless child abandonment and felony domestic endangerment," Marcus nodded, his expression turning grave. "Robert was the operator of the vehicle, so he’s facing the primary driving-endangerment charges. Theresa is being charged as the primary actor in the abandonment. Julian and Vanessa are currently being cited as accessories after the fact because they lied to the initial police officers about where Abigail was located."
"They lied?" I asked, looking up.
"Vanessa told the local deputy who called her that night that they had left Abigail with 'Aunt Sarah' at a diner. They tried to create a digital paper trail by texting a cousin named Sarah who doesn't even live in the state. The prosecutors broke that down in ten minutes." Marcus reached over and placed his hand over mine. "They're turning on each other, Catherine. Julian’s lawyer just filed a motion to sever his case from our parents. He’s offering to testify against Theresa in exchange for a deferred prosecution agreement to save his banking license."
I looked across the room at Abigail. She had built a small Lego wall around her castle, placing two tiny plastic soldiers at the gate.
"Are you okay?" Marcus asked softly.
May you like
"I’ve spent my whole life waiting for them to love me, Marcus," I whispered, a single tear finally sliding down my cheek. "I thought if I paid enough bills, if I was successful enough, if I was quiet enough... they would finally look at me and be proud. But they didn't just reject me. They tried to break my child."
"They can't break her, Catherine," Marcus said, his voice firm and steady. "Because she has a mother who knows exactly how to fight."
