Chapter 5 - The Legal War Begins
The next morning, Marcus arrived. He was a big man like me, a retired state trooper with a heart of gold and a mind like a steel trap. He brought bags of groceries, fresh fruit, clean clothes for the boys, and a thick legal folder.
"I called a friend of mine," Marcus said as we stood on the cabin’s porch, watching Tyler and Leo color at the kitchen table. "Her name is Eleanor Vance—no relation to that bastard Garrett Vance. She's one of the best family law attorneys in the state, and she specializes in child advocacy."
"Will she take the case?" I asked, rubbing my tired eyes.
"She already has," Marcus said, handing me a coffee. "But David, you need to understand what you're up against. Garrett Voss isn't just some guy Lauren met. The Voss Foundation is a massive network of 'behavioral modification' ranches across three states. They recruit wealthy parents who are frustrated with their kids, charge them ten grand a month, and use loop-holes in religious and agricultural licensing laws to avoid state oversight."
"It's a cult," I said.
"Worse. It's a business," Marcus corrected. "And they have high-priced lawyers on retainer. Eleanor says they are already filing an emergency motion in court claiming you kidnapped Tyler and that you are an unfit father due to your long absences for work."
"I was working to pay off our mortgage!" I snapped.
"I know that, and Eleanor knows that. But we need to play this smart. First, we need to secure your temporary custody. Second, we need to protect Leo. The state is looking for him, but since he was a ward of the state placed at Voss's ranch, they might try to send him to another one of their partner facilities."
"Over my dead body," I said. "Leo stays with us."
An hour later, Eleanor Vance arrived at the cabin. She was a sharp, elegant woman with graying hair and an air of absolute authority. She sat down with me and Marcus, reviewing the medical records from the Calhoun County hospital.
"This is our ammunition," Eleanor said, tapping the medical charts. "The dehydration, the malnutrition, the bruising on Leo’s wrists. This is clear evidence of abuse. I've already filed for an emergency ex parte order to suspend Lauren’s custody rights based on imminent danger to the child."
"What about Voss?" I asked.
"If we can prove Voss’s foundation was actively encouraging or ignoring this abuse, we can get the state attorney general involved," Eleanor said. "But we need a witness. Someone who knows how the money flows, how they get these kids. Someone on the inside."
"Lauren," I said slowly.
"Your wife?" Eleanor looked skeptical. "She's aligned with Voss."
"She's a victim of his, too, even if she doesn't see it yet," I said. "Lauren is fragile. She’s easily influenced. Voss probably convinced her she was doing the right thing, that Tyler was 'troubled' and this would save him. But when she sees what they actually did to him... if she has any shred of motherly instinct left, she will break."
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"It's a risk," Eleanor warned. "If you contact her, Voss's lawyers will claim harassment."
"I won't contact her," I said. "Marcus will. As a former state trooper, he can deliver the medical reports to her directly. Let her see the pictures of her son’s hollow cheeks. Let her see the bruises. Let’s see whose side she's really on."
