Chapter 5 - The Snake's Venom
The battle was no longer just in the courtroom; it was a war of nerves.
A week after the incident, Sarah received a delivery at her father's estate. It was a single, elegant cardboard box. Inside was a legal document and a handwritten note from Margaret.
The document was a custody petition. David was suing for sole custody of Emma, claiming that Sarah's "physical fragility" and "emotional instability," combined with her recent severe physical injury, made her an unfit mother.
The note from Margaret read:
Sarah, darling. Let’s not make this any more embarrassing than it already is. Give us the inheritance back, drop the assault charges, and we will let you keep visitation rights. If you fight us, we will drag your name through the mud until Emma is old enough to despise you. Think of your daughter.
Sarah sat in her wheelchair, her hands shaking as she read the note. The sheer, shameless malice of the woman who had watched her bone break and taken a sip of wine made her blood run cold.
Arthur walked into the study, seeing his daughter's pale face. He took the note from her hand, his eyes scanning the elegant cursive.
"They are desperate," Arthur said quietly. "This is a scare tactic. They know the criminal case for assault is a slam dunk, so they are trying to leverage Emma to force you into a settlement."
"I won't let them touch her, Dad," Sarah said, her voice shaking with a mixture of fear and growing rage. "They won't take my daughter."
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"They won't," Arthur promised, kneeling beside her wheelchair. "We are going to strike back, Sarah. But we aren't going to do it in the dark like they do. We are going to do it in the light of day, where everyone can see what they are."
He tapped a blue folder on his desk. "I've hired the best forensic accountants in the country. They found the thread, Sarah. And we are about to pull it."
