Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO WANTED MY DAUGHTER'S RECORDS|
The next morning, I stood outside Lily's elementary school before the first bell rang.
My daughter was holding my hand with one hand and carrying her purple backpack with the other.
She had insisted on wearing her blue winter coat.
I had washed it the night before, but I still couldn't look at it without remembering how she'd stood outside the mansion.
"Mommy, why are we so early?" she asked.
"Because I need to speak with your principal."
Lily looked worried.
"Am I in trouble?"
I knelt in front of her.
"No, sweetheart."
I brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
"You're not in trouble, and nobody is taking you away from me."
She nodded, but I could tell she wasn't completely convinced.
Children hear promises differently after someone has taught them that adults can lie.
Inside the office, Principal Margaret Ellis greeted us warmly.
She had known Lily since kindergarten and always remembered that my daughter loved drawing animals.
When I asked whether anybody had recently requested Lily's information, her smile faded.
"Actually, Emily, I was planning to call you."
My stomach dropped.
"Why?"
She opened a folder on her desk.
"Yesterday afternoon, a woman contacted us claiming she was coordinating a change in your household employment arrangements."
I gripped the arm of my chair.
"Was her name Vanessa Bellini?"
The principal looked startled.
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
"She had no permission to do that."
Mrs. Ellis nodded.
"We didn't release Lily's records."
I let out a shaky breath.
"Thank God."
"But she also submitted a request to be added as an authorized emergency contact."
I stared at her.
"She did what?"
Mrs. Ellis pushed a printed form toward me.
My name was at the bottom.
Again.
My signature was there.
Again.
I felt physically sick.
"That's not mine."
Mrs. Ellis studied my face.
"Are you saying the form was forged?"
"Yes."
My voice shook.
"Someone is trying to make decisions about my daughter without asking me."
The principal immediately removed the unauthorized request from the pending file and initiated the school's security procedure.
She confirmed that Lily would only be released to adults whose authorization she could verify directly with me.
She also offered to preserve the original submission and provide it to investigators through the proper process.
For the first time that morning, I felt my shoulders loosen.
Then Lily tugged my sleeve.
"Mommy?"
I looked down.
"What is it, baby?"
"Is that the same lady who said I couldn't eat?"
Mrs. Ellis looked at her.
"What lady, honey?"
Lily lowered her eyes.
"The one in the red dress."
My heart ached.
I pulled her close.
After leaving Lily with her teacher, I went directly to the law office Luca had recommended.
The attorney, Rachel Bennett, was a woman in her early forties with short dark hair and a calm, practical manner.
She listened while I explained everything.
The cold service entrance.
The apron label.
The forged employment agreement.
The attempt to access Lily's school records.
She took notes without interrupting.
When I finished, she folded her hands.
"Emily, I want you to understand something very clearly."
I waited.
"An employer cannot make a parent lose custody simply by writing a document or threatening a child."
Tears filled my eyes.
"So Vanessa couldn't just take Lily?"
"No."
Rachel's expression became serious.
"But the forged records and intimidation are serious matters, and we should preserve the evidence and report what happened."
She explained the steps we could take to protect my identity, notify the school, document the threats, and challenge any false employment records.
She also encouraged me to make an independent police report rather than relying only on the Moretti family's internal investigation.
That mattered to me.
Luca had helped us, but I didn't want Lily's safety to depend entirely on one powerful man's goodwill.
I needed protection that belonged to us.
When I left the office, I called my mother in Milwaukee.
She cried when I told her what had happened.
"Emily, you should have called me the moment the babysitter canceled."
"I know, Mom."
"I would've driven through the night."
"I know."
Then her voice softened.
"You don't have to do everything by yourself."
I stood on the sidewalk and cried.
For seven years, I had convinced myself that independence meant never needing anyone.
But protecting Lily sometimes meant allowing trustworthy people to help.
That afternoon, I picked my daughter up from school myself.
She ran toward me with a drawing in her hand.
It showed our apartment building, our little kitchen table, and two people eating pancakes.
"Look, Mommy."
I smiled.
"That's beautiful."
She pointed at the smaller figure.
"That's me."
Then she pointed at the taller one.
"And that's you, because you came home."
I hugged her so tightly she laughed.
For one beautiful moment, everything felt normal.
Then my phone rang.
The caller identified herself as a worker with a local child welfare agency.
She spoke kindly but explained that a report had been received alleging that I had neglected my daughter because of my working hours.
My knees almost buckled.
The worker said the agency needed to assess the allegations and arrange a conversation with me.
I looked down at Lily.
She was still holding our pancake drawing.
"Who made the report?" I whispered.
The woman explained that she couldn't disclose the reporter's identity.
Then she read a brief description of the alleged incident.
It claimed that I had knowingly left Lily unattended in freezing weather while I attended a private dinner.
May you like
I stopped breathing.
Somebody had taken what Vanessa did to my daughter and reported it as something I had done.
