Chapter 3 - Cedric’s consultation I hired a lawyer the next morning.
Her name was Naomi Price.
Family law.
Not criminal defense.
Not company law.
She immediately told me we might need more than one attorney.
“Do not let one emotional crisis blur every legal system.”
Good.
Family court:
Custody and protective orders.
Criminal/child protection:
Barton’s conduct.
Potential financial matters:
Separate.
Marriage:
Potential divorce.
We started with the folder.
Naomi contacted Kendall & Moss.
They confirmed Cedric was a client.
They would not disclose privileged advice.
Correct.
But court filings are public once filed.
Nothing had been filed.
Yet.
Then Naomi asked:
“Any recent marital conflict?”
“Yes.”
“How severe?”
“Arguments.”
“Divorce discussed?”
“No.”
“Affair?”
“I don’t know.”
“Financial problems?”
I stopped.
Maybe.
Three weeks earlier I found a home-equity statement.
Our house had a line of credit.
I knew about the original $80,000 HELOC we used for renovations.
The statement showed:
Credit limit: $475,000.
Balance: $327,418.
I confronted Cedric.
He said the bank had “restructured” our old line.
I asked why the balance was over three hundred thousand.
He said he moved funds temporarily into a Prescott family investment.
I lost my mind.
Our home.
Jointly titled.
My income.
His income.
No conversation.
He told me I had signed the updated authorization electronically months earlier.
I did not remember.
Then he pulled up a confirmation screen.
My name.
Digital signature.
I told him:
“I didn’t do that.”
He said:
“You must have forgotten. We sign things constantly.”
I did not forget signing away three hundred thousand dollars.
That argument lasted two hours.
The next day Cedric apologized for not explaining the draw.
Not for the signature.
He insisted it was valid.
I told him I wanted an independent copy from the bank.
He became angry.
Then quiet.
Three days later Barton began coming to the house more often.
Interesting timing.
Naomi wrote it down.
“Where did the HELOC money go?”
“Cedric said Prescott Commercial Ventures.”
“What is that?”
“His father’s real-estate company.”
“Cedric owns part?”
“Maybe twenty percent.”
“Maybe?”
I laughed.
“I’m learning I apparently know nothing.”
Naomi did not comfort me with nonsense.
“Then we learn.”
The bank was Heartland Community Bank.
We requested records through my rights as co-borrower/co-owner where applicable.
The first surprise:
The HELOC modification had been completed seven months earlier.
Not recently.
The second:
My signature had been obtained through an online closing system.
Third:
A remote notary certificate.
I had never spoken to a notary.
That became a separate problem.
Then Naomi found something more immediate.
A county docket entry appeared at 2:18 p.m.
Cedric filed.
Petition for temporary allocation of parental rights.
Not emergency sole custody.
But he requested:
Temporary shared custody with Cedric designated residential parent for school purposes.
Temporary exclusive use of the marital residence.
A parenting evaluator.
Restrictions preventing me from relocating Ottilie outside the county.
Why?
His affidavit said:
“Linnea has become increasingly volatile, physically aggressive, and emotionally reactive.”
He cited:
My kick against Barton.
Arguments about finances.
A supposed threat that I would “take Ottilie and disappear.”
I had said:
“If you forged my signature, I’m taking Ottilie to my sister’s until I know what else you did.”
My sister lived twenty minutes away.
Not disappear.
Cedric’s filing also said:
“Due to Linnea’s recent instability, Barton Prescott has agreed to provide temporary family support.”
There.
The draft plan.
Naomi read carefully.
Then pointed to one line.
Cedric claimed:
“Ottilie has begun experiencing severe tantrums and attachment dysregulation under Linnea’s permissive parenting.”
Attachment dysregulation.
Not a normal word for Cedric.
“Who wrote this?”
“A lawyer.”
“Or someone gave them language.”
Then came his proposed evidence list.
Home security footage.
Photographs.
Behavior journal.
Witness testimony from Barton.
My stomach dropped.
“What photographs?”
Naomi looked at me.
“The photographs they never got.”
The empty room.
Ottilie’s belongings removed.
A child crying.
Me attacking Barton.
May you like
Suddenly the yard confrontation did not look random.
It looked like a scene someone expected to document.
