Chapter 6 - the petition against lucy
Chelsea filed an emergency petition the next morning.
She claimed Lucy’s adoption of Dany had been obtained through fraudulent records and requested that the child be placed with Margaret until his biological identity could be investigated.
The petition described Lucy as emotionally unstable, financially motivated, and obsessed with forcing Dany into Robert’s estate.
Margaret submitted an affidavit supporting her.
She wrote:
Lucy has repeatedly rejected the family’s efforts to maintain appropriate boundaries between an adopted child and biological inheritance.
Lucy read the sentence inside Lydia Grant’s office.
Lydia was the estate attorney Robert had secretly consulted before changing his trust.
“She humiliated him publicly, drugged your father, and now wants custody?”
“She wants control of the person holding Nathan’s inheritance.”
“The court will see that.”
“Courts see documents first.”
Lucy had learned that from Robert’s collapse.
The adoption file presented another problem.
The original surrender document listed Elise Warren as Dany’s birth mother.
Her signature appeared at the bottom.
The county archive held only a scanned copy.
The notarization had been completed by Margaret.
“Your mother had a notary commission then?” Lydia asked.
“She worked at a bank.”
“A family member notarizing a surrender involving her own grandson should have been disclosed.”
“It wasn’t.”
The agency that arranged the placement had closed after an investigation into incomplete birth records.
Chelsea’s attorney argued that Lucy might have known the adoption was defective and concealed Dany’s identity to claim Nathan’s estate later.
Lucy had not known he was Nathan’s son.
But Margaret could use the sealed process to make ignorance look calculated.
At the temporary hearing, Dany remained with Maya rather than entering the courthouse.
Margaret appeared in a conservative dark suit and spoke softly about concern for “all involved.”
The judge asked why she had never challenged the adoption during the previous four years.
Margaret answered:
“We respected Lucy’s desire to raise him. The inheritance dispute changed the legal questions.”
The truth appeared inside her own sentence.
The adoption became a problem only when Dany gained rights.
Lydia presented Robert’s trust, DNA report, recordings, and medical evidence.
Chelsea’s attorney objected that Robert lacked capacity.
The judge ordered an independent examination and refused to transfer Dany.
However, she also ordered the adoption records preserved and authorized DNA confirmation.
Lucy left with temporary custody intact.
In the courthouse corridor, Margaret approached.
“You could end this by signing away Dany’s claim.”
Lucy stared at her.
“You called him not real family because you knew exactly who he was.”
Margaret’s expression tightened.
“Nathan would have destroyed everyone.”
“He was exposing theft.”
“He was angry and reckless.”
“And Dany?”
“He was an infant born into chaos.”
“So you gave him away.”
“I made sure he reached you.”
Lucy froze.
Margaret had admitted more than intended.
“You chose me?”
“You wanted a child.”
“You told me his mother was dead.”
“The agency told you what was necessary.”
“Was Elise alive?”
Margaret stepped back.
“You should be grateful.”
Lucy’s anger became almost soundless.
“You stole his name, his father, and his history, then asked me to be grateful.”
Margaret walked away without answering.
The DNA results arrived two days later.
Dany was Nathan’s biological son.
He was Robert and Margaret’s biological grandson.
The finding strengthened Lucy’s custody and inheritance position.
It also opened a criminal investigation into the surrender papers.
A handwriting expert compared Elise’s signature with an old lease and hospital admission form.
The adoption surrender did not match.
Someone had forged it.
Detective Kim asked who possessed Elise’s documents after Nathan died.
Margaret named Aunt Colleen.
Lucy remembered Chelsea’s question.
Ask her where she was the night Nathan died.
That evening, Colleen called.
“Lucy, you need to come before they search my room.”
“Did you forge Elise’s signature?”
“No.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
“Because I drove the second car.”
Lucy stopped breathing.
Colleen continued:
May you like
“I did not hit Nathan. But I was behind him when he went off the bridge.”
👉 Colleen finally admitted she had followed Nathan on the night he died, placing Lucy’s trusted ally inside the crash no one had fully investigated.
