Chapter 11 - LINDA FILESSix days after Christmas, my mother did the thing that turned family panic into litigation.
She filed a petition seeking guardianship of Evan.
Not emergency custody granted behind my back.
A petition.
Requesting a hearing.
Her allegations:
History of prescription medication dependence.
Excessive medical anxiety.
Inconsistent asthma management.
Allowing Evan too much independent control of his rescue medication.
Missed school days.
Two late pickups.
An incident six months earlier when I went to the emergency department for severe back pain.
She attached:
Old treatment records.
School attendance printouts.
Pulmonary paperwork.
Texts between us.
One text from me after Evan had coughed through the night:
I swear I’m terrified every time he breathes weird.
Linda used it as evidence of pathological anxiety.
I read the petition and nearly threw up.
My attorney, Camille Foster, read it twice.
Then said:
“Do not panic.”
“She’s trying to take him.”
“She is asking a court.”
“That is taking him.”
“No. Asking is not winning.”
I wanted certainty.
Camille offered process.
Again.
“Your mother’s Christmas conduct will matter.”
“Her old guardianship fraud?”
“We need to be precise. Misrepresentation may be easier to prove than fraud.”
May you like
I hated precision when I was angry.
That was exactly when I needed it.
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