Chapter 7 - The program was not the villain
I wanted North Ridge shut down.
For approximately forty-eight hours.
Anger likes expansion.
If one person failed you, every institution touching the failure starts to look contaminated.
I drafted a post for a local parenting group.
A PRIVATE CHILD PROGRAM ALMOST TOOK MY SIX-YEAR-OLD USING A FORGED SIGNATURE.
I attached the program name.
Then posted.
My phone exploded.
Parents shared.
Someone found an employee’s personal Facebook account.
Comments:
Child traffickers.
Kidnappers.
Shut them down.
Call the FBI.
I felt vindicated for about ten minutes.
Then North Ridge’s attorney called Rebecca.
Then Rebecca called me.
“Delete it.”
“They accepted a fake consent.”
“Yes.”
“They almost admitted him.”
“Yes.”
“They should answer for that.”
“Through licensing, civil process, and their insurer. Not a mob.”
“I didn’t tell anyone to threaten them.”
“You provided a target before the factual review was complete.”
I deleted the post.
Too late.
A receptionist received threatening voicemail.
I felt sick.
North Ridge had made a serious verification failure.
But the program itself had not recruited Silas.
It had not conspired with Millicent.
The intake clinician had never met him.
The final in-person admission process required parental confirmation that likely would have exposed the problem.
Would it definitely?
We did not know.
That uncertainty mattered.
I issued a short correction in the group:
I posted while angry. North Ridge is cooperating with an investigation and there is no evidence staff knowingly participated in unauthorized removal of my son. Please do not contact individual employees.
It did not erase the first post.
My mistake became part of a later civil mediation.
Not catastrophic.
Still mine.
May you like
Evidence should go to systems before audiences.
Another lesson I had to learn the expensive way.
