Chapter 15 - THE HIDDEN BIRTHDAY CARDSDad’s birthday gifts had not disappeared in shipping.
Gary had intercepted some.
Police were not involved in that part.
Family court discovery was.
A storage bin in the garage contained:
Three unopened birthday cards addressed to Ethan.
Two to me.
One Christmas package.
A children’s book.
A Lego set.
A gift card expired.
Shipping labels from Dad’s address.
Mom stared at them.
“I never saw these.”
Gary said he put them away because Mom told him Dad’s gifts “confused the kids.”
Mom denied that.
Could anyone prove every conversation?
No.
But one text existed.
GARY:
Another guilt package from Andrew. Want me to trash it?
MOM:
Not today. Put it somewhere.
That hurt worse.
Not:
Give it to the kids.
Not:
Don’t touch their mail.
Put it somewhere.
May you like
Mom had participated.
Passive words still become actions when someone else does the hiding.
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