Chapter 10 - I CAME HOME WITHOUT ASKING JULIAN'S PERMISSION
Forty-eight hours after I woke alone, I had an emergency travel document.
A new phone.
Copies of every report.
Three attorneys working across jurisdictions.
And a flight home.
Julian had expected me stranded for weeks.
I was back in the United States before his strategy could settle into a story.
Maya was not with him.
That mattered more than anything.
Temporary protective arrangements had placed her with Rachel Sloan, my attorney and longtime family friend, until I arrived and the court could review the situation.
When I walked into Rachel’s house, Maya ran so hard she nearly knocked me over.
“Mom!”
I dropped to my knees.
Held her.
Smelled her hair.
Counted every breath.
“I thought you wanted to stay.”
“I didn’t.”
“Daddy said—”
“I know.”
I pulled back.
“You never have to choose between us.”
She started crying.
So did I.
That night, she slept beside me.
The next morning, I appeared at the emergency hearing.
Julian sat across the room.
Evelyn behind him.
Nolan Pierce was absent.
Probably wise.
The court had hotel footage.
The canceled reservation.
My stolen passport report.
The forged medical documentation.
The recorded phone call.
Messages.
Financial records.
Nobody needed dramatic speeches.
Facts were dramatic enough.
Julian’s attorney argued he had acted out of concern.
My attorney played his words:
Sign first.
Then I bring Maya home.
The room became very quiet.
Temporary primary physical care remained with me while the investigation continued.
Julian received structured contact.
No unsupervised international travel with Maya.
No access to my trust.
No authority over Carter Meridian.
Then Evelyn stood in the hallway afterward and hissed:
“You’ve destroyed him.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
“He was trying to save his company.”
“With my money.”
“He’s your husband.”
“I was his wife.”
That stopped her.
Then she said:
“You think this ends with a judge?”
I almost walked away.
Then she added:
“Ask Julian what he did with your parents’ house.”
I froze.
My parents’ house had been sold nine years earlier.
May you like
At least, that was what Julian told me.
Apparently, he knew something about it I didn’t.
