Chapter 9 - The Family Meeting.
Rebecca Cole left the school before Daniel could speak to her.
The administrator had refused to alter Sophie's pickup permissions and had documented the visit.
Daniel thanked her repeatedly.
Then he called Maya.
“Do not chase Rebecca,” Maya said.
“We want people making their own choices in full view.”
Daniel understood the strategy even though every instinct in him wanted immediate answers.
That afternoon, Robert Ellison reviewed Claire's flash drive with Maya present.
The first folder contained scanned copies of the final estate documents.
The second contained audio files recorded by Claire during the last months of her life.
The third was labeled MOM.
Daniel could barely bring himself to open it.
Robert suggested listening only to what was relevant.
The first audio file began with Claire's tired but unmistakable voice.
“Mom came by again today.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Claire continued.
“She said Sophie needs maternal stability if I die.”
A pause followed.
“I told her Daniel is Sophie's stability.”
Daniel pressed his fist against his mouth.
Claire's voice went on.
“She keeps talking about the trust as if money decides where a child belongs.”
Maya stopped the recording.
“That is enough for now.”
Daniel nodded.
He did not need to hear Claire suffering through every argument to know what she wanted.
The evidence was becoming clear.
But family stories rarely surrender just because facts appear.
That evening, Daniel received calls from four relatives.
Tabitha had told them Daniel had thrown her out during a medical emergency and was blocking a grandmother from her grieving granddaughter.
One aunt accused him of being cruel.
An uncle said Tabitha had sacrificed a year of her life to help him.
Rebecca left a voicemail asking everyone to meet before “lawyers destroyed the family.”
Daniel almost deleted it.
Maya told him a meeting could be useful if it happened in a public setting and Daniel did not bring Sophie.
Hannah offered to attend.
The meeting took place in a private room at a neighborhood restaurant the next afternoon.
Tabitha arrived first.
She wore a navy coat over a white silk blouse and looked composed enough to attend a board meeting.
Rebecca sat beside her.
Rebecca was in her forties, with Claire's same green eyes and a nervous habit of twisting a ring around her finger.
Three other relatives attended.
Daniel brought Hannah and Maya.
Tabitha looked at Maya.
“So this is where we are now.”
Daniel sat across from her.
“You filed for guardianship before I removed you from the house.”
Tabitha's expression did not change.
“I filed because someone had to think ahead.”
“You documented situations you created.”
“I documented a child struggling in an unstable home.”
Hannah placed her phone on the table.
“I recorded you withholding Sophie's nebulizer.”
Tabitha's eyes flashed.
“You recorded me without permission.”
Maya spoke calmly.
“We are not litigating admissibility at this table.”
Rebecca leaned forward.
“Can we please talk like family?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Then tell me why you went to Sophie's school.”
Rebecca stopped twisting her ring.
“Tabitha said you had removed every maternal relative.”
“I removed one person from pickup authorization after she kept a prescribed device away from Sophie.”
Rebecca glanced at Tabitha.
“That isn't how you explained it.”
Tabitha's mouth tightened.
“Because context matters.”
Daniel slid a copy of Claire's handwritten letter across the table.
“So does this.”
Tabitha stared at the handwriting.
For the first time, her confidence cracked.
Rebecca picked up the copy.
She read the line saying Claire did not want Tabitha raising Sophie.
Her face changed.
“Tabitha.”
“That letter was written when Claire was heavily medicated.”
Daniel's voice sharpened.
“Do not do that.”
Tabitha looked at him.
“Do not use her illness to erase her words.”
One of the aunts asked to see the letter.
Daniel passed copies around.
Tabitha sat very still.
Then Rebecca whispered, “You told me Claire changed her mind.”
“She did.”
“Where is the proof?”
Tabitha looked directly at Daniel.
“He received it.”
Daniel realized she meant the scanned document emailed after midnight.
Maya spoke.
“We have serious questions about that document.”
Rebecca's face turned pale.
“What questions?”
Maya did not answer.
She looked at Tabitha.
“If you intend to rely on it, provide the original through counsel.”
Tabitha stood.
“This meeting is over.”
Rebecca caught her sleeve.
“No.”
Tabitha pulled away.
Rebecca's voice shook.
“You told me Daniel was neglecting Sophie.”
Tabitha stared at her.
“I told you he was failing.”
“You told me Claire asked you to take over.”
Tabitha's silence said more than an answer.
Rebecca stepped back.
Daniel watched realization move across her face.
Then Rebecca looked at him.
“I need to show you something.”
Tabitha spun around.
“Rebecca.”
Rebecca ignored her.
She took out her phone.
“There is a second video.”
Daniel felt the air change.
“What video?”
May you like
Rebecca swallowed.
“One Tabitha asked me to delete three months ago.”
