“I… I have no personal knowledge of that, Your Honor,” Vance whispered, looking like a man standing before a firing squad.
“We have personal knowledge, Your Honor,” Sarah Vance said, stepping up beside me and placing a thick stack of certified documents onto the bench clerk’s desk. “We present the certified medical intake records from Portsmouth Naval Hospital, the incident report filed by Officer Marcus Bell of the Chesapeake Police Department, a memorandum from the commanding officer of the 525th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade attesting to Major Nolan’s exemplary service, and an arrest warrant issued this morning by the Commonwealth Attorney for Derek Nolan on charges of felony child endangerment and identity theft.”
Judge Harrison didn’t speak for a full thirty seconds. She read through the hospital intake sheet, her lips pressing into a thin, white line. When she looked up at Marcus Vance, the air in the courtroom felt cold enough to freeze water.
“Mr. Vance,” Judge Harrison said, her voice dropping into a register of quiet, terrifying fury. “Did you verify the notary seal on this property conveyance?”
“Your Honor, my staff—”
“Did you verify the status of Colonel Gregory Cole’s medical license before attaching his letter to an ex parte petition?”
“Your Honor, I was acting in good faith based on the representations of Patricia Sterling—”
“You were acting in contempt of this court,” Judge Harrison slammed her gavel down with a sharp, explosive crack that made Vance flinch as if he’d been struck. “The emergency petition for custody is dismissed with prejudice. I am entering an immediate, permanent protective order granting sole physical and legal custody of Lily Nolan to Major Hannah Nolan. A capias warrant is hereby issued for the immediate arrest of Derek Nolan upon his entry into this Commonwealth. And you, Mr. Vance, will remain in this courthouse until the Commonwealth Attorney’s investigators arrive to take your statement.”
She slammed the gavel down again. “Next case.”
Sarah turned to me, a fierce, triumphant grin breaking across her face. She reached out and squeezed my arm. “We did it, Hannah. It’s over. Lily is safe. They can’t touch her.”
I took a deep, shuddering breath, feeling the crushing weight of the past twenty-four hours begin to lift from my chest. We had beaten them. The house was protected, the custody was secured, and Derek was facing years behind bars.
I stepped out of the courtroom into the wide, sunny corridor, pulling my phone from my pocket to check on Lily’s status at the hospital.
The screen lit up with an incoming call from an international number with a 242 country code.
The Bahamas.
I hesitated, then swiped the screen and brought the phone to my ear. “Major Nolan.”
A broken, breathless sob came through the line.
“Hannah… Hannah, oh God, Hannah, please!”
It was Derek. But there was no music in the background. No ocean breeze. All I could hear was the frantic, screeching sound of sirens and the heavy, mechanical clanking of harbor winches.
“Derek,” I said coldly. “The police are waiting for you at the dock.”
“Hannah, they aren’t here!” he wailed, his voice completely disintegrated by panic. “They left! Mom and Jenna got off the ship two hours ago on a tender boat before we cleared Bahamian customs! They took Lily’s passport! They took the cashier’s checks for the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars!”
I froze in the middle of the marble hallway.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded.
“Mom set me up, Hannah!” Derek screamed, choking on his own tears. “She used my phone to send all those messages! She reported me to the maritime police before she left the boat! She told them I stole the money from her and that I abandoned Lily without her knowledge! The Bahamian police are boarding the ship right now with guns—they think I’m a fugitive!”
The air rushed out of my lungs.
“Where did she go, Derek?” I said, my voice dropping into an icy command. “Where did Patricia go?”
« Elle a acheté trois billets de ferry privés pour Bimini ! » Derek pleura frénétiquement. « Elle a l’acte de naissance original de Lily, Hannah ! Elle a un compte offshore à Nassau qu’elle a ouvert il y a deux semaines sous le numéro de sécurité sociale de Lily ! Elle liquide la fiducie — elle emmène tout dans un pays sans extradition, et elle me laisse ici pour prendre le blâme ! »
Un fort fracas a traversé le téléphone, suivi d’un cri dur et avec un accent : *Royal Bahamas Police Force ! Les mains où je peux les voir ! Au sol ! Au sol maintenant !*
Une bagarre. Un bruit sourd. Le cri terrifié de Derek s’interrompit brusquement lorsque le téléphone heurta le pont.
