“You have been served with an emergency motion to show cause and a temporary restraining order,” he said.

He did not wait for me to reply.

He turned, walked down the steps, and climbed into the passenger seat of the idling SUV.

The vehicle pulled away from the curb, its red taillights bleeding into the wet asphalt.

I closed the door and leaned my back against it, holding the heavy envelope.

My hands shook as I tore open the flap.

The first page was a court order signed by Judge Thayer.

It ordered the immediate sealing of all historical records, patient logs, and archives of the Westside Clinic.

Daniel’s family foundation had funded Thayer’s last re-election campaign.

I flipped to the second document.

It was the petition for emergency temporary custody of Lucas and Mason.

The document cited my imminent financial collapse due to the unpaid medical bills at Metropolitan Hospital.

According to the attached affidavit, my mother’s care had already cost seventy-eight thousand dollars this month alone.

The Carter family trust had withdrawn its secondary insurance coverage for her.

They had left me with the entire balance.