The evidence of Grant’s theft was right there, but now he was turning the entire narrative upside down.

My phone on the tray table began to buzz, its screen lighting up the dim corner of the room spell.

It was an unknown number.

I picked it up, my thumb hovering over the screen.

“Don’t answer it,” Naomi said.

I ignored her and pressed the green button, putting the phone to my ear.

“Tessa,” Grant’s voice said.

He sounded calm, almost pleasant, as if we were discussing the weather.

“I assume you received the paperwork.”

“I received it, Grant,” I said, my voice steady despite the rapid beat of my heart.

The sterile smell of the hospital room suddenly felt heavier, pressing down on my chest.

“Then you know you don’t have much of a choice,” he said.

I heard the faint sound of traffic in the background on his end, along with the turn indicator of his car.

“You filed for emergency custody based on lies,” I said, looking over at Naomi, who was already writing notes on a yellow legal pad.