The cool night air hit my face like a slap, smelling of rain and wet asphalt.

Daniel helped me into the front seat of his car.

The leather was cold against my bare ankles.

He started the engine, the windshield wipers immediately thumping against the glass.

The headlights cut through the heavy downpour as we tore out of the hospital parking lot.

“Where are we going?” I asked, clutching the seatbelt.

“The family court administrative building,” Daniel said.

“My lawyer, Arthur, managed to get an emergency hearing scheduled with the night judge.”

“The board’s lawyers are trying to execute the custody order before we can present the new evidence.”

“We have to beat them there.”

He pressed his foot down on the accelerator.

The car surged forward through the empty, rain-slicked streets of the city.

I looked at my hands, still trembling in my lap.

Five years of hiding, of being nothing but a shadow in my own children’s home.

It was all coming to a head tonight.

We pulled up to the curb of the courthouse fifteen minutes later.