Chapter 4 - The Petition
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Damian picked up the envelope.
Celia took one step backward.
That was all the confirmation he needed.
He broke the seal.
Inside was a copy of a legal filing.
PETITION FOR TEMPORARY GUARDIANSHIP.
Petitioner: Celia Moretti.
Minor child: Lily Carter.
Damian read the first page.
Then the second.
His hands began to shake.
Not from age.
From rage.
The petition claimed Damian’s recent surgery had left him physically incapable of caring for a child.
It claimed Lily had severe behavioral problems.
Aggression.
Destructive episodes.
Self-harm risks.
It claimed Celia had been the only stable adult managing Lily’s daily life.
Attached were photographs.
The broken glasses.
The overturned furniture.
The torn curtain.
All staged.
There was also a physician’s summary recommending “consistent custodial supervision.”
Damian looked up.
“You filed for custody of her?”
Celia lifted her chin.
“Temporary guardianship.”
“Without telling me.”
“You would’ve overreacted.”
Frank almost laughed.
Damian didn’t.
“What doctor signed this?”
“Dr. Brennan.”
Lily whispered from the doorway.
“The man with the blue tie.”
Everyone looked at her.
Damian’s voice softened instantly.
“You met him?”
Lily nodded.
“Aunt Celia told me to cry.”
Celia snapped, “Stop lying.”
Damian’s stare shut her down.
Lily continued.
“She said if I didn’t cry, I couldn’t see you again.”
Damian crossed the room and knelt.
“What did the doctor ask you?”
“He asked if I break things.”
“What did you say?”
“I said no.”
Lily’s face crumpled.
“But Aunt Celia squeezed my arm.”
Damian looked at the bruise beneath her sleeve.
Celia folded her arms.
“She’s manipulating you.”
“No,” Damian said.
“You’re just losing control of the story.”
He returned to the petition.
Near the bottom was a request for authority over Lily’s trust distributions.
Damian stopped.
There it was.
Money.
Elena had left Lily a trust.
But it wasn’t enormous.
Not enough to explain this.
At least, not as far as Damian knew.
Celia saw his confusion.
And smiled.
Just slightly.
That frightened him more than anything else.
“You still don’t know, do you?” she said.
“Know what?”
Celia’s smile widened.
“About Elena’s amendment.”
Damian went still.
“What amendment?”
Celia said nothing.
Damian grabbed his phone.
He called his attorney, Richard Hale.
Richard answered on the second ring.
“Damian?”
“I need you here.”
“What happened?”
“Celia filed for Lily’s guardianship.”
Silence.
Then Richard said something Damian had never heard from him before.
“Don’t let Celia leave the property.”
Damian stared at his daughter.
“Why?”
Richard’s answer changed the room.
“Because if she knows about Elena’s sealed amendment, then she knows what Lily actually inherited.”
May you like
👉 Damian had spent two years believing Lily inherited a modest trust—but Elena had apparently left behind something much bigger.
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