Chapter 11 - THE CHILDREN HE ABANDONED
Our son moved beneath his blanket.
I bent down and adjusted his hat.
Arthur watched me.
Then he stepped toward the stroller.
“I want to see them.”
I set the brake.
“You can see them from there.”
“They’re my children.”
“You held your daughter once before leaving the delivery room.”
“Brooke said the estate meeting could not wait.”
“You believed her.”
“I made a mistake.”
“You made a choice.”
Arthur stopped.
Our daughter opened her eyes briefly.
He looked at her with an expression that might have been love, regret or fear.
Jonathan opened another file.
“Colonel Sterling is requesting temporary primary physical custody.”
Arthur looked up sharply.
“You can’t take them from me.”
“I am protecting their stability while the court evaluates your judgment.”
“Because of Brooke?”
“Because you abandoned their mother during a medical emergency, filed false financial declarations and attempted to use them to obtain property.”
Brooke moved farther away from him.
Arthur noticed.
“Tell them I didn’t know about the stolen money.”
Brooke stared at him.
“You signed the promotional statements.”
“You told me everything was legitimate.”
“You never asked.”
Arthur’s face changed.
May you like
Brooke had exploited his arrogance.
But she had not created it.
