Epilogue Tasha
The night before court
The thought hit me like a physical blow, and I found myself gripping the kitchen counter to stay upright.
We were going to lose. Nate was walking into that courtroom with nothing but his love for Paige and some hastily researched legal precedents.
Sarah had money, lawyers, a plan that had been months in the making.
It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. And it was going to happen anyway.
I needed air. Needed space to fall apart where Nate couldn't see me doing it. He was barely holding himself together as it was.
The back deck was cool and quiet, the summer night air carrying the scent of Mrs. Swanson's roses from next door. Normal suburban life, continuing as if our world wasn't about to implode.
I pulled out my phone, scrolling to Sophia's contact. It was late… too late to be calling anyone.
But I couldn't just sit here and do nothing while everything we'd built crumbled around us.
She answered on the fourth ring, her voice alert despite the hour.
"Tasha? What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry for calling so late," I said, my voice already shaking. "I know it's—"
"Don't apologize. What's happening?"
My voice broke. "I need your help. Sophia, you were right. About everything. Sarah, the playbook, all of it."
Where could I even start? The custody papers, the lawyer consultations, the coffee shop meeting where Sarah had shown her true colors exactly like Sophia had predicted?
"The coffee shop meeting was a disaster," I managed. "Sarah played it exactly like you said she would. Perfectly reasonable, understanding, just wants what's best for Paige. And then she filed for primary custody the same day. She was never planning to take it slow."
"Shit," Sophia breathed. "When's the hearing?"
"Tomorrow morning. Nine AM. And we can't find a lawyer. Every decent attorney in the city has either been bought off or conflicted out. Sarah's people made sure of that."
"Hold on, Tasha," came Sophia's voice. "I've got Jack here. Can I put you on speaker? I think we might need his input on this."
"Of course," I said, grateful for any help, from anyone.
"Hey Tasha," Jack's warm voice came through the phone, carrying that slight accent that usually made everything sound calmer. Tonight it just sounded concerned. "Sophia's been filling me in on some of this situation. What's the current status?"
And then it all came pouring out. Everything. How Sarah had systematically sabotaged our legal options. How the coffee shop meeting had been theater from the beginning. How Paige had innocently handed Sarah exactly what she needed by rejecting her so clearly.
"She was twenty-eight when she left," I said, my voice thick with tears. "Twenty-eight years old, and she just walked away from a three-month-old baby because it was too hard. And now she wants to take Paige away from the only parent she's ever known.
"And the worst part is… I think she's going to win," I whispered. "Nate's representing himself against someone with unlimited resources and no conscience. He's the best father in the world, but that's not going to matter in that courtroom.
"There's something else," I said, my voice breaking completely. "Something I haven't even told Nate yet. I'm pregnant."
The silence on the other end stretched for what felt like forever.
"How far along?" Sophia asked softly.
"Seven, eight weeks, maybe? I just found out." I sank into one of Nate's carefully arranged patio chairs. "And it's my own stupid fault. I had an ear infection, took antibiotics. I should have known better. I'm an ER nurse, for God's sake, and I made the most basic rookie mistake in the book."
My voice was rising now, pregnancy hormones and stress combining into a toxic cocktail of self-recrimination. "What kind of mother am I going to be if I can't even manage my own birth control properly? What if I screw up something important with the baby? What if—"
"Stop," Sophia said firmly. "Tasha, listen to me. You made a human mistake that happens to healthcare professionals all the time. You think I haven't seen doctors and nurses make the exact same error? It doesn't make you stupid or incompetent or a bad future mother."
"But—"
"No buts. You're dealing with an impossible situation, you're pregnant, you're scared, and your brain is doing what brains do under stress—catastrophizing.
" Her voice gentled. "The antibiotic thing?
That's just life being messy. The baby you're carrying?
They're going to be lucky to have you as a mom. "
I wiped my eyes, feeling slightly steadier. "I was waiting for the right moment to tell Nate, and then this happened. What if we lose Paige, Sophia? What if there's no good moment to tell him about the baby?"
"We're not going to lose Paige," Jack said quietly, and something in his voice had changed. More serious, more determined. "Tasha, what's the exact courthouse and time tomorrow?"
I gave him the details, my hands shaking as I scrolled through the legal papers on my phone. "Family Court, downtown. Nine AM. Judge Morrison presiding."
"Morrison," Jack repeated. "And Sarah's attorney?"
"Bradford Kensington. From Kensington, Walsh, and Associates."
There was a pause, then Jack said, "Right. I need to make some calls. Tasha, I can't promise anything concrete, but... we might have some options."
"What kind of options?" I asked, hardly daring to hope.
"The kind that require some very specific phone calls to some very specific people," Jack said carefully. "But Tasha, I need you to understand something serious. This is a longshot. We might not be able to pull anything together in time."
"But you'll try?"
"We'll try," Sophia confirmed. "Tasha, go back inside. Try to get some sleep if you can. And don't give up hope yet."
"But what if—"
"One crisis at a time," Sophia said gently. "We protect our own. And you and Nate and Paige? You're family now. All of you."
"The baby too," she added quietly. "That little one you're carrying is going to grow up knowing their sister, in the house where they belong. I truly believe that."
Tears were streaming down my face now, but for the first time in days, they weren't entirely tears of despair. "Thank you," I whispered. "Both of you."
"Don't thank us yet," Jack said, and I could hear movement in the background. "Wait until we see what tomorrow brings. But Tasha? Get some rest. Whatever happens, you're going to need your strength."
The line went quiet, and I stood there on the deck, staring at my phone in the darkness. It wasn't a guarantee. Jack had been careful not to promise anything. But for the first time since this nightmare began, I felt like we weren't completely alone.
Maybe that would be enough.
Maybe it would have to be.