Chapter 5
Fayetteville, Arkansas
The new year is starting with words I know but don’t fully understand. Big, cold words spoken at the front door—custody, violation, investigation. My stomach hurts like when you eat too much candy. Only worse.
I slip off my bed. My heart thudding. Mr. Piggles clutched in one hand and my other fisting in the hem of my purple sweater.
From the hallway shadows, I see them. Two strangers in stiff clothes. A man and a woman. The man has a clipboard. The woman keeps glancing past Aunt Claire, like she already knows exactly where I am.
“I don’t understand,” Aunt Claire says, her voice tight with panic. “You can’t just show up and—”
“Ma’am,” the woman cuts in, calm and firm. “We have legal cause. There’s been a flag in the system. The child—”
“Her name is Bella,” Aunt Claire snaps.
The woman sighs, “We need to speak to the legal guardian. Is he home?”
“He’s at work. But you can’t just—”
Then I hear it, the roar of Daddy’s truck. A second later, the front door slams open. “What the hell is going on here?”
The strangers turn, but Daddy is already storming forward. “Who are you?” he barks. “Why are you in my house?”
“Mr. Harrington,” the man says, still trying to stay calm, “We’re with Child Protective Services. We received a tip regarding forged birth records and falsified documen—”
“What?” Daddy’s voice raises. “Get the hell out of my house.”
“Sir, we have legal cause to be here. Isabella is not your biological child. There is no medical record of your wife’s pregnancy or delivery. The paperwork appears—”
“She doesn’t need paperwork. She needs a family!” Daddy roars, stepping so close the man flinches. “Get the hell out of my house, NOW!”
“I’m sorry, sir. We’re required to place her in emergency foster care, for her safety.”
“Safety,” Daddy’s voice breaks. “You think strangers are safer than her own damn father?”
He’s shaking now. Chest heaving. Eyes wild. “You won’t fucking take my daughter.”
Aunt Claire steps in between them, hands trembling. “Please, don’t do this. Elise, her mother, she just passed. Henry’s the only parent she has left.”
“We understand this is difficult,” the man says quietly.
“Difficult?!” Daddy’s face goes red. “She’s my daughter! You want difficult? I’ll give you difficult! Where do you think you’re taking her?”
“I’m sorry, sir. The location is—”
“Oh no, no, no. You’re not taking her anywhere. You don’t get to just…” Daddy runs a hand through his hair. “Jesus Christ you can’t do this!”
I step into the doorway. “Daddy?”
His head whips around, eyes locking on mine and they break. I’ve never seen his face look like this. Not even when Mama died.
The woman turns toward me with a practiced smile. “Hi, Isabella sweetheart. We’re going to take a little trip, okay?”
“No,” I whisper, backing away, clutching Mr. Piggles in my arms.
“Isabella,” she reaches for me gently. “It’s going to be alright.”
“NO!” I scream, running toward Daddy. “Daddy!”
He lunges for me, but the male agent steps between us.
“Sir, don’t make this harder than it has to be. Don’t let her remember you like this.”
Aunt Claire grabs my shoulder, trying to pull me back.
“I’ll fucking kill you both!” Daddy roars, straining to reach me. “Let her go. She’s all I have left!”
The room goes crazy. Everyone is yelling, pushing, words flying so sharp they make my ears sting.
“Please.” Daddy’s voice finally stutters. “Just… just let me say goodbye to my baby.”
Everything goes still for one breath. The man steps aside.
Daddy drops to his knees in front of me, hands trembling, eyes red and shining like I’ve never seen. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out Mama’s locket. The golden one she always wore, still faintly scented with lavender.
His hands shake as he fastens it around my neck. “Mama wanted you to have this, Sugar Bear,” he whispers. “She said it’d keep you safe when we couldn’t.”
Aunt Claire is sobbing, frantically shoving clothes and Mr. Piggles into my old backpack. She keeps saying, ‘I’ll call Uncle Jack, I’ll call Uncle Jack,’ like the words themselves can fix it.
But nothing can.
The woman steps forward and takes my hand. “It’s time, Isabella.”
“I DON’T WANT TO GO!” I kick and sob. “DADDY!”
He slams his fists into the wall, punching straight through the drywall, fury pouring out of him like a wildfire.
“I’ll find you!” he shouts after the car. “Bella, I’m coming for you, baby! You hear me? I’M COMING!”
The car door slams. I press my face to the glass until it hurts. His voice gets smaller as the driveway disappears. I try to trap it inside my head before it goes away.