Chapter 16
Sam - Twelve Days After Chloe’s Birthday
The days after Chloe came home had been a careful rebuilding.
Not back to where we were before – we both knew that was impossible. But something different. Something stronger, built on honesty instead of assumptions, on questions instead of silence.
We’d taken three days off from our normal routines. I’d handed The Copper Fox over to Kate, trusting her to manage the bar while I focused on what actually mattered. Dr. Castle had continued to provide locum cover for Chloe at the clinic.
Arthur had sent Jenna a formal letter the day after Chloe returned: all contact regarding Leo was to go through him.
No more showing up at the bar, no more surprise visits to Chloe’s clinic, no more manipulation disguised as co-parenting discussions.
If Jenna wanted to discuss Leo, she could go through proper legal channels.
She hadn’t responded. Hadn’t called, hadn’t texted at all.
At first, I’d been relieved. The silence gave Chloe and me space to talk through everything without interruption.
We spent hours on the couch, coffee going cold as we worked through the damage the lies had caused.
Chloe told me about both encounters with Jenna – the parking lot confrontation where Jenna had deliberately made her feel territorial and threatened, and the clinic visit where she’d systematically dismantled Chloe’s confidence and planted lies about my intentions.
Hearing it all laid out like that, understanding how Jenna had targeted every one of Chloe’s insecurities, made me sick. Each story was another reminder of how badly I’d failed to protect the woman I loved by keeping her in the dark.
But Chloe was doing the work to heal. She’d reached out to her therapist – the same one who’d helped her process everything after Sean’s betrayal came to light – and they’d been having daily video sessions.
I’d hear Chloe’s voice from the bedroom, talking through her fears about not being enough, about falling into old patterns of accepting lies, about learning to trust her own instincts again.
After each session, she’d emerge looking exhausted but clearer, more centered. Like she was finding her way back to herself.
We talked about Leo, too. About what it would mean to be part of his life, how to navigate co-parenting with someone as manipulative as Jenna, and what our boundaries needed to be.
Chloe had been clear from the start: she wanted to be involved, wanted to build a relationship with my son, but she needed to feel secure in our relationship first. No more secrets, no more letting Jenna drive wedges between us.
I’d agreed to all of it. Whatever Chloe needed to feel safe, I’d give her.
This morning, we were both back at work. Normal routines, normal life. We weren’t healed – trauma doesn’t work that way – but we were solid. We knew where we stood with each other. We had a plan for moving forward.
I was trying to focus on inventory when Chloe called.
“Sam.” Her voice was tight with tension. “You need to get to the clinic. Now.”
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. Just… get here. Please.”
I abandoned the inventory sheets and drove to the clinic as fast as I could, my mind racing through possibilities. When I burst through the front door, Sarah pointed me toward Chloe’s office without a word.
I found Chloe on the floor of her office, sitting cross-legged with Leo between her knees.
They were both on the ground next to a basket of golden retriever puppies – the same ones Chloe told me Leo had been fascinated with during his visit here with Jenna.
Leo was gently petting one of the sleeping puppies while Chloe kept a protective hand on his back.
“Sam-Sam!” Leo looked up when he saw me, but he didn’t move from his spot next to the puppies. “Shhhh, the puppies are sleeping!”
“I can see that, buddy.” I crouched down next to them, completely confused. “Chloe, what’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” Chloe’s voice was carefully controlled, but I could see the worry in her eyes. “I got back from a farm call about twenty minutes ago. Leo was already here. Sarah said Jenna dropped him off in the car park this morning with his backpack.”
My stomach dropped. “She left him here?”
“Sarah didn’t know what to do, but she knew I’d be back soon, so she brought him in here to see the puppies.” Chloe’s hand moved protectively to Leo’s shoulder. “I didn’t look through his backpack or ask him too much. I was more concerned with making sure Leo was okay and getting you here.”
I looked at my son, who seemed calm and content, sitting with the puppies.
“Leo,” I said gently, “where’s your mommy?”
“She had to go away,” Leo said matter-of-factly, not looking up from the puppy he was petting. “She said you’d come get me and that I could visit the animal babies while I waited.”
The casual way he said it made my chest tight. Like being abandoned was just another part of his day.
I reached for Leo’s backpack, my hands unsteady as I unzipped it. Inside were a few changes of clothes, the toys I bought for him, and a manila envelope with my name handwritten on it.
I tore the envelope open. Inside was a single-page letter, typed and formal.
To Sam Mitchell and Arthur Halloway,
This letter confirms my intention to voluntarily terminate my parental rights to my son Leo David Blake.
I understand this must be processed through the Illinois family court system, as Leo has not been a resident of Oregon for the required six months to file in that jurisdiction. Therefore, the purpose of this letter is to formally document my intentions and decisions regarding Leo’s care.
Effective immediately, I am transferring physical custody of Leo to Sam Mitchell, his father, as confirmed by a paternity test undertaken in Willowbrook.
I acknowledge that I have left Leo in Sam’s care and I authorize Sam to make all decisions regarding Leo’s welfare, education, medical care, and living arrangements until such time as this matter is resolved through the appropriate legal channels.
I have retained legal counsel in Illinois. All future contact regarding Leo or this matter should be directed to Patricia Hoffman of Hoffman & Associates, Chicago, Illinois.
I understand the legal implications of this decision.
Jenna Blake
I read it three times, my hands shaking harder with each pass. Then I looked up at Chloe, who was watching me with worried eyes, and handed her the letter without a word.
She read it quickly, her expression cycling through shock, anger, and finally something fiercely protective. When she looked up at me, I could see the question in her eyes.
I nodded toward the hallway outside her office. Chloe immediately understood. She caught Sarah’s eye through the office window and gestured her in.
“Leo, I love puppies so much,” Sarah said, settling down on the floor beside him. “Do you think it would be okay if I sat with you for a little while? You can tell me all about them while Chloe and Sam talk for a minute.”
Leo looked up at her, then at the puppies, then nodded solemnly. “You have to be very gentle,” he instructed. “Dr. Chloe showed me how.”
“I will be,” Sarah promised. “Can you teach me the right way?”
As soon as they stepped out, Chloe closed the door behind them. We stood in the hallway, the sounds of the clinic muffled around us.
“She’s terminating her parental rights,” I said quietly. “Left Leo with us and wants to make it permanent.”
“She just… she can’t just drop him off with a letter,” Chloe said, still holding the paper.
“Apparently, she can.” I pulled out my phone. “We need to call Arthur.”
Arthur answered on the second ring. “Sam. Everything okay?”
“Not even close.” I put the phone on speaker so Chloe could hear. “Jenna dropped Leo off at Chloe’s clinic this morning and left him. There’s a letter saying she’s terminating her parental rights and transferring custody to me.”
A long pause. “She did what?”
“Left him. With a letter. It says she knows it has to go through Illinois courts, but she’s confirming her intentions and authorizing me to make all decisions for Leo in the meantime.
” I looked down at the paper in my hands.
“She’s retained a lawyer in Chicago. All contact is supposed to go through her. ”
“This is highly irregular.” Arthur’s voice had shifted into lawyer mode. “Can you send me a photo of that letter? I need to see exactly what we’re dealing with.”
“Sending it now.” I snapped a photo and emailed it to him.
We waited in silence while Arthur presumably read the letter on his end.
When he spoke again, his voice was careful.
“Sam, I need some time to research Illinois family law. Voluntary termination of parental rights isn’t something you can just do with a letter.
There’s a process, court hearings, and sometimes home studies.
But if she’s retained counsel and they’re advising her, it could be above board. ”
“What do we do in the meantime?” I asked. “Leo’s here. He’s four years old. I can’t just… what am I supposed to do?”
“Take him home,” Arthur said without hesitation.
“She’s given you written authorization to care for him.
Until she or her attorney says otherwise, you have temporary physical custody based on this letter.
Just document everything – when she dropped him off, what condition he was in, what she provided. And I’ll start making calls.”
I looked at Chloe, who was already nodding. “We’ll take him home,” I said.
“Good.” Arthur paused. “Sam, this is going to get complicated. If she’s serious about terminating her rights, and if she has a lawyer involved, this isn’t a temporary situation. You need to think about what this means.”
I looked at Chloe, who was nodding furiously, her eyes bright with certainty. Then I looked at the closed door where Leo was probably still chattering to Sarah about the puppies. “We know what it means,” I said. “It means he’s ours.”