Vanessa told me not to confront anyone. We stopped at the pharmacy, replaced Delia’s rescue medication, and drove straight to Vanessa’s office. There, she showed me the filing Patrice had submitted. Attached was a statement claiming I routinely forgot Delia’s medication and that Colin’s family could provide a “safer environment.” Then Vanessa showed me the detail that explained the dinner: Patrice had already told the private evaluator to arrive shortly after we did, supposedly to witness my parenting firsthand.
We preserved Patrice’s message telling me not to bring Delia’s inhaler, along with medical records showing that I consistently filled her prescriptions and attended her appointments. Vanessa contacted the appropriate authorities and asked that any custody dispute proceed through court rather than through an ambush at a family dinner. When Colin realized I was not coming, he sent angry messages demanding to know where Delia was. I did not respond. Vanessa did.
The next morning, the judge received both sides rather than the dramatic scene Patrice had apparently expected. No instant custody decision was made. Instead, the allegations were reviewed properly, and the attempted setup became part of the record.
Delia never ate Patrice’s “special dinner.”
She spent that evening beside me, safe, eating the apple pie she had baked herself.
