MY MOTHER LEFT ME BEHIND AT AN AIRPORT WHEN I WAS ONLY EIGHT—WALKING AWAY WITH HER NEW HUSBAND AND HIS CHILDREN WHILE I CLUTCHED A BACKPACK AND A STUFFED BUNNY. WHEN SHE RETURNED, MY BEDROOM WAS EMPTY… AND LEGAL DOCUMENTS WERE WAITING FOR HER.

Chapter Four: The Recording of Truth

The legal battle that followed was less of a trial and more of an exorcism. Gordon’s legal team, led by a shark-like woman named Diane Sterling, filed for emergency full custody within forty-eight hours.

When my mother returned from her “fresh start” in Hawaii, she didn’t find a grieving daughter waiting at home. She found a process server and an empty house. She tried to storm Gordon’s property, screaming about “kidnapping,” but the restraining order Gordon had secured stopped her at the gates.

The climax came in a wood-paneled courtroom in downtown Seattle. My mother sat at the defense table, her hair perfectly coiffed, wearing a suit that screamed “wronged parent.” She tried to play the part, dabbing at her eyes with a lace handkerchief.

“I was overwhelmed!” she cried to the judge. “Leah has always been a troubled, dramatic child. I thought she was with Calvin’s sister at the gate. It was a simple, tragic misunderstanding!”…continue reading …