Eleanor requested a meeting through the attorneys after the financial hearing was scheduled.

Grace advised me not to meet her alone.

We agreed to a structured conversation with counsel present, limited to practical matters concerning Noah.

Eleanor arrived in a plain gray sweater rather than the pearls she wore to court.

I noticed the change and tried not to assign it a meaning it might not deserve.

She began by saying that the family had suffered enough.

She wanted to see Noah without supervision and believed I was punishing her for supporting her son.