It changed the way I approached every accusation, including the ones I desperately wanted to believe.

PART 6

The first formal letter from Grant’s attorney arrived on a Monday when Owen had been awake for most of the night.

It used phrases such as reasonable access and parental involvement.

Those words might have sounded reassuring in a different envelope.

Coming from Grant, they made me think of his text telling me to surrender the green notebook if I wanted to raise our child in peace.

My family-law attorney, Nia Patel, met me in a small office with chairs arranged so parents could bring babies.