Chương 8
“You may advise him. The court may draw appropriate inferences from the record and determine whether further inquiry is needed.”
Jonathan’s fingers closed around his pen. The plastic barrel bent slightly.
“I told my assistant there was a court issue,” he said.
“That was not my question.”
Jonathan’s lips thinned.
“No.”
The judge wrote something.
By the end of the hearing, Olivia received temporary sole physical custody. Jonathan was granted two supervised video calls during the week and an in-person supervised visit on Saturday at a family services center. Both parents were ordered to undergo psychological evaluations focused on parenting, not diagnosis. The boys would begin with a neutral therapist. Neither grandmother nor Savannah could contact them without court approval.
Judge Bennett also authorized a forensic image of Jonathan’s home-office computer and relevant cloud storage. He warned both parties that attempts to destroy evidence could affect custody findings and lead to separate legal consequences.
Outside the courtroom, Olivia leaned against the wall.
People moved around her. A clerk carried files toward an elevator. Two attorneys argued softly about a parking receipt. Somewhere down the hall, a baby began crying.
Mara touched Olivia’s shoulder.
“You got temporary custody.”
“For now.”
“Yes.”
“He still gets visits.”
“Supervised.”
“He should not get anything.”
Mara lowered her voice. “Do not say that where anyone can report it.”
“I’m not talking to anyone.”
“You’re in a courthouse hallway.”
Olivia looked around as if noticing the building again.
“You’re right.”
“I know you’re angry.”
“I’m not angry.”
Mara waited.
Olivia pushed away from the wall. “I’m furious.”
“That’s more accurate.”
At the elevators, a man with a camera lifted it.
“Ms. Carter,” he called. “Do you have a response to allegations that your son stole confidential files from Jonathan Reed’s home?”
Mara stepped between them.
“No comment.”
Another reporter approached from the opposite side. “Is it true the custody hearing involves recordings of Mr. Reed coaching the children?”
The elevator doors opened.
Olivia pulled her cardigan closed and guided the boys inside. Ethan stared at the floor. Mason covered one ear with his hand.
The reporters continued calling questions until the doors shut.
Olivia’s phone vibrated before they reached the lobby.
The dental office manager had sent another message.
We need to discuss the media outside the building.
By Tuesday, a photograph of Ethan holding the USB had appeared on three local websites.
The image had been taken from the courtroom doorway before the bailiff cleared the hall. Ethan’s face was partly visible. Olivia’s was unmistakable. Jonathan’s company issued a statement describing the incident as “a painful private family matter involving unlawfully obtained and potentially manipulated digital files.”
No one named Ethan, but the statement referred to “a distressed minor acting under influence.”
At school, children named him anyway.
A sixth grader showed Mason a headline on a phone during morning drop-off. By lunch, two boys in Ethan’s class had asked whether his father was going to jail.
The principal called Olivia at work.
She was already packing her desk.
The dental office had not fired her. The manager, Sheila, had used the phrase unpaid personal leave until attention subsides. A television van had parked across the street that morning. One patient canceled an appointment after recognizing Olivia from the courthouse photograph.
“We’re a small practice,” Sheila said. “People are uncomfortable.”
“With me?”
“With the situation.”
“The situation doesn’t need a root canal.”
Sheila rubbed the bridge of her nose. “This is exactly what I mean.”
Olivia looked at the framed photograph on Sheila’s desk. Sheila’s children were grown now, but the picture showed them in matching sweaters beside a mall Santa.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know you are dealing with something awful.”
“That usually comes before someone does something awful back.”
“I am not doing anything awful.”
“You’re taking away my paycheck.”
“Temporarily.”
“My rent is not temporary.”
Sheila’s face tightened. “We can discuss using your remaining vacation days.”
“I have two.”
“We can discuss it.”
Olivia placed her name badge in the cardboard box.
“I thought we were discussing it.”
She left through the rear entrance.
At home, Ethan sat on the couch with his backpack still on.
“Why aren’t you at school?” Olivia asked.
He looked toward the kitchen. Daniel Cho stood there holding a mug of coffee.
“The principal thought he should come home,” Daniel said.
“Why?”
Ethan removed one backpack strap.
“Someone put a picture in the class group chat.”
“What picture?”
“The court one.”
Olivia set down her box.
“Who took it?”
Daniel said, “The school is investigating. A parent forwarded a news link. Students added captions.”
“What captions?”
Ethan stared at the carpet.
Daniel answered. “One said ‘Evidence Boy.’ Another said he stole from his father for money.”
Olivia’s face changed.
“I didn’t steal for money,” Ethan said.
“I know.”
“Dad said I stole.”
“Your father’s statement did not name you.”
“It called me distressed.”
Daniel put down the coffee.
“Ethan, you are not required to read statements about the case.”
“Everyone else can.”
“That doesn’t mean you should.”
“That’s stupid.”
“It may be. It is still advice.”
Olivia sat beside him. “I’m going to talk to the principal.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“Why?”
“You make things bigger.”
The words landed before he could soften them.
Olivia looked at him.
He pulled his backpack into his lap. “I mean, when you get mad.”
“I understand what you mean.”
Daniel watched both of them.
Olivia stood. “I need to put my things away.”
She carried the box into her bedroom and closed the door.
Ethan looked at Daniel. “I didn’t mean it bad.”
“You meant it accurately.”
“Is she mad?”
“Probably.”
“You’re supposed to say no.”
“I’m supposed to tell the truth in useful ways.”
“That wasn’t useful.”
Daniel considered that. “You may be right.”
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In therapy later that week, Dr. Lena Morris asked Ethan to make a list of jobs that belonged to children and jobs that belonged to adults.
He wrote homework, feeding the class fish, taking out trash, and watching Mason when Mom showers under children.
