Part 4: The Legal Escalation
When Ethan returned, he found Avery sitting on the living room floor, the legal documents scattered around her like broken glass. Her face was entirely bloodless.
"They're trying to take her, Ethan," she whispered, her voice detached, terrified. "They're telling the court I'm crazy. They're saying because I'm a Marine and have been deployed, I have untreated PTSD and postpartum depression. They want a judge to grant Mom unsupervised weekend custody of Lily."
Ethan read through the documents, his jaw clenching so hard the muscles jumped in his cheek. The petition was a masterpiece of manufactured lies. It claimed Avery had become volatile, had cut off all family contact overnight without reason, and was endangering the newborn child.
"This is a shakedown," Ethan said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "They don't want custody of Lily. They know a legal battle costs money. They think if they threaten our daughter, we will pay them the $2,000—or twenty times that—just to make them go away."
"We can't let them near her," Avery cried. "If a judge believes them—"
"A judge won't," Ethan said, kneeling down and taking her hands in his. "Because we are going to fight them with everything we have. We aren't playing defense anymore, Ave. They just brought a fight to a Marine family. Let's show them how we handle it."
The following morning, Ethan and Avery met with Captain Marcus Vance (no relation to Major Vance), a dedicated military legal assistance attorney, and a retained civilian family lawyer named Rebecca Sterling, who specialized in high-conflict family law.
Rebecca looked over the petition, a sharp, humorless smile touching her lips. "Grandparent visitation rights in California are incredibly difficult to obtain, especially when both fit, natural parents are united in opposition. However, the allegation of postpartum unfitness is a dirty tactic designed to trigger an investigation or force a settlement."
"What do we do?" Avery asked.
"We don't settle," Rebecca said firmly. "First, Avery, you will undergo a voluntary, independent psychological evaluation by a certified military medical professional today. We will have a iron-clad report proving your absolute mental fitness before a judge even looks at this file. Second, we file a counter-suit. A permanent restraining order based on harassment and harassment-driven extortion."
Rebecca leaned forward, her eyes gleaming.
"But more importantly, I noticed something in your financial history, Avery. You mentioned you used to share a joint bank account with your mother when you first enlisted, which you closed last year. Did you ever check if your name was still attached to any of her or Brooke's financial liabilities?"
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Avery blinked. "I... I don't think so. I opened my own account with Ethan when we got engaged."
"We need to run a full, deep-dive forensic credit check on you immediately," Rebecca said. "When people are desperate for money and have zero morals, they don't stop at begging. Let's see what else your mother and sister have been up to behind your back."
