Chapter 8 - THE PETITION ALYSSA FINALLY FILED
At thirty-five weeks, Alyssa filed for divorce.
She had delayed because part of her wanted Derek to produce one explanation capable of making the hidden reserve reasonable.
He never did.
Instead he offered variations.
It was insurance.
It was family tradition.
It was temporary.
Patricia suggested it.
Alyssa threatened divorce first.
He always planned to tell her.
Every explanation preserved the same fact.
He believed he was entitled to hide money if he was afraid.
Alyssa filed.
The decision could not be taken back quietly.
The petition requested a complete accounting of funds transferred to Patricia, preservation of marital property, and temporary parenting orders after the baby’s birth.
She did not request that Derek be excluded from the child’s life.
She requested structure.
Derek reacted by asking for equal parenting time immediately after birth.
His attorney’s proposed schedule included overnight visits beginning at six weeks.
Alyssa’s attorney responded with medical recommendations, breastfeeding plans if applicable, and a request for gradual age-appropriate contact.
The court scheduled review after delivery.
No one received everything automatically.
Patricia reacted worse.
She sent family members screenshots showing the $23,000 had been returned to Alyssa and told them Alyssa had “taken money from an elderly widow.”
Lauren corrected the story publicly in the family group chat.
Mom was holding Derek’s hidden account. Stop lying.
Patricia removed Lauren from the chat.
Alyssa did not participate.
Her energy belonged elsewhere.
The baby remained stable.
The C-section was scheduled for thirty-six weeks and four days because the placenta remained too close to the cervix for labor to be considered safe.
Four days before delivery, Derek requested permission to attend.
Alyssa’s instinct was no.
Her therapist asked a different question.
“What would make you feel safe?”
Alyssa considered it.
Derek could attend the hospital.
He would not be in the operating room.
He could see the baby after delivery through staff-arranged contact.
Patricia would not be present.
All communication would go through medical staff or attorneys.
Derek accepted.
Patricia called him a coward.
Lauren heard her say it.
“What exactly did you want him to do?” Lauren asked.
“Fight for his child.”
“The child isn’t being stolen.”
Patricia replied:
May you like
Not yet.
That sentence ended any possibility of Alyssa relaxing the boundary before birth.
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