After drop-off, my son’s teacher asked, “Why is your son absent today?”

Hassan listened carefully and asked detailed questions about each point. He seemed genuinely committed to fixing the problems rather than just covering for the district. He showed me some of the new protocols they were developing and asked for my feedback.

By the end of the meeting I felt like something positive might actually come from this nightmare. A few days after that Detective Price called with what he called good news. The phone metadata from Uncle Mike’s text to Theo had been fully authenticated by their forensic team.

The analysis proved the messages came from Uncle Mike’s actual phone, were sent during school hours on multiple days, and contained clear threats that met the legal definition of coercing a minor. He said this evidence made the criminal case much stronger because Uncle Mike couldn’t claim someone else sent the messages or that they were taken out of context. The detective explained that having documented threats tied directly to Uncle Mike’s phone made it nearly impossible for him to argue this was all just a misunderstanding or a family business arrangement.

Meanwhile Theo was continuing his therapy sessions with Sophia. After his third session Sophia called me in for a brief update. She said Theo had disclosed some new information that she was required to report.

Theo told her that Derek had specifically coached him on what to say if teachers asked about his tiredness or the marks on his body. Derek had told him to say he was helping his stepdad with projects at home and that he was just tired from staying up late playing video games. Sophia filed a mandatory reporter statement about this new information which she said would add another layer to the conspiracy charges against Derek.

Theo had also admitted to Sophia that he started drinking those energy drinks because he was so exhausted he could barely stand up by afternoon. Derek told him it was normal for construction workers to use them to stay alert. Sophia was concerned about the caffeine exposure and asked if I’d noticed any changes in Theo’s sleep patterns or behavior during those 3 weeks.

I told her he’d been more irritable and had trouble falling asleep but I’d attributed it to pre-teen hormones. A few days later I got a weird message through a mutual friend of Maya’s and mine. The friend said Derek wanted me to know that we should work this out between ourselves like adults instead of letting lawyers and courts destroy both our families.

The message implied that if I dropped the criminal charges and agreed to joint custody they would make sure Uncle Mike paid for Theo’s therapy and we could all move forward without more legal drama. I stared at that message for a long time. Part of me was tempted by the idea of avoiding months of court battles and legal fees, but then I remembered Naelli’s warnings about manipulation tactics.

I remembered Theo’s face when I found him at that construction site. I remembered those threatening texts on his phone. I didn’t respond to the message; instead I forwarded it to Naelli.

The next morning she called me within an hour. She said I did exactly the right thing by not responding and by documenting the contact attempt. She explained that all communication had to go through official supervised channels from now on and that any attempts at direct contact needed to be reported immediately.

Naelli said these kinds of messages are often attempts to get victims to drop charges or make statements that can be used against them later in court. She told me that Derek’s message actually helped our case because it showed consciousness of guilt. If they really believed they’d done nothing wrong they wouldn’t be trying to negotiate dropping charges.

Her guidance helped me stay focused on protecting Theo rather than taking what seemed like an easy way out. About a week after that Roxanna Null called me. She said Uncle Mike’s attorney had contacted her office with a settlement offer.

Uncle Mike would pay $15,000 into a trust for Theo’s future expenses and plead to reduced charges if we agreed not to pursue any civil damages. Roxanna warned me that accepting a civil settlement now could hurt the criminal case by making it look like I was more interested in money than justice. “Prosecutors prefer when victims wait until after criminal proceedings are complete before considering civil claims that way defense attorneys can’t argue that the victim is just trying to get paid.”

Roxanna advised me to reject the offer and wait. She said based on the evidence they had Uncle Mike was likely going to face serious consequences regardless of any settlement and we would be in a better position to pursue civil damages after the criminal case concluded. A few days later Detective Price called with an update on the labor investigation.

The state investigators had gone through all of Uncle Mike’s employment records and time sheets for the past 6 months. They found documentation showing at least two other kids who appeared to be minors working on various job sites. One was a 14-year-old who worked weekends for about 2 months and the other was a 13-year-old who put in shifts during summer break.

Neither situation was as bad as what happened to Theo, but the pattern was there in black and white. Detective Price explained that this evidence would make it much harder for Uncle Mike to argue that Theo’s situation was just a one-time mistake or family misunderstanding. The prosecutor’s office was now treating this as a bigger case with more resources being assigned to it.

That was good news for building a strong case but Detective Price warned me it also meant the legal process would take longer. There were more defendants, more charges, and more evidence to process. I hung up feeling both relieved that the case was solid and frustrated that justice was going to take months instead of weeks.

That night I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about Maya and how she could have done this to our son. The anger built up inside me until I grabbed my phone and called her number.

It went to voicemail but I didn’t hang up. Instead I left a message telling her exactly what I thought of her as a mother. I said she was selfish and cruel and that I would make sure she never got unsupervised time with Theo again.

I told her she didn’t deserve to be called a parent after what she put him through. The words just poured out of me, all the rage and hurt from the past few weeks. When I finally stopped talking and hung up I felt hollow instead of better.

Less than an hour later my phone rang. It was Naelli from CPS. Her voice was calm but serious as she said Maya’s attorney had already forwarded my voicemail recording to her office and filed a motion with the court.

The motion claimed I was violating the no contact order and trying to turn Theo against his mother. Naelli asked me to tell her exactly what happened. My stomach dropped as I realized what I had done.

I confessed everything before she could hear it from someone else. I told her about the anger and exhaustion and how I just lost control for a few minutes. Naelli listened without interrupting and when I finished she let out a long breath.

She said she was disappointed but not really surprised. She explained that parents in these high stress situations often make impulsive choices that end up hurting their own cases. The good news was that I had reported it myself before she heard it from the other side.