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

That honesty would be documented and would help but she warned me in very clear terms that I needed to be perfect from now on. Every single mistake would be used against me by Maya’s attorney. No more phone calls, no more messages, and no contact at all except through official channels.

I promised I would follow the rules exactly. After we hung up I sat there feeling like an idiot. I had just handed Maya’s lawyer ammunition to use against me.

The next morning I called a family law attorney that a co-worker had recommended. I explained the situation and asked for advice on how to handle communication and documentation going forward. The attorney spent an hour coaching me on proper tone, what to document and how, and strategies for avoiding giving the other side anything they could twist against me.

It cost me $200 I didn’t really have but I left feeling more prepared. A week later the school district held an evening meeting about their new safety protocols. Hassan Cartwright from the district security office presented the changes they were putting in place.

The new system included biometric check-in verification so kids couldn’t just scan someone else’s badge. Parents would get automated text alerts anytime their child was marked absent or left school early. Every emergency exit would be connected to alarms that triggered immediate staff response.

The district was also requiring quarterly contact information verification with actual penalties for schools that didn’t keep current records. Hassan went through each protocol in detail explaining how it would work and what problems it was designed to prevent. Then he did something unexpected: he asked me directly to review the protocols and give feedback from a parent’s perspective.

I was impressed by how thorough everything was. More than that, I appreciated being included in the solution instead of just being treated like a victim of the system’s failure. I gave him several suggestions about parent notification timing and backup contact methods.

Hassan took notes on everything I said and promised to incorporate the feedback. Walking out of that meeting I felt like my anger at the school was finally turning into something useful. That same week Sophia Bailey asked to meet with me separately from Theo’s regular therapy sessions.

She wanted to educate me about trauma responses and what to expect in the coming months. We sat in her office while she explained that Theo’s nightmares and anxiety were completely normal reactions to what he had been through. She said recovery wouldn’t be a straight line; he would have good days and then sudden setbacks.

There might be triggers we didn’t expect like certain sounds or smells that reminded him of the construction site. Sophia taught me specific grounding techniques to use when Theo started to panic. She showed me how to help him focus on his breathing and identify things he could see, hear, and touch in the present moment.

She emphasized the importance of maintaining consistent routines at home because predictability creates a sense of safety. Then she went over warning signs that would indicate Theo needed additional support like withdrawal from activities he used to enjoy or talk about hurting himself. Her calm expertise made me feel less helpless.

For the first time since this started I had actual tools to help my son instead of just watching him struggle. A few days after that Detective Price called with news about the forensic analysis of those forged permission slips. The document examiners had finished their work and the printer identification codes embedded in the documents matched a specific printer in the business office at Derek’s apartment complex.

Even better, the apartment complex had security footage of the office area. The footage showed Derek going into that office on three separate dates that lined up exactly with when several of the permission slips were created. This physical evidence directly connected Derek to the forgery scheme.

It proved that this wasn’t just Maya’s idea or something that happened without planning. Derek had actively participated in creating fake documents with my signature. Detective Price said this evidence made Derek’s legal position much worse.

His attorney had been trying to paint him as someone who just went along with his girlfriend’s bad judgment but now there was proof he had taken specific actions to deceive the school. The bank records analysis came back around the same time and investigators had traced every dollar that moved between Uncle Mike, Maya, and Derek. The records showed that Maya received over $5,000 from Uncle Mike during the three weeks Theo worked.

Every single transfer happened within a day or two of Theo working a shift. But here’s what really stood out: Maya didn’t keep any of that money. She immediately transferred it to her attorney’s retainer account or used it to pay rent she owed on her apartment.

Detective Price explained that this showed financial desperation was a major reason behind her choices. She was facing eviction and couldn’t afford her custody lawyer without that money. Understanding her financial situation made me see her actions differently, not as pure evil but as desperation mixed with manipulation and terrible judgment.

I was still furious about what she put Theo through but now I could see the whole picture of how she got there. That didn’t excuse anything but it made it more complicated than just calling her a monster. Detective Price called again a few days later with a warning.

Uncle Mike had been making angry statements to his neighbors about me. He was telling people I had ruined his business and cost him everything. Detective Price recommended I stay alert for any potential retaliation.

He told me to document any suspicious activity around my home or workplace, vary my daily routine slightly, and report any contact attempts immediately. Naelli updated our safety plan to include these precautions. She also contacted Theo’s school directly to make absolutely sure they understood that only I was authorized to pick him up, with no exceptions no matter what story anyone told.

About 5 weeks after I found Theo at that construction site Maya’s attorney filed a formal request with CPS for a supervised visitation session. The request argued that maintaining the mother-child relationship was important even while the criminal case moved forward. Naelli called to discuss it with me.

She explained that supervised visits at a CPS facility could actually be good for Theo if handled the right way. It would let him see that his mother was okay while keeping clear safety boundaries in place. A trained supervisor would be in the room the whole time.

I could be in the building but not in the same room. Naelli thought it might help Theo process some of his conflicted feelings about his mom. I didn’t want to agree; part of me wanted to keep Maya away from Theo completely.

But Naelli pointed out that courts almost always allow some kind of supervised contact unless there’s immediate physical danger. Fighting it now might make me look unreasonable later. I finally agreed to one trial visit for 1 hour with a CPS supervisor present.

The visit happened on a Tuesday afternoon at a CPS family visitation room. The room was set up to look friendly with toys and comfortable chairs but there were cameras in every corner. Naelli was the supervisor and she sat in a chair near the door with a clipboard.