I Came Home From A Hospital Shift To Find My Fiancée And Baby Gone. The Police Called It A “Civil Matter” And Refused To Help. How Do I Find My Daughter?
Keith Loses Everything
Reed called me the following Tuesday. “I’ve got information on Keith. You need to hear this.”
“What did you find?”
“He got fired from the work-from-home job.”
“When?”
“3 weeks ago. Performance issues. According to my source at the company, he missed deadlines, didn’t respond to emails, basically stopped working. So he’s unemployed completely. And he’s got no other income that I can find. He’s living off Becca now.”
I thanked Reed and called Jeffrey. “This is huge. Becca’s lawyer has been arguing Keith provides stability and financial support. If he’s unemployed and dependent on her, that argument falls apart.”
Jeffrey sounded energized. “I’ll file a motion to present this at the follow-up hearing. The judge needs to know the household situation has changed. We can also argue this creates financial stress that impacts Lily’s environment.”
The motion was filed that afternoon. Becca’s lawyer objected, calling it irrelevant to custody. The judge disagreed and allowed the evidence. Jeffrey sent me a text later. “Hearing is set for March 15th. Get ready.”
Daddy’s House
My second unsupervised Saturday arrived. I picked up Lily at the exchange location. She ran to me when she saw me. “Dada!”
I scooped her up and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I decided today was the day to bring her to my apartment. She needed to see where I lived.
We drove to my building and I carried her upstairs. She looked around with wide eyes. “This is Daddy’s home. You have a special room here.”
I sat her down and she immediately started exploring. She touched everything. The couch, the coffee table, the TV remote. I followed her around making sure she stayed safe. She found the bedroom area I’d set up. Crib with pink sheets. Toy box full of stuffed animals and blocks. Small bookshelf with board books.
Her face lit up. “Mine?”
“Yes baby. This is your room at Daddy’s house.”
She climbed into the toy box and started pulling out toys. She played for an hour, completely absorbed. I sat on the floor with her, building block towers for her to knock down. She laughed every time they fell.
Around noon she started rubbing her eyes. Sleepy. She nodded. I picked her up and put her in the crib. She didn’t protest. I gave her a stuffed bear and covered her with a blanket. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and closed her eyes. I stood there watching her sleep in the crib in my apartment. My daughter sleeping in my home.
She napped for 90 minutes. When she woke up she seemed completely comfortable. No crying, no confusion, just happy to be there. We had lunch at my small kitchen table. Sandwiches and fruit. She ate well.
After lunch we played more. She wanted to read books. We sat on the couch and I read to her. She pointed at pictures and named things. Cat. Moon. Baby.
At 4:00 I packed up her things. “Time to go back to Mama.”
She pouted but didn’t cry. We drove to the exchange. Becca was waiting, arms crossed. “How was it?”
“Good. She came to my apartment for the first time.”
“She did?”
“Great.”
Becca’s expression tightened. “You took her to your apartment?”
“That’s allowed now. Unsupervised visits.”
“She explored and took a nap there. She was comfortable.”
Becca grabbed Lily without responding. They drove away. I felt good about today. Lily was adjusting to having two homes. She was bonding with me. Everything was moving in the right direction.
More Witnesses
Jeffrey called me Wednesday evening. “We got a witness. Becca’s childhood friend, Haley, reached out. She wants to talk.”
“About what?”
“Apparently Becca’s been confiding in her about problems in the relationship. Haley’s worried about Lily’s safety.”
I met with Haley and Jeffrey at his office Friday morning. She was a thin woman with nervous energy. She kept wringing her hands. “I’ve known Becca since we were kids. We’ve been best friends for 20 years.”
She paused. “I’m worried about her. And about Lily.”
“What are you worried about?”
Haley looked down. “Keith has a temper. Becca told me he gets really angry when Lily cries at night. He yells at Becca to make her stop.”
“Has he hurt anyone?”
“Not that I know of. But Becca said he punches walls when he’s mad. She sent me pictures. There are holes in the walls of their house.”
Jeffrey leaned forward. “Would you be willing to testify about this?”
Haley nodded slowly. “I don’t want to hurt Becca, but I’m scared for Lily. If Keith is that angry around a baby, what happens when she gets older and harder to manage? I think Jason should have custody. At least until Becca gets away from Keith.”
Jeffrey made notes. “This is good. Very good. We’ll call you as a witness at the March hearing.”
Jeffrey called me Tuesday morning with news about the home study. The social worker filed her report from the Arizona visit. I could hear papers rustling on his end. “It’s not good for Becca. Not good at all.”
“What did she find?”
“Holes in the walls. Multiple holes. Keith apparently punches walls when he gets angry. The neighbors complained to the social worker about loud arguments coming from the house at all hours. One neighbor said she almost called the police twice in the past month because of the yelling.”
My stomach tightened. “Was Lily there during these arguments?”
“The report doesn’t specify, but the neighbor mentioned hearing a baby crying during at least one incident.”
Jeffrey paused. “There’s more. Keith refused to leave the room when the social worker tried to interview Becca privately. He stood there with his arms crossed and answered questions for her. The social worker noted Becca appeared anxious throughout the entire visit and kept looking at Keith before responding to anything.”
“That’s concerning.”
“Very concerning. The judge is going to see this as a red flag about the home environment.”
I felt relief mixed with worry. Relief that the truth was coming out, but worry about what Lily had been witnessing in that house.
“When’s the next hearing?”
“3 weeks. We’ll present this evidence along with everything else we’ve gathered. I think we’re in a strong position now.”
