When I announced my pregnancy, my mother-in-law said, “get rid of it.”

Now I was trying to trap Thomas with a baby and demanding money. I was spreading horrible rumors about Margaret who had only ever tried to help me.

“Most people seem to believe Margaret because she was calm and sympathetic when she told the story,” Jessica said. While I wasn’t around to defend myself, she said Margaret was painting herself as the concerned mother-in-law trying to protect her son from a manipulative unstable woman.

The rumors were so completely backwards from reality that I almost laughed. Margaret had turned the truth inside out and made herself the victim.

I told Gideon about the rumors during our next meeting. He leaned back in his chair and said Margaret was building a narrative to protect herself and Thomas from social consequences.

He said it was actually helpful in a legal sense because it showed her pattern of manipulation and dishonesty. Then he said something that made my stomach drop.

He told me I needed to document everything and get written statements from everyone who was at that family dinner. We needed proof of what Margaret actually said and did before memories faded or people changed their stories.

He asked if there was anyone from Thomas’ family who might be willing to tell the truth. I thought about Thomas’ younger sister who had sat at that dinner table looking horrified but silent.

Her name was Meera and we had always gotten along well before everything fell apart. She was 6 years younger than Thomas and had always seemed uncomfortable with Margaret’s controlling behavior.

I hadn’t talked to her since I left but Gideon said it was worth trying. I texted Meera that evening asking if we could talk.

She responded within an hour saying yes and suggesting coffee the next day. We met at a small cafe near her apartment and she looked nervous when she sat down across from me.

Her hands wrapped around her coffee cup and she wouldn’t quite meet my eyes at first. I asked her directly if she remembered what Margaret said at the family dinner and if she would be willing to write down what happened.

Meera’s eyes filled with tears and she said she had been feeling terrible about not speaking up. She said she was horrified by what Margaret demanded and disgusted by how Thomas just sat there.

But she had been too scared to say anything. Margaret had a way of punishing family members who defied her, and Meera still lived in the same city and saw them regularly.

But she said what Margaret did was wrong and she couldn’t let it stand. She agreed to provide a written statement about everything she witnessed that night.

She described Margaret grabbing the ultrasound photos and throwing them away. She remembered Margaret saying, “I should abort before I cursed the family with a defective child.”

She documented Richard’s comment about not wanting a disabled grandchild and Thomas’s suggestion that his mother had a point. Her statement was detailed and specific and she signed it in front of a notary the following week.

Gideon said her testimony would be crucial evidence that Margaret did demand I abort the baby. At 24 weeks pregnant I was sitting in Mom’s kitchen one afternoon when I felt the baby kick strongly for the first time.

It wasn’t the little flutters I had felt before, but a real solid movement that made me gasp. Mom looked up from chopping vegetables and asked what was wrong.

I put my hand on my belly and felt another kick and started crying. Mom dropped the knife and came over, putting her hand next to mine on my stomach.

She waited quietly and then her eyes went wide when she felt the baby move. She started crying too and pulled me into a hug, telling me she remembered when she was pregnant with me and felt me kick for the first time.

She said it was the moment everything became real for her, when she truly understood there was a whole person growing inside her. Dad came home from work an hour later and found us still sitting at the kitchen table with our hands on my belly.

Mom made him put his hand there too and we all waited until the baby kicked again. Dad’s face lit up and he started talking to my stomach in this soft gentle voice.

He was welcoming his grandchild and promising to teach them how to fish and fix cars and all the things he taught me. I felt overwhelmed sitting there with both my parents talking to my daughter.

I realized she was going to know this kind of love from the moment she was born. She would never experience Margaret’s coldness or Thomas’ weakness because I had chosen to protect her from that toxicity.

Thomas’ lawyer sent over the divorce papers the following week. Gideon called me to review the terms before I saw them.

The child support amount was minimal, barely enough to cover basics and clearly calculated to give Thomas the least possible financial obligation. The custody arrangement gave Thomas only supervised visitation until the child turned 5 years old.

This came with the possibility of requesting expanded rights after completing parenting classes and anger management. Gideon said the terms made it clear Thomas wanted as little responsibility as possible.

It hurt seeing it written out in legal language that my daughter’s father had no interest in actually being her father. But Gideon pointed out that the custody terms actually protected my daughter from the Rossy family’s toxicity.

Supervised visitation meant Margaret could never be alone with her and I would have primary control over my child’s life. Gideon said we could push for better child support, but the custody arrangement was actually more favorable than what we might get if we went to court.

Thomas was essentially giving up his rights while maintaining a legal connection. I signed the papers after Gideon added language strengthening the supervision requirements.

I also clarified that Margaret was never allowed contact with the child without my explicit written permission.

Safeguarding the Birth

Around 26 weeks I started having panic attacks about giving birth. I would wake up at 3:00 in the morning with my heart racing and my chest tight, imagining Margaret somehow showing up at the hospital.

The restraining order was in place, but I kept picturing her pushing past security or Thomas bringing her despite the legal consequences. The fear got so bad I started avoiding thinking about the birth at all, which Esther said wasn’t healthy during our next therapy session.

She helped me create a detailed birth plan that included hospital security protocols. We wrote down exactly who was allowed in the delivery room and made a list of people who were absolutely forbidden.

Esther suggested I meet with the hospital social worker to discuss my concerns and set up protections. I scheduled a meeting the following week and explained the entire situation to a kind woman who took notes and promised to flag my file.

Julie coordinated with the hospital to add security alerts. Anyone from the Rossy family trying to access the maternity ward would trigger an immediate response.

Having concrete plans in place helped ease some of the anxiety, though I still had nightmares about Margaret’s face appearing in the delivery room. Roman called me one evening sounding excited and said he had signed up for a class on infant CPR and baby safety at the community center.

He wanted to be a helpful uncle and know how to take care of his niece properly. I felt my throat tighten listening to him talk about learning to support a baby’s head and recognize choking hazards.

His dedication and pure excitement about becoming an uncle made me ashamed I had ever doubted that people with Down syndrome were capable of meaningful relationships and responsibilities. Roman was going to be a better uncle than Thomas would ever be a father.

He finished the class three weeks later and showed me his certificate with obvious pride. He had scored perfectly on the final test and the instructor had complimented his careful attention to detail.

Watching him demonstrate proper CPR technique on a baby doll, I realized Margaret’s entire worldview was built on ignorance and hate. Roman was capable and loving and excited to help raise my daughter, while Thomas couldn’t even commit to supervised visits.