Chapter 6 - THE DOCTOR WHO NEVER MET ME
Rebecca found the doctor in forty-eight hours.
Dr. Samuel Greene.
A psychiatrist whose consulting firm occasionally worked with Ryan’s corporation.
I had never met him.
Yet an email from Ryan to Margaret, obtained during expedited discovery, contained a sentence that made Rebecca read it twice.
Sam believes prenatal anxiety can significantly affect decision-making.
Below it, Margaret had replied.
Has he evaluated Claire?
Ryan answered.
Not formally.
Not formally.
The wording implied something informal had occurred.
It had not.
I had never spoken to the man.
Rebecca subpoenaed communications.
Ryan’s attorney objected.
The judge rejected the objection.
Three days later, forty-two pages arrived.
Most concerned corporate wellness programs.
Then Rebecca found an email exchange from six weeks earlier.
Ryan had written:
Hypothetically, if a pregnant spouse became increasingly paranoid, financially irrational, and possessive regarding children, how would courts generally view that?
Dr. Greene responded carefully.
He explained that he could not assess an individual without an evaluation.
Ryan continued asking.
What behaviors would warrant professional intervention?
What documentation would be useful?
Could a spouse’s observations support an evaluation request?
My hands shook as I read.
Rebecca closed the folder.
“Claire.”
“I am fine.”
“You do not have to be fine.”
“I know.”
That sentence nearly broke me.
For years, Ryan had turned every legitimate emotion into evidence against me.
If I cried, I was unstable.
If I stayed calm, I was cold.
If I questioned money, I was anxious.
If I trusted him, I was naive.
There had never been a correct response.
That was the design.
Rebecca reached across the table.
“This is not medical evidence against you.”
“I understand.”
“It is evidence that Ryan was trying to create a framework before the marriage ended.”
I nodded.
“What happens now?”
“We use it.”
The temporary custody hearing occurred the following Monday.
Ryan sat across the courtroom in a navy suit.
Vanessa was not present.
Margaret sat behind him.
Daniel sat behind me.
Ryan’s attorney described my departure as sudden.
Rebecca played the dining-room recording.
The courtroom heard Ryan announce that Vanessa would be staying in our home.
Then Ryan telling me I had no job.
No income.
No realistic place to go.
The judge listened without expression.
Then Rebecca presented the messages showing my credit card was canceled hours later.
Then the emails about psychiatric evaluation.
Ryan’s attorney objected repeatedly.
The judge allowed most of them.
When Ryan testified, he described himself as concerned.
“I was worried Claire would make an impulsive decision.”
Rebecca stood.
“Mr. Bennett, when did you first consider seeking custody?”
“I do not remember.”
“Was it before your wife filed for divorce?”
“I may have considered possibilities.”
“Was it before you brought Vanessa Cole into the marital residence?”
Ryan’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“Was it before you told Ms. Cole that you might seek custody if Claire became difficult?”
His eyes moved toward me.
“I do not remember saying that.”
Rebecca lifted a page.
“Would reading Ms. Cole’s sworn declaration refresh your memory?”
Ryan froze.
I did too.
Vanessa had given Rebecca a declaration.
I had not known.
Rebecca read the relevant line.
Ryan told me that if Claire resisted the financial terms of divorce, he would pursue primary custody because losing the children would force her to cooperate.
The courtroom changed.
You could feel it.
The judge looked at Ryan.
Ryan looked at his attorney.
His attorney looked furious.
The temporary order came twenty minutes later.
The children would remain primarily with me.
Ryan would receive scheduled visitation.
Neither parent could remove the children from the state.
Neither could restrict access to marital funds.
Ryan was ordered to restore the household credit cards and pay temporary support.
As we walked outside, Daniel touched my elbow.
“You won.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
May you like
I watched Ryan exit through another doorway.
“This was the first round.”
