Chapter 7 - THE BABY ARRIVED BEFORE THE TRIAL
Clara went into labor three weeks early.
At 2:11 a.m.
She woke me by standing at the foot of my bed and saying:
“Mom.”
I opened one eye.
“My water broke.”
I sat up so fast I nearly fell.
At the hospital, she laughed between contractions.
“You’ve sentenced people to prison without blinking.”
“Different skill set.”
“You’re panicking.”
“Yes.”
The baby arrived six hours later.
A girl.
Sophie Victoria Ward.
I stared at Clara.
“You gave her my name?”
“Middle name.”
“Still reckless.”
She smiled.
Then cried.
I cried too.
Dominic petitioned to be notified of the birth.
Through counsel.
He had parental rights subject to court orders.
That was uncomfortable.
Necessary.
Being accused of abusing Clara and committing federal crimes did not automatically erase every legal parent-child issue without process.
The family court established tightly controlled contact parameters based on safety assessments.
Initially no unsupervised access.
No using third parties to pressure Clara.
No discussion of litigation around the child.
Dominic hated it.
Complied more often once violations carried consequences.
Clara did not use Sophie as revenge.
That mattered.
She said:
“I want her to know truth when she’s old enough.”
“Not mythology.”
Good.
Meanwhile, Dominic’s criminal case progressed.
Plea negotiations failed.
Trial scheduled.
Clara was a potential witness on limited matters she had personally observed.
I was not involved.
I did not attend strategy meetings.
Did not call prosecutors.
Did not read sealed filings.
The hardest discipline of my career was ignorance.
I wanted to know everything.
Ethics required me not to.
So I learned to ask Clara different questions.
Not:
What did the prosecutor say?
But:
Did you eat?
Did you sleep?
Do you want company?
Mother questions.
May you like
Better ones.
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