Chapter 6 - The Hallway Encounter
The morning of the family court hearing arrived. Gabriel had forced Penelope to draft a complete surrender of her marital assets and sign a petition giving him full legal custody, threatening that if she didn't sign it in front of the judge, he would have her involuntarily committed that very afternoon.
Penelope, wearing her embroidered white sheer-sleeved gown, was a hollow shell of her former self. She held her swollen eight-month belly, weeping silently as Gabriel aggressively guided her into the courthouse.
They brought Daisy along, as Gabriel wanted to use the child as a prop to prove to the judge that he was a "devoted family man" dealing with a hysterical, unfit wife. Bianca followed closely behind, wearing her red gown, eager to watch the final destruction of her rival.
While Gabriel was busy yelling at his corrupt attorney near the courtroom doors, and Bianca was distracted checking her makeup in her compact mirror, Daisy saw her opening.
Clutching her stuffed plush rabbit tightly, the six-year-old girl slipped away from the crowded waiting area. She marched her small frame in her blue floral dress right past the heavy security doors, slipping into the restricted judicial corridor.
She found a door with a bright gold nameplate: Chambers of Judge Rosalind Barrett.
When the bailiff tried to stop her, Daisy looked up with fierce, intelligent eyes and unzipped the back of her plush rabbit. She pulled out the digital recorder and held it up.
"My daddy is trying to steal my mommy's baby," Daisy told the bailiff. "And I have the tape."
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Judge Barrett, who had been reviewing case files at her desk, overheard the commotion. She stepped out of her office, looked at the brave little girl, and asked her to come inside.
👉 Read Part 7 to return to the shocking moment inside the courtroom.
