Chapter 13 - Linda's New Game
The next morning, I called David Chen.
We needed a plan to keep Jessica away from Emma.
But the private investigator's report had one more devastating detail.
Jessica wasn't working alone.
She was receiving regular, large deposits into her bank account.
The source of the funds?
A shell company traced back to Linda Carter.
Linda was funding Jessica's return.
The realization was sickening.
Linda had lost her son, her reputation, and her fortune, but her vindictiveness had survived.
She was using Jessica as a pawn to destroy the peace I had built with Emma.
It was a proxy war, and Emma was the target.
David filed for an immediate restraining order against Jessica, citing the previous court rulings and her history of manipulation.
But Linda's money meant Jessica now had a ruthless lawyer of her own.
The legal battle that followed was grueling.
Jessica's lawyer argued that Emma was old enough to decide if she wanted a relationship with her biological mother.
They painted me as a controlling, jealous adoptive mother trying to sever a natural bond.
It was a twisted echo of the past, but this time, the stakes felt even higher.
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Emma was a teenager, capable of making her own choices, but still vulnerable to emotional manipulation.
We had to prove that Jessica's motives were purely financial, driven by Linda's toxic agenda.
