Chapter 27 - A Conversation With Vanessa
Vanessa called from her attorney's conference room. Her lawyer was present. So was Miriam on my end. Nobody pretended it was a friendly chat.
“I want to correct the impression I gave at the Plaza,” Vanessa said. “I should not have brought your pregnancy into the guardianship argument.”
“You described my baby as a liability,” I replied.
“I did. I was trying to show that Adrian's life was changing and his attention was divided.”
“Then you should have said that. You made a child into a weapon.”
Vanessa took the criticism without interrupting. She said Leo had been refusing to sleep before her last visit, and that his father had once written a letter asking her to remain involved if anything happened to Elena Moretti. It was not a legal appointment. It was a promise between friends.
“Then make that promise visible,” I said. “Stop using hidden trust provisions as a substitute for a conversation about his care.”
“Are you asking me to step aside?”
May you like
“No. I'm asking you to tell the truth even when the truth doesn't make you look powerful.”
Afterward Miriam told me that Vanessa's apology wasn't evidence of innocence, but it was something. I understood. People could be wrong in more than one way and right about a child's needs at the same time.
