Chapter 5 - Enter the Advocate
By nine in the morning, Elena Sterling’s legal machinery had initiated a full-scale assault. A motion for expedited emergency foster placement was filed in the third-circuit family court, citing Clara’s alleged financial instability and fabricated reports of erratic behavior during labor.
Clara sat on the edge of her hospital bed, staring at the summons, when a young woman with a messenger bag slung over her trench coat entered the room. Her hair was pulled back in an unpretentious bun, and she wore running shoes beneath her slacks.
"Clara Vance?" the woman asked, catching her breath. "My name is Sarah Lin. Legal Aid of Western Massachusetts."
Clara looked up defensively. "I didn't call Legal Aid. I don't have money to hire anyone."
"You didn't call me," Sarah said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder toward the hallway. "A very stubborn police officer spent two hours of his off-duty time standing in my director’s office until she assigned a trial attorney to this case. He told us a mother was about to get railroaded by an appellate judge."
Sarah pulled up a rolling stool, opened a battered laptop, and sat directly across from Clara.
"I’ve read the complaint Elena filed," Sarah continued, her eyes sharp and focused. "It's an abuse of process so blatant it borders on criminal misconduct. But Elena Sterling owns half the judicial committee in this district. If we fight her with standard motions, she will delay until Noah is six months old in an undisclosed foster facility. We have to hit back on the public record, in open court, tomorrow morning."
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Clara looked down at her son’s tiny fingers curled around her thumb. "What do I have to do?"
"You have to tell the absolute truth," Sarah replied quietly. "And you cannot flinch when she tries to break you."
