Updated Oct 29, 2025 • ~9 min read
Penelope Ashford arrived at the farmhouse first thing in the morning with a family law specialist—Gemma Laurent, sharp-eyed and formidable.
They sat around the kitchen table. Gabriel made coffee. Jane held Clara, who’d woken up hungry and fussy.
“This is bad,” Gemma said bluntly, reading through David’s filing. “Not insurmountable, but bad.”
“How bad?” Jane’s voice was steady. She’d spent the night processing, planning, preparing for war.
“He’s claiming Clara is his biological child. That you knew this when you disappeared. That you essentially kidnapped his daughter and have been hiding her from him for months.” Gemma looked up. “Is she his biological child?”
“Technically, yes. I was pregnant when I left. But—”
“But he tried to murder you before he knew about the pregnancy,” Gabriel cut in. “Which means he has no parental rights.”
“Unfortunately, biology doesn’t work that way.” Gemma pulled out a legal pad. “If DNA proves paternity, he has legal standing to request custody regardless of his criminal charges.”
Jane’s arms tightened around Clara. “So he tries to kill me, goes to jail for it, and still gets to claim my daughter?”
“Our legal system is complicated when it comes to parental rights.” Gemma’s voice was sympathetic but firm. “Even incarcerated parents can petition for custody. Now, will he get it? Extremely unlikely given the circumstances. But he can make the process hell. Which I suspect is his goal.”
“To punish me.”
“To punish you. To drain your resources. To force you back into his life in some capacity.” Gemma made notes. “He knows he’s going to prison. This is his last shot at hurting you.”
Jane felt sick. “What do we do?”
“We fight. We document everything. We prove you’re a fit mother, that Clara is safe and thriving, that David has no business anywhere near her.” Gemma looked at Jane seriously. “But I need you to understand—this will be brutal. David’s lawyers will dig into every aspect of your life. Your mental health. Your decision to fake your death. Your relationship with Gabriel.”
Jane glanced at Gabriel. He was standing by the counter, jaw tight, listening.
“What about my relationship with Gabriel?” Jane asked.
“They’ll paint it as inappropriate. Brother-in-law swooping in, playing hero, potentially influencing your decisions.” Gemma shrugged. “They’ll claim you’re unstable, that you’ve replaced one Astor brother with another, that you’re not thinking clearly.”
“That’s bullshit,” Gabriel said flatly.
“Of course it is. But that won’t stop them from arguing it.” Gemma turned to Gabriel. “Which is why your testimony is crucial. You can establish timeline. Confirm when you found Jane. Verify that she was pregnant when she left. Prove that David’s claims of kidnapping are false.”
Gabriel moved to sit beside Jane. “Whatever you need. I’ll testify to anything.”
“Good. Because they’re going to come after you too. Question your motives. Suggest you have ulterior motives for helping Jane.”
“Let them. I don’t care.”
Gemma smiled slightly. “I like you. Okay—” She flipped pages. “Jane, I need complete honesty. Is there anything in your past—anything at all—that David’s lawyers could use against you?”
Jane thought. “I used a fake identity. Jane Mercer doesn’t really exist.”
“We can explain that as necessary for survival. What else?”
“I didn’t tell David I was pregnant before I left.”
“Understandable given he was trying to kill you. Next?”
“I—” Jane hesitated. Looked at Clara. “I had a moment. Last week. Where I thought—just for a second—that things would have been easier if she hadn’t been conceived.”
The room went silent.
“It was just a thought,” Jane said quickly. “I didn’t mean it. I love her. I would die for her. But I was exhausted and she was crying and I just—” Her voice broke. “I thought it. Does that make me unfit?”
Gemma’s expression softened. “That makes you human. Every parent has moments of exhaustion where they think impossible things. It doesn’t make you unfit.”
“David’s lawyers will make it sound like I don’t want her.”
“Only if they know about it. Did you tell anyone?”
“Just Clara. And now you two.” Jane looked between them. “No one else knows.”
“Then it stays that way.” Gemma made a note. “Listen—parenting is hard. Being a single parent is harder. Being a single parent while dealing with PTSD from attempted murder is nearly impossible. You having a fleeting dark thought during sleep deprivation doesn’t make you a bad mother. It makes you someone who’s been through hell and is still showing up every day for her child.”
Jane felt tears burning. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We have a fight ahead of us.” Gemma pulled out more documents. “David’s filing claims you have untreated mental illness. Have you seen a therapist since the accident?”
“No. I’ve been in hiding.”
“That needs to change. Today. I’ll get you set up with someone who can provide documentation that you’re psychologically stable.” Gemma continued making notes. “We’ll also need medical records showing Clara is healthy and well-cared for. Proof that you’ve attended all her appointments, that she’s meeting developmental milestones.”
“I have all that.”
“Good. Character witnesses?”
Jane’s mind went blank. “I don’t—I’ve been living as Jane Mercer. No one from my old life knows I’m alive. And people from Seabrook Bay barely know me.”
“What about me?” Gabriel said. “I can testify to her character. To how she’s cared for Clara. To everything.”
“You’re involved, which makes your testimony biased in the court’s eyes,” Gemma said. “But yes, we’ll use you. Who else? Former friends? Family?”
Jane laughed bitterly. “My family chose David’s side. My mother hasn’t tried to contact me since before the accident. My sister is complicit in everything. I don’t have friends—David isolated me from everyone.”
Gemma’s expression darkened. “That’s the abuse pattern. Isolation. Control. Making victims dependent.” She looked at Gabriel. “What about your perspective? Can you testify to witnessing the isolation? The emotional abuse?”
“Yes. Every family event I attended, I saw it.” Gabriel’s voice was hard. “I can testify to all of it.”
“Good. We’ll build the case around the abuse. Show that Jane left to protect herself and Clara. That everything she did was survival.” Gemma closed her folder. “But I need to be honest with you—this custody battle is going to get ugly. David’s lawyers will attack every choice you made. They’ll question your mental state, your parenting ability, your relationship with Gabriel. They’ll try to paint you as an unstable woman who abandoned her husband and kidnapped his child.”
“But I didn’t abandon him—I escaped him trying to kill me!”
“I know that. The prosecutor knows that. But family court operates differently than criminal court. David can pursue custody simultaneously with fighting his criminal charges. And his lawyers will argue that the criminal charges are false, that you’re lying to avoid responsibility.”
Jane felt panic rising. “So he could win?”
“Not win custody—that’s virtually impossible given his incarceration and the criminal charges. But he could win partial visitation rights. Supervised contact. Phone calls. The court tends to favor maintaining parental relationships even in difficult circumstances.”
“I don’t want him anywhere near her.” Jane’s voice was fierce. “He tried to kill her before she was born. He doesn’t get access now.”
“Then we need to prove he’s dangerous. Which means—” Gemma looked at Gabriel. “Your testimony is crucial. Timeline of when you found Jane. Her physical and mental state. The pregnancy. Everything establishes that Clara wasn’t born yet when David arranged the hit. That he intended to kill them both.”
Gabriel nodded. “When do you need me?”
“Hearing is in ten days. I’ll prep you this week.” Gemma turned back to Jane. “I’m not going to sugarcoat this. David has resources. He’ll hire the best lawyers. They’ll make this as painful as possible. Are you prepared for that?”
Jane looked down at Clara, now sleeping peacefully in her arms. At this innocent life that deserved protection. That deserved a mother brave enough to fight.
“I’m prepared,” Jane said. “For whatever it takes.”
After Gemma and Penelope left, Jane sat with Gabriel in the quiet farmhouse.
“This is my fault,” she said quietly. “If I’d just stayed dead, if I hadn’t come back—”
“Then David would have gotten away with attempted murder. And you’d be living in hiding forever.” Gabriel took her hand. “You did the right thing coming forward.”
“Even if it means losing Clara?”
“You’re not going to lose her. I won’t let that happen.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“Yes, I can. Because I’ll testify. I’ll tell them everything I saw. Everything I know about David, about the abuse, about finding you.” Gabriel’s grip tightened. “I’ll make sure they understand that you’re the best thing that ever happened to Clara. That you saved her life by running.”
Jane felt tears spilling over. “I need you. For this. I can’t—” She swallowed hard. “I can’t do this alone.”
“You’re not alone. You never have to be alone again.” Gabriel wiped her tears gently. “I’m here. For whatever you need.”
“I’m scared.”
“I know. But we’re going to fight. And we’re going to win. Because Clara deserves her mother. And you deserve to be free of him.”
Jane leaned into Gabriel. Let him hold her while Clara slept between them.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “For pushing you away. For saying those things. For being too scared to trust you.”
“You don’t have to apologize for being scared. Not after everything you’ve been through.”
“But I do have to apologize for hurting you. And I do have to tell you—” Jane pulled back to look at him. “I love you. I’ve loved you for months. And I’m done being too scared to admit it.”
Gabriel’s expression transformed. “Jane—”
“I know the timing is terrible. I know we’re in the middle of this custody war and everything is complicated. But I need you to know. I love you. And I trust you. And I’m sorry it took me so long to say it.”
Gabriel kissed her. Soft and thorough and full of everything they’d both been holding back.
“I love you too,” he said against her lips. “And we’re going to get through this. Together.”
Jane nodded. Believed him.
Because she wasn’t alone anymore.
She had Gabriel. Had Clara. Had a reason to fight.
And David Astor was about to learn that trying to take her daughter was the biggest mistake he’d ever made.
Bigger even than trying to kill her.
Because mothers who’d survived murder attempts didn’t back down.
They fought back.
And they won.
Reader Reactions