Chapter 5 - The System
Just when I thought the nightmare was settling, a woman walked into the hospital room.
She carried a clipboard and wore a stiff blazer.
She was from Child Protective Services.
"Given the incarceration of the father and the biological mother’s previous surrender of rights, this child is a ward of the state," she said.
Her tone was clipped and bureaucratic.
Grandma sat up in her hospital bed.
Her eyes flashed with pure fury.
"He is my grandson."
"He stays with us."
The CPS worker shook her head.
"You are seventy-two and recovering from a severe head trauma."
"The sister is twenty-two, unmarried, and works retail."
"Neither of you fits the financial or physical criteria for emergency placement."
"A foster family is already en route."
Panic seized my throat.
I looked at the plastic hospital bassinet.
My brother was finally sleeping peacefully.
After everything we had just fought through, the state was going to take him away.
They were going to hand him to strangers.
"No," I said.
I stepped between the worker and the bassinet.
"You are not taking him."
"We have a lawyer."
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I didn't have a lawyer.
But I was about to get the best one in the city.
