Chapter 25: Damage Control

Emma's question just hung there, heavy and loaded. Her eyes, so much like Bella's, searched between her parents, and she had this way of looking at you that made her seem way older than five.

"Are the people on TV saying bad stuff 'cause Daddy made Mommy cry a long time ago?" she asked.

Mikel went pale, but I tried to keep my voice steady. Emma deserved an honest answer, even if it was complicated.

"Some of them might be thinking that, yeah," I said carefully. "Sometimes when people make mistakes and hurt someone they love, other people judge them for it, even years later."

"But people can change," Emma stated, like she was explaining something obvious. "Like how I used to be scared of the dark, but now I'm not. Daddy changed too, right?"

"Right," Mikel said quietly, his voice thick.

"Then the TV people are being silly," Emma declared. "They're talking about the old Daddy, not the new Daddy."

Before we could respond, my phone rang. Maya's name appeared, and I knew late calls from her meant trouble.

"I need to take this," I told Mikel, and stepped out to the hallway.

"Bella, sorry to call so late, but we've got a problem," Maya sounded stressed. "Three more outlets picked up the story, but they're spinning it differently. They're saying you're using Emma as a weapon against Mikel."

My stomach dropped. "What?"

"They're saying you hid Emma to punish Mikel, and now you're using her medical issues to manipulate him back. They're painting you as cold and calculating."

"Who's saying that?" I asked, though I already knew it was Sophia.

"And that's not all. Someone leaked Emma's medical records. Just the fact that you put 'father unknown' on the birth certificate five years ago."

I leaned against the wall. "How? That's confidential!"

"I don't know, but it gets worse. Child Protective Services called again. They want to move up their visit to tomorrow morning. They received additional 'concerns' about Emma's welfare."

"What concerns?"

"Unstable home environment, excessive media exposure, and Emma's routine being disrupted by Mikel's sudden reappearance. They're questioning whether this situation is healthy for Emma."

I could see the news vans through the window. Their lights turned the estate into a circus, and strangers were judging whether I was a fit mother based on lies.

"Maya, call the lawyers first thing tomorrow. I want to know how someone accessed Emma's records, and I want to know who's leaking information."

"Already on it. But Bella, when I left the office tonight, I saw the elevator going to our floor after hours. Security's looking into it."

I had a sinking feeling. "What time?"

"Around eight. After everyone had left."

I thought about the confidential files in my office, documents about Emma, information that could be weaponized against us.

"Maya, I'm going in early tomorrow. Before the building opens. I need to check my office."

"I'll meet you there."

I hung up and found Mikel in the hallway. He'd heard enough.

"How bad?" he asked.

"Bad enough. Someone accessed Emma's medical records. CPS moved up their visit. And I think someone broke into my office."

His jaw clenched. "I'm coming with you tomorrow."

"Mikel"

"Bella, someone's waging a sophisticated campaign against us. They have inside access, they're manipulating the media, and it's escalating. You're not facing this alone."

His voice was both comforting and frightening. We were in this together now, which meant if I went down, he did too. And Emma with us.

"What did you tell Emma about the TV people?" I asked.

"That sometimes adults make mistakes, and other people like to talk about them. But that doesn't change how much we love her." He paused. "She asked if the mean people would make me go away again."

My heart ached. "What did you say?"

"I told her nothing would ever make me leave her again. That she's stuck with me, whether she likes it or not."

"And?"

He smiled slightly. "She said she likes it very much, but she's worried about you. She thinks the mean people are trying to make you sad so you'll be too tired to take care of everyone."

Emma was too perceptive. She understood what was happening—the campaign to wear me down, to make me slip up, to paint me as an unfit mother.

"We should go back to her," I said. "She shouldn't be alone with all this."

We found Emma in the sitting room, reading a book about dolphins. She looked up at us carefully, reading our faces.

"Are the mean people still bothering us?" she asked.

"A little," I said. "But we're working on making it stop."

"Can I help?"

Mikel knelt down next to her. "You already are, princess. By being brave and smart and yourself. But the most important thing is for you to just be a kid."

"And remember, this isn't your fault," I added. "Sometimes adults have conflicts that have nothing to do with children, even when children get caught in the middle."

Emma nodded seriously.

"Well, I hope you fix it soon," Emma said, "'cause I don't like seeing you worried. Worried Mommy makes me worried too."

I hugged her tight. "I'm sorry you have to see me worried, baby. We're going to fix this."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

After Emma was settled for the night, Mikel and I sat in the kitchen with coffee we didn't really want.

"I keep thinking about what Emma said," I told him. "About people judging you for old mistakes. She's right. The person they're attacking isn't who you are now."