Chapter 5 - The Day My Daughter Became Their Weapon|
Three days after I discovered the affair, Poppy came home from school unusually quiet.
Normally, she ran through the front door announcing everything that had happened.
Who won the spelling game.
What her teacher said.
Which classmate had forgotten a lunchbox.
That afternoon, she walked straight to the sofa and sat beside her stuffed rabbit.
I knelt in front of her.
“Sweetheart, what's wrong?”
She shrugged.
“Nothing.”
I waited.
After several seconds, her eyes filled with tears.
“Grandma said you're taking Daddy's money.”
My stomach tightened.
“When did she say that?”
“At her house.”
I sat beside her.
Poppy twisted the rabbit's ear.
“She said Daddy worked really hard and you want to take his company away.”
I closed my eyes.
Constance had been discussing the divorce with my six-year-old daughter.
Then Poppy whispered:
“Is that why Daddy doesn't come home?”
I pulled her gently into my arms.
“No, sweetheart.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Absolutely not.”
She began crying.
I held her until her breathing slowed.
Then I explained, as simply as I could, that adults sometimes make decisions that change where they live, but those decisions are never a child's responsibility.
Poppy looked up.
“Are you and Daddy still going to love me?”
“Always.”
That evening, I called Meredith.
“Constance has been telling Poppy I'm stealing money from Ross.”
Meredith's voice sharpened.
“Write down exactly what Poppy volunteered, without questioning her repeatedly. We don't want her pulled into the conflict.”
“I know.”
“Have you informed Ross?”
“Not yet.”
“Then communicate through the parenting arrangements we're discussing. Keep everything factual.”
I followed her advice.
Ross responded with a message accusing me of turning our daughter against his family.
Then he added:
Mother says Poppy is better off staying with us until you calm down.
I saved the message.
Two hours later, I received an email from Poppy's school.
Someone had requested that Constance and Delia be added to her authorized pickup list.
The school had not approved the change without confirmation.
I called the principal immediately.
“Please don't modify anything without speaking directly with me and following your normal procedures.”
The principal assured me the current arrangements remained in place.
Then she mentioned something else.
“Mrs. Calloway, a woman came to the office yesterday asking whether Poppy's tuition was paid directly from your household account or a family trust.”
I went still.
“What woman?”
“She identified herself as Miss Marsh.”
Tiffany.
I stared at the wall.
Why would Ross's mistress be asking about my daughter's financial arrangements?
I called Meredith again.
This time, she didn't sound surprised.
“Lydia, I want copies of Poppy's trust documents.”
“Why?”
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“Because I don't think this family is fighting only over your marriage.”
And suddenly, Constance's demand to keep Poppy began to look much less like a grandmother's concern.
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