I carried Leo up the carpeted stairs to his bedroom, gently setting him down on his bed.
I turned on his soft blue noise machine and handed him his weighted blanket.
Maya: You're safe now, Leo. Mark isn't going to hurt you.
Leo: Is Mark going away forever?
Maya: Yes, sweetie. Mom and I are going to make sure he never comes back.
Leo: Good... I don't like when he throws things.
I kissed Leo's forehead and locked his bedroom door before heading back down the stairs quietly.
Down in the foyer, my mother was standing near the front entrance with her cell phone pressed to her ear.
Ellen: Yes, Mr. Sterling. I need an emergency order of protection filed first thing in the morning.
Lawyer: Did he physically threaten you or the children tonight, Ellen?
Ellen: He destroyed property, flipped the dining room table, and cornered my autistic son in the kitchen.
Lawyer: Did your daughter record the incident as we discussed last week?
Ellen: Yes, she has the full video from start to finish, including his verbal threats.
Mark stepped out of the master bedroom carrying a black duffel bag, his face dark with fury.
Mark: You've been planning this behind my back, haven't you, Ellen?
My mother hung up her phone and looked at him without a single trace of fear left in her eyes.
Ellen: I started preparing the day I caught you going through my late husband's estate paperwork six months ago.
Mark: I was just trying to understand our financial situation!
Ellen: You were looking for a way to put your name on the house deed before the trust fund unlocked!
Maya: You even asked Mom to refinance the mortgage so you could buy that sports car last summer!
Mark: I deserved a reward for helping raise another man's kids for three years!
Ellen: Helping raise them? You spent three years screaming at Leo whenever he made a sound!
Mark: The kid needs discipline! You let him run this entire house!
Ellen: He has special needs, Mark! He doesn't need a bully living under the same roof!
Mark set his heavy duffel bag down on the oak floor near the front door.
Mark: If I leave this house tonight, I'm taking the truck and half the joint savings account!
Ellen: Touch that savings account and my lawyer will file an emergency freeze for marital asset dissipation.
Mark: You think you're so powerful now because you got your hands on David's money!
Maya: That money was meant for Leo's medical treatment and my college fund, Mark!
Mark: David died seven years ago, Maya! Life moves on!
Ellen: David was ten times the man you will ever be, Mark. He built this family with love and respect.
Mark: He left you with a sick kid and a mountain of medical debt!
Ellen: Which his life insurance policy fully cleared! You came into this house with thirty thousand dollars in credit card debt!
Mark winced, his face darkening as his lies were exposed right in the foyer.
Mark: I paid off those credit cards with my own salary!
Maya: No, you didn't! Mom used her personal savings to pay off your collection notices two years ago!
Mark: Keep your mouth shut, Maya! You don't know anything about adult finances!
Ellen: She knows enough to see what a parasite you've been, Mark.
Mark reached for the front door handle, his knuckles turning white with tension.
Mark: I'm leaving for tonight, Ellen. But I'll be back tomorrow with a police escort to claim my belongings.
Ellen: Make sure they bring the sheriff, Mark. Because by eight AM, my locks will be changed and the restraining order will be active.