Chapter 9 - THE WORDS THAT DIDN’T SOUND LIKE A NINE-YEAR-OLD
Sophie’s first two sessions went badly.
She said almost nothing.
During the third, the evaluator asked how she felt about Noah.
Sophie answered:
“He has behavioral problems that interfere with household stability.”
The evaluator wrote the sentence down exactly.
Then asked:
“What does household stability mean?”
Sophie froze.
She did not know.
Another question.
“Did Noah ever hurt you?”
“No.”
“Did he scare you?”
“No.”
“Did he take your things?”
Sophie shook her head.
“Did you want his chair at the party?”
Her eyes filled.
“No.”
The evaluator waited.
Sophie whispered, “I had to sit there.”
“Why?”
“Because Mom said we needed to see if Raffaele was ready.”
“Ready for what?”
Sophie began crying.
She asked for her father.
Daniel was brought in.
The session stopped.
Later that afternoon, Sophie requested to continue with Daniel nearby but outside the room.
She asked one question before agreeing.
“If I tell the truth, can my mom still make Dad send me away?”
The evaluator assured her that adults, not children, would handle where she lived.
Sophie nodded.
Then she said:
“Mom told me after the wedding I wasn’t going to live there anyway.”
The evaluator did not react.
“Where were you going?”
“With Dad.”
“And Noah?”
Sophie looked confused.
“At the lake house.”
Three separate clues finally met in the same room.
Victoria had arranged Sophie’s school transfer.
She had asked Margaret whether she would relocate with Noah.
A staffing proposal placed Noah and Margaret at the lake residence.
The apparent fight over which child “came first” suddenly made less sense than ever.
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If Victoria planned to send both children away from the main estate after the wedding, then the engagement-party humiliation had never really been about Sophie getting Noah’s place.
It had been about whether Raffaele would allow Victoria to decide who had a place at all.
