The Birth Certificate
Chapter 07 - The Birth Certificate
Jax opened the truck door hard enough to force Calvin back.
“Careful,” Calvin said. “There are cameras at the station.”
“That why you brought witnesses?”
“That is why I brought security.”
The two men beside him wore plain jackets, but their posture said they had been paid to make people feel trapped.
Jax’s old instincts rose fast. For years, anger had been the one thing he never had to practice.
Then Noah’s fingers touched the back of his vest.
“Dad?”
It was the first time the boy had called him that.
The word stopped Jax more effectively than any handcuff ever had.
He stepped away from Calvin.
“The bag stays with us.”
Calvin held up a court order. “The materials were stolen from Daniel Rourke’s home and contain confidential financial records.”
Mae leaned across the seat. “They belong to Lila.”
“Mrs. Rourke is mentally unwell.”
“Where is she?” Jax asked.
Calvin smiled faintly. “Receiving treatment.”
Jax grabbed the front of Calvin’s coat before he could stop himself.
Noah gasped.
Jax released the lawyer immediately, but the damage was done. One of the security men had recorded everything on his phone.
Calvin straightened his collar. “Thank you.”
They drove back to the diner with the bag, but by noon the video of Jax grabbing Daniel’s attorney was online. The caption called him a violent ex-con holding a child against a lawful parent.
By one o’clock, a local news van was parked outside Rosie’s Diner.
At two, child services arrived with a temporary removal order.
The caseworker, Beth Holloway, was not cruel. That almost made it worse.
“The court has confirmed Daniel Rourke’s legal custody,” she said. “Until Lila is located and paternity is established, Noah cannot remain with you.”
Noah wrapped both arms around Jax’s waist.
“You said you wouldn’t let him take me.”
Jax looked down at the boy he had known for less than six hours and felt nine missing years collapse inside his chest.
“I’m not letting Daniel take you.”
Beth’s expression softened. “He will be placed in emergency foster care tonight.”
Noah looked toward the window.
Daniel stood across the street, speaking to reporters.
The boy whispered, “He always gets people to do what he wants.”
Jax held him tighter.
May you like
“Not this time.”
But when the county car drove Noah away, Jax was left on the sidewalk with nothing in his hands except the old photograph.
