Chapter 8
Jessi stopped trying to save her marriage privately.
She filed for divorce.
That was permanent enough.
Then she did something harder.
She declined a settlement proposed by Luca’s family attorney.
Terms:
Jessi receives primary custody.
Luca accepts supervised visits for six months.
Wendy has no contact for one year.
Luca pays generous child support.
Jessi withdraws her request that Little Harbor records be considered in the custody case beyond the birthday incident.
She also agrees not to cooperate voluntarily with press inquiries.
No explicit requirement to lie to regulators.
Still, the bargain was clear.
Separate Fiona from the business problem.
Jessi refused.
Her lawyer asked:
“You understand this may make the divorce much more expensive?”
“Yes.”
“You may receive less favorable financial terms.”
“Yes.”
“And Little Harbor employs more than a hundred people.”
“I don’t want it destroyed.”
“But?”
“I’m not trading my daughter’s safety for cleaner corporate records.”
She signed the refusal.
Then she agreed to a formal forensic interview about everything she had personally observed.
No speculation.
No repeating Marissa’s claims as fact.
What Jessi saw.
What Luca said.
What Wendy did.
The annual certifications.
The childcare visits involving Fiona.
She also authorized production of her own messages where relevant.
Some made her look indecisive.
One months earlier:
Maybe I’m overreacting about your mom.
Another:
I don’t want Fiona growing up without grandparents because Wendy and I hate each other.
Luca’s lawyer used those.
Jessi did not complain.
She had doubted herself.
That was true.
At the same time, the court ordered a guardian ad litem for Fiona.
The guardian did not work for Jessi.
That mattered.
The guardian observed supervised visits with Luca.
Fiona initially stayed near the visitation worker.
Luca cried afterward.
“I’m her father.”
The worker answered:
“Yes.”
“She used to run to me.”
“Yes.”
“What do I do?”
“Stop asking what you are entitled to and show her what happens when she approaches you.”
Slowly, Fiona did.
A toy first.
Then a book.
Then sitting near him.
No Wendy.
No excuses.
No “Grandma loves you.”
Just Luca and Fiona.
That progress did not erase the investigation.
But it prevented the story from becoming simple.
Luca had failed his daughter.
May you like
He still loved her.
Both things could be true.
