Chapter 5: Shelter Under the Live Oaks
The Vance estate on the outskirts of Savannah was an oasis of tranquility: twenty acres of live oaks draped in Spanish moss, a historic Greek Revival manor, and wide verandas overlooking the salt marshes.
Claire led Sophie and Toby through the double front doors into the warm, cedar-scented foyer.
Her housekeeper, Martha, had already prepared the ground-floor guest suite: clean flannel sheets on twin mahogany beds, fresh fruit, warm chicken noodle soup, and oversized plush bathrobes.
Sophie stood in the middle of the spacious bedroom, looking at the towering four-poster bed as if it were made of spun glass.
""Is this for us?"" Sophie whispered.
""It’s entirely for you,"" Claire smiled, kneeling to help Toby unbutton his stiff white shirt. ""You can jump on the bed, you can read the books on the shelves, and you can stay as long as you need.""
""Mommy said you were an angel,"" Toby murmured, chewing on a piece of warm cornbread Martha had brought in on a tray. ""She said if we found the church with the white roses, we would be safe.""
Claire felt a sharp, burning tightness in her throat. She pulled both children into her arms, resting her chin over their heads, letting her silent tears soak into their hair.
She had spent two years believing she was building a partnership with a man of integrity. But God had redirected her steps—not to make her a society bride, but to make her a shield for two children who had nowhere else to turn.
Downstairs in the library, Marcus Cole—the Vance family's chief counsel for thirty years—arrived carrying three leather briefcases filled with state records.
""Claire, it’s worse than Sarah’s recording described,"" Marcus said, laying a series of red-sealed dockets on the oak table. ""James didn't just hide the divorce; he forged Sarah’s signature on a full parental waiver while she was in hospice care, attempting to declare the children state wards so he could present himself as an unencumbered bachelor to your family.""
Claire looked at the forged signatures, her jaw setting into hard, unyielding resolve.
May you like
""File for emergency temporary guardianship in Chatham County at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, Marcus,"" Claire instructed. ""And notify the state disciplinary board. I want James Miller disbarred before the week is out.""
---
