PART 7 – “THE SECRET WASN’T JUST CHILD CUSTODY — MY EX-HUSBAND HAD EYES ON AN ASSET THAT DIDN’T BELONG TO HIM!”

My father died when I was twenty-nine years old.

He was a simple man.

He worked for decades as an electrician.

He didn’t wear expensive watches.

He didn’t drive a luxury car.

But he had learned to save.

And before he died, he left me a small property in Halkidiki and some money that he had painstakingly accumulated.

“So that you never have to beg anyone,” he had told me.

At the time, I didn’t realize how important those words would become.

Dimitris knew about the inheritance.

And for years he tried to convince me to sell the property.

“We don’t use it,” he told me.

“We can invest the money in my company.”

I always refused.

Not because I didn’t trust him at the time.

But because I had promised my father that I would keep that house for my children.

After the divorce, Dimitris began to face financial problems.

I learned about it much later.

He had borrowed money.

He had made unsuccessful investments.

And his company had accumulated debts.

My lawyer spread the documents on the table.

“Anna, there are indications that he was trying to pressure you into accepting a financial deal.”

“With the children?”

“This is evident from the plan that was found.”

I felt my stomach churn.

“So he wanted to scare me into losing it?”

“We can’t know exactly what he intended to do. But the documents show that he linked custody to financial demands.”

“How much money?”

Sophia looked at her notes.

“The property’s valuation exceeded two hundred thousand euros.”

I remained motionless.

Two hundred thousand euros.

Dimitris had left three young children without protection.

And behind his movements there were financial plans involving my property.

That night I went to my father’s old house.

I hadn’t been there since spring.

I opened the shutters.

The smell of the sea entered the room.

There was still a photo of him on the fireplace.

He was smiling.

He held Helen when she was a baby.

I sat in front of the photo.

“Dad…”

My voice broke.

“I don’t know how to do this.”

For years I believed I had to be strong.

At work.

At home.

In divorce.

In raising children.

But that night I didn’t want to be strong.

I just wanted to be a daughter.

I wish there was someone older who would tell me that everything would be okay.

The next morning my lawyer called.

“Anna, the case is moving forward.”

“What does this mean;”

“There are serious elements that are being examined by the competent authorities. At the same time, a procedure has been set for temporary arrangements regarding the children.”

“Will I need to see him?”

“Probably in court, but I’ll be with you.”

I hung up the phone.

I looked at Helen.

He was sitting on the carpet and trying to teach Petros how to stack cubes.

For the first time in weeks, he laughed.

A small, real laugh.

And then I realized something.

I couldn’t change what had happened.

But I could fight for what was to come.

The day of the court proceedings has arrived.

I wore a simple blue suit.

I pulled my hair back.

Sofia was waiting for me outside the courthouse.

“Are you ready?”

“No”.

He smiled faintly at me.

“You don’t have to feel ready. You just have to tell the truth.”

We went inside.

And then I saw him.

Dimitris was sitting next to his lawyer.

He was wearing an expensive gray suit.

His hair was carefully combed.

He looked like the same charming man I had met years before.

But when he looked at me, I didn’t see the father of my children.

I saw a stranger.

The process has begun.

My lawyer presented the evidence about his long absence from the apartment, the conditions in which the children found themselves, and the need for their protection.

Dimitris’ lawyer tried to argue that there had been a tragic misunderstanding regarding their care.

But the evidence was serious.

And the explanations weren’t enough.

At some point, Dimitris stood up.

“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” he said.

I looked at him.

For the first time since the tragedy had happened, we were in the same place.

“Then why didn’t you come back?” I whispered.

He didn’t hear me.

Or maybe he pretended not to hear me.

When it was my turn to speak, I stood up.

My legs were shaking.

“I’m a nurse,” I said.

“I’ve seen a lot of children hospitalized. I’ve seen families going through difficult times.”

I took a breath.

“But I never imagined I would find my own children in such a situation.”

My voice broke.

“My daughter is eight years old. She tried to keep her two younger siblings alive.”

I bowed my head.

“And now she’s afraid to sleep, because she thinks if she closes her eyes, someone will abandon her again.”

There was silence in the hall.

“I’m not seeking revenge,” I continued.

“I ask that they be safe.”

The judge noted something.

Then he turned to Dimitris.

“I would like you to clarify a specific point.”

He stood up.

“Of course”.

“Why, even though you knew the children were in the apartment, didn’t you ensure that there was an adult to take care of them?”

Dimitris opened his mouth.

Not a word came out.

The judge waited.

And then his lawyer asked him to intervene.

But the question had already been asked.

And there was no easy answer.

When that meeting ended, Sophia approached me.

“Anna, there is an important development.”

“What;”

“Vasiliki agreed to officially testify about what she knows.”

I felt my heart beating fast.

“And;”

“He has also delivered another message to the authorities.”

“What does it say?”

Sophia looked at me.

“Dimitris had written to her that after Monday Anna would be forced to sign whatever was put in front of her.”

I felt my blood run cold.

Monday.

The same day he had planned to file the complaint.

And suddenly everything started to connect.

CONTINUED IN PART 8…