Inside the truck, police found a loan paper with Kevin\u2019s name written on it.<\/p>\n
Jason looked at me with a pale face. \u201cLaura, the driver who hit your mom was driving fast because he was on his way to collect a big debt from your husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I could even think about what he said, my phone rang. It was the neighbor who was watching Hannah after school.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome back fast!\u201d she screamed on the phone. \u201cBrenda just came and took Hannah away!\u201d<\/p>\n
In the background of the call, I heard my little daughter crying and screaming for help.<\/p>\n
PART 3<\/p>\n
I ran out of the junkyard feeling like I could barely walk. Jason drove his car fast while I kept calling Brenda over and over. She ignored my first calls, but Kevin finally answered the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cHannah is with her family,\u201d Kevin said on the line. \u201cCome back home right now and we can talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me speak to my daughter right now,\u201d I demanded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly after you sign papers saying you drop the divorce and that the soup shop belongs to me too,\u201d Kevin answered.<\/p>\n
Jason gestured for me to stay calm while he recorded the phone call and told the police where we were going. \u201cKevin, I just want to know if my daughter is okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is crying because you put crazy ideas in her head,\u201d Kevin yelled. \u201cIf you do what I say, nobody gets hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he hung up the phone.<\/p>\n
The police tracked his phone to his mother\u2019s house. When we pulled up, Brenda was holding Hannah tightly by the arm near the front door. Pamela was recording everything on her phone like it was a show, while Kevin walked back and forth on the lawn looking nervous.<\/p>\n
\u201cSign these papers right now!\u201d Kevin shouted as he held out some forms. \u201cGive up full custody of Hannah and agree that the shop belongs to both of us!\u201d<\/p>\n
Hannah had red eyes from crying so much. \u201cMommy, I do not want to stay here!\u201d<\/p>\n
I ran toward her, but Brenda grabbed my coat. \u201cTake another step and we will take her out through the back alley!\u201d<\/p>\n
Police officers ran in from the side yard, and Jason showed them the recording of the phone call. Kevin tried to rip up the papers and run away over the fence, but the officers caught him before he could climb over. Brenda kept shouting that it was all a big mistake, but Hannah told the officers that her grandmother lied to her, saying I was sick in the hospital to make her get in the car.<\/p>\n
That afternoon, the judge gave me a protective order so Kevin could not come near us or the shop. Brenda and Pamela were put under investigation for taking my daughter and making threats.<\/p>\n
However, the trouble was not over yet.<\/p>\n
Kevin\u2019s loan sharks found out my shop was doing well and showed up three days later with four big men carrying fake papers, along with Kevin, who had just been let out on bail.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever my wife makes here belongs to me too,\u201d Kevin told my customers out loud. \u201cTake your money right out of her register.\u201d<\/p>\n
One man went behind the counter while another started taking pictures of the tables and refrigerators. Brenda walked in right behind them, pointing at all the items in the shop. \u201cTake the coffee maker, the big pots, and the freezer because they were bought while they were married!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a lie!\u201d I shouted back. \u201cThis place and all the tools belonged to my mother!\u201d<\/p>\n
Kevin grabbed my phone out of my hand when I tried to call the police and smashed it on the floor, then pulled my hair roughly.<\/p>\n
Hannah screamed from the kitchen doorway.<\/p>\n
The men started putting red stickers on the equipment, so I grabbed a big metal soup ladle, filled it with hot steaming soup from the pot, and held it up.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut everything down and get out of my shop right now,\u201d I told them.<\/p>\n
Brenda backed away quickly. \u201cLook at her, she has gone crazy!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I am just tired of you coming into my life and treating my things like they belong to you,\u201d I said firmly.<\/p>\n
Jason walked in with two other lawyers and several police officers. He had put camera systems in the shop after the kidnapping, so the whole attack was caught on video.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis property was inherited by Laura,\u201d Jason told the officers while showing them the real property papers. \u201cIt is her private property and cannot be taken for her husband\u2019s debts. Anyone touching these things will be arrested for theft.\u201d<\/p>\n
The loan collector checked the documents and looked angrily at Kevin. \u201cYou told us this business was yours!\u201d<\/p>\n
Kevin began to stutter. \u201cIt will be mine once the divorce goes through!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, it will not,\u201d Jason answered. \u201cWe also have proof that you took out loans by forging your wife\u2019s signature on legal papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The collectors turned on Kevin angrily, and the police had to separate them and make everyone leave. I put the ladle down and held Hannah tightly while she shook with fear.<\/p>\n
Jason stayed behind to help me clean up the broken glass and spilled broth on the floor. \u201cDo not ever face those people alone again,\u201d he told me gently.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was alone for years even when I lived in a full house,\u201d I answered softly.<\/p>\n
He did not argue with me, but quietly picked up my mother\u2019s blue apron off the floor and hung it back on the chair.<\/p>\n
The divorce court date started the very next morning. Kevin showed up in a borrowed suit, and Brenda sat behind him dressed in black like she was the victim. Kevin\u2019s lawyer tried to say that I abandoned my family and that my business success came from Kevin\u2019s money and support.<\/p>\n
When I took the stand, I told the judge how I used to get up at five every morning to make lunch for my family, cook special meals for Brenda, iron Kevin\u2019s clothes, and clean up after Pamela. I explained that nobody came to my mother\u2019s funeral, and when I got home, they just ordered me to cook for 24 strangers.<\/p>\n
Jason placed the 24 cups of instant soup on the table as proof. The judge looked at them with a serious face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour Honor,\u201d Jason said, \u201cto this family, my client was only useful when she was working like a servant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he played all the recordings: Brenda demanding clean clothes, Kevin saying he needed someone to clean his house, the phone call where he took Hannah, and the video of the men attacking the shop.<\/p>\n