Chapter 8 - PROJECT ANCHOR
The family-law attorney was named Rebecca Sloan.
Twenty years in practice.
She testified only after privilege issues were resolved because Ione waived portions to defend herself and Cassian produced his own communications.
Project Anchor began as legitimate consultation.
Cassian told Rebecca:
He and I were fighting.
He feared divorce.
He wanted to understand custody.
Nothing illegal.
Rebecca told him:
“No parent gets an advantage by moving a child first without proper basis.”
Good.
Then Ione joined the second meeting.
She asked:
“What if the mother refuses needed behavioral care?”
Rebecca:
“Document actual professional recommendations.”
“What if grandparents can provide stability?”
“Grandparents do not replace a fit parent because they have a larger house.”
“What if the child is out of control?”
“Get a real evaluation.”
Everything reasonable.
Then Ione began supplying her own “behavior log.”
Rebecca asked who wrote it.
Ione.
Not independent.
She warned:
“This is not clinical evidence.”
Then Cassian signed his declaration.
Rebecca drafted it from his account.
She testified:
“I told Mr. Halbrook the language represented his own beliefs.”
Did he agree?
“Yes.”
That hurt.
Then the thirty-day idea.
Not Rebecca’s.
Ione suggested:
A voluntary temporary residence with grandparents.
Rebecca said:
“Only if both parents agree.”
Cassian:
“Brenna won’t.”
Rebecca:
“Then you do not do it voluntarily.”
Simple.
Then why did Family Stability Associates receive “anticipated custody transition”?
Because Ione drafted the cover email from notes.
Cassian forwarded it without reading carefully.
Negligent.
But he knew the broad purpose.
Then Rebecca discovered something in court she had not known.
Ione had created a second version of Cassian’s declaration.
The original said:
I believe temporary assessment may help us determine appropriate structure.
The version in Ione’s Project Anchor folder said:
I believe immediate separation from the maternal home is necessary.
Cassian’s electronic signature appeared copied onto it.
Forgery?
Forensic exam:
Signature image inserted.
File created on Ione’s laptop.
Cassian denied authorizing.
This shifted criminal investigation toward document fraud.
But the original signed declaration remained bad enough.
Ione had escalated beyond him.
Then one important question:
Did Cassian intend to file for divorce the day after dinner?
Rebecca answered:
“He had an appointment. He had not authorized filing.”
That distinction mattered.
He had been considering.
Preparing.
Not decided.
I had already filed first.
No moral trophy.
Then Project Anchor objective.
Rebecca had never seen Ione’s handwritten note:
OREN WITH CASSIAN FIRST.
THEN FILE.
BRENNA REACTS.
CONTROL NARRATIVE.
She looked horrified.
“That is not legal strategy I gave.”
Good.
No corrupt attorney.
Then Merritt’s company role.
Halbrook Distribution board members learned family administrative funds had paid Project Anchor legal consultation partly.
Was that permissible?
Family office often covered estate/family legal planning for executives.
Maybe.
But divorce strategy personal.
External audit ordered.
Approximately $42,000 in legal fees needed allocation review.
No huge embezzlement.
Then board succession.
Merritt withdrew Cassian’s nomination for president.
Public reason:
Personal leave.
Real reason:
Family crisis.
Cassian was furious.
At Merritt.
Not because he wanted the promotion more than Oren.
Because the pressure that helped him betray his family now produced nothing.
He told Merritt:
“I did everything Mom wanted and still lost it.”
Merritt answered:
“That sentence is why you shouldn’t be president right now.”
Unexpectedly wise.
Then Cassian took leave.
No company title as shield.
Therapy.
Parenting work.
Divorce.
Supervised visits.
Then he produced his private journal to evaluator voluntarily.
One entry two weeks before dinner:
Mom says if Oren stays with us thirty days, Zinnia will calm down once she sees structure works.
Another:
I don’t believe Z will agree.
Another:
Maybe if evaluator backs it.
Then:
I hate myself for thinking how much easier the board situation would be if Mom stopped saying my family is unstable.
There.
He knew custody and career were connected in his head.
Then the final line:
If Zinnia refuses, maybe file first and negotiate after Oren is with us.
Us.
Who was “us”?
Cassian later testified:
“My parents and me.”
The central plan was almost complete.
A physical move first.
Legal conflict second.
Mother forced to catch up.
The same logic Ione used at dinner:
Restrain first.
Explain later.
May you like
And the next discovery showed she had scheduled more than an evaluation for the morning after that dinner.
She had booked a moving company.
