Kelly undergoes surgery. Steve's attorneys request remote appearance at a visitation conference. At five o'clock the evening before, the court denies the request. He boards an overnight flight. When he arrives, Judge Horowitz has already entered a default — granting permanent custody and a five-year order of protection at what was scheduled as a status conference.
The four poisoning discoveries placed side by side. Lithium in March 2017 — six times normal, no prescription. The Brooklyn night — dissociation, tampered medication, no sample preserved. Abby Tedla's confession — 'she did it all the time.' The Reno bottle — mycophenolic acid at seven times the upper bound, in wine that had been sitting on a shelf for years. What looked like separate incidents becomes a single line drawn across four years and four substances.