Hi y'all! I am beyond happy with all the lovely reviews I got for the last chapter. I do just want to make a few things clear, and it was the guest who signed off with the initials KT that brought this up to me.
I know that in a regular custody case like this where the mother did sign away her parental rights that it's almost impossible to give custody of that child to their mother.
But I gave Kaitlyn custody of Sadie for a reason, and I'll just explain in the terms of "the justice system being biased resulting in an unfair call for Lucas". You guys will get what I mean later on in the story. But things have to get more dramatic first. I want y'all to see what Sadie's life with Kaitlyn actually is like, and I'll show y'all a little bit more of Kaitlyn's attitude (Which, y'all won't like, of course). Then another...dare I say it? Plot twist! (Sorry, they're my specialty)
Enjoy this chapter! (P.S. There is a time jump in the middle of this chapter!)
Lucas sits alone in the room where his daughter was just taken away from him. He continues to hear her screaming "No! I want to stay with daddy!" over and over in his head. This is one of his worst fears that he's living through right now, having his daughter taken away from him. He wipes the tears that cover his face on his blazer sleeve. He has never cried as hard as he is crying right now.
He hears the door behind him open, but he doesn't turn around to see who it is. He hides his face in his hands and rests his elbows on his knees. The pain he feels in his chest, his stomach, and his head is the effect of his reaction to the loss of custody.
Not even the soft touch of his girlfriend's hand on his shoulder is enough to bring him out of his sobbing state. Maya takes a seat beside him and rubs his back as he continues to cry. She grabs his head and pulls him to her so that he's crying on her shoulder. Lucas doesn't see this, but Maya is crying just as much as he is. Even though Sadie isn't her daughter, Sadie loves her like a mother, and Maya feels as though she just lost custody of her daughter as well.
Lucas cries for a couple of minutes before he sits up and looks at Maya. The light is shining off the tear stains that scatter his face. Maya quickly wipes her eyes before Lucas can tell that she was crying with him, then she grabs his hand.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," Lucas says. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Can you tell me what to do?"
Maya shrugs, not knowing if what she's about to say will satisfy what Lucas is feeling right now. "Continue to trust that Mrs. Matthews knows what she's doing. I know you had to trust her to help you keep Sadie, but I know that she has back up plan. I've seen her do the impossible."
Lucas stares at Maya. "I just feel that something fishy happened with the results. I mean there was no way they would grant soul custody to Kaitlyn, especially when she signed her parental rights away when Sadie was still a baby."
"You're right," Topanga Matthews says, grabbing the attention of Lucas and Maya. They both turn to look at her as she makes her way to sit down on the other side of Lucas.
"What do you mean?" Lucas asks.
"When we had the conversation before the judge came back the decision of the custody case, I told you that if the judge gave custody to Kaitlyn that I will do anything to make sure that Sadie will end up in your custody again," Topanga begins, and Lucas nods before she continues. "I was ninety-nine percent sure that you were going to win. I was just as in shock as you were at the results. But I'm thinking that something else happened. I'm not sure what it was, something that swayed the judges decision. I'm going to look at everything to see what I can find. Now, I don't know how long that will take, but I won't work alone. I know a few people in Washington who can help me with background checks of the judge, Kaitlyn's attorney, and Kaitlyn. I will not drop this because it's not right that Sadie was taken away from you."
"What do you think could've happened that swayed the judge's decision?" Maya asks.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I won't be surprised to see some money or sex involved in this decision, if that's the case. That's also why I am going to take a look at all the security tapes from everywhere here. I want to know why that judge decided against you," Topanga explains.
Lucas and Maya nod and stand up, giving Topanga a hug.
"Thank you, Mrs. Matthews. If you need anything from us, just give us a call," Lucas says.
"I will. I know that it's hard, and it's a lot to take in right now, but I want you to go home and get some sleep. The both of you because you both look exhausted. I'll call you tomorrow to tell you my whole plan," Topanga says. Lucas and Maya nod, leaving the courthouse.
It's three thirty in the morning when Lucas wakes up. He turns around and sees Maya quietly sleeping beside him. He kisses her forehead before he gently gets out of bed. He makes his way out of the penthouse to the roof of the building outside.
It's been a month since he last seen Sadie in the courtroom. He's going to go to Kaitlyn's apartment today to visit her, and that is the reason why he can't sleep. He's too wired up about what he's going to say to Sadie when he sees her. He's afraid that she'll be resentful towards him for not stopping those people from taking her away. He can only imagine how scared she was to be in a completely new environment.
Lucas has asked Riley and Farkle if Kaitlyn has been bringing Sadie to daycare, which they both replied that she hasn't. Hearing stuff like that is what is making Lucas scared that Sadie isn't in a safe place. She should be home in her own bed. His mind is all over the place about his little girl. He can't escape the thoughts of whether or not she's getting fed, whether or not she has a bath, whether or not she's happy.
The next thing he feels is a warm blanket. One being thrown over his shoulders by a girl half his height. A girl who he feels he has abandoned since he lost custody of one of his children. She tells him that she and the baby are okay, and that they want him to get well before he starts putting the pressure on himself to tend to all of their needs.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just thought you might be cold," Maya tells him. He looks and sees how big her eyes are. He sees how red her eyes are, and he realizes how he's forgotten about how Maya feels about Sadie being taken away too. He realizes that whenever Maya told him that her and the baby are okay, that maybe she was lying, and they are just as broken about it as he is.
"It's okay. I'm sorry if I was the one who woke you up," Lucas apologizes.
"It wasn't you. I couldn't sleep either. I knew you'd come up here, and I just wanted to make sure you are okay," Maya says. Lucas opens his arm, motioning her to join him under the warm blanket. She wraps her arm around his torso as he wraps his arm around her, covering her with the blanket too.
"Maya. I'm sorry if it seems like I've stopped caring about you and the baby. I haven't, I swear, I've just had so many things going through my head, and I feel like you and the baby deserve so much better than what I'm giving to y'all. I haven't stopped loving you," Lucas explains.
Maya giggles, something he's missed hearing. "Lucas. I don't have a doubt that you have stopped loving us. And don't you dare say that the baby and I deserve someone else to care for us. You're as good as it gets, so don't worry about things like that. That's just you're brains way of tricking you, and I know that I can't really stop it from doing that, but if I have to reassure you two million times a day that I love you and that I know that you love me, then I will do it. I understand how you feel, and I just want to do everything in my power to make sure you are going to get to a better place. A better place with me, a better place with our baby, a better place with Sadie, and a better place with yourself. Understand me?"
Lucas nods and kisses her. "I don't know what I would be doing right now without you here. Thank you for giving me another chance, and I swear that I won't screw up like I did last time."
"Let's get back to bed. You're gonna need a lot of energy when you go visit Sadie today."
Lucas knocks on Kaitlyn's apartment door to pick Sadie up for his visitation day. Even that expression itself reminds him of prisoners have to do. It takes a minute, but a woman, who isn't Kaitlyn, opens the door.
"Hello? May I ask you who you are?" She asks.
"I'm-"
"Daddy!" Lucas hears the happy squeal of his little girl. She runs past the woman standing at the door and hugs Lucas's leg instantly.
"Oh! You're Lucas! Okay. Would you like to come in for a minute? Sadie, do you want to go pack some of your toys to take with you and your father?" The woman asks.
Sadie nods and walks out of the living room, which is the first room that Lucas is brought into as he steps into the apartment. The woman takes her cleaning gloves off and sets them on the table. Lucas stands there wondering who she is before she takes a hint and realizes that she hasn't introduced herself.
"You must be wondering who I am. My name is Sophia. I am the babysitter slash maid slash cook for Kaitlyn and Sadie. I didn't know you were her father. Kaitlyn told me that Sadie's father wasn't around anymore, so I wasn't expecting a visit," Sophia says, faltering a bit when she tells her story.
Lucas remembers the conversation that Topanga had with him the day of the trial. He knows that this has to be that social worker in disguise that Topanga mentioned she was going to hire. He looks around to see if there was something in the room that could possibly be hiding a nanny cam in it. Topanga hasn't filled him in on the person she hired to document the situation, but Lucas can tell. He should become a detective.
"I was hired when Kaitlyn needed someone to look after her after her father left them," The woman continues to say with a shaking voice.
"You're lying," Lucas says. "You work for Topanga don't you?"
Sophia is hesitant before she answers. "Yes. I am the social worker that Topanga hired to go undercover for you. She told me not to let anyone notice, but somehow you caught on quickly. She told me that I have to keep an act up if I'm going to convince Kaitlyn and Sadie and even you that I'm an actual babysitter."
"Well, no offense, you might want to work on your act a little bit. Stick to your story because then you will be caught if you aren't careful," Lucas says.
"You're too intimidating. I couldn't help it that my lying wasn't any good," Sophia replies. "Anyway, I'm assuming you would like an update on the situation. Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything unless Topanga gives me orders to."
Lucas rolls his eyes. Of course she can't tell him anything. Topanga is a smart cookie, knowing that if this woman tells Lucas the real status of this custody thing that Lucas will get angry and lash out, making his chances to regain the custody harder.
"But..." Sophia begins. "If you were to ask individual questions like 'where in the hell is Kaitlyn at?' then I can't plead the fifth on that."
"Fine, where in the hell is Kaitlyn at?" Lucas asks.
"I would like to know that myself. She left last night, and I haven't heard from her since," Sophia answers. Lucas's eyes grow wider in shock. Is this girl serious?
"What? Well, did she tell you where she was going? Has she done this before?" Lucas asks.
Sophia nods. "She just told me that she was going out. She's done this twice before. It's amazing that she gets anytime with that little girl."
"Is Sadie in any kind of danger while she's here?" Lucas asks.
"You're just lucky that I'm here, I'll tell you that, and that's all that I can tell you," Sophia responds. Lucas feels the anger bubble on the inside, but this will all come back on her when he gets custody of Sadie again. He has to push those feelings away when Sadie enters the room again and immediately walks over to Lucas, wanting to be picked up. When he picks her up, she wraps her arms around him.
"I miss you so much, daddy," Sadie tells him.
"I miss you too, munchkin. But daddy, Maya, and Mrs. Matthews are working as much as we can to get you back, okay?" Lucas tells her. Sadie nods and lays her head on Lucas's shoulder. Sadie waves goodbye to Sophia as Lucas walks out of the apartment. He meets Maya back in their car.
"Maya!" Sadie squeals when she sees the blonde in the passenger seat. She quickly gives Maya a hug before climbing into her car seat where Lucas buckles her.
"Hey Sadie! I've missed you so much!" Maya says returning the hug.
"How's my little brudder or sister been?" Sadie asks.
"The baby is just fine but misses you too," Maya replies. Sadie smiles and looks out the window on the journey back to the penthouse.
Maya notices how angry Lucas looks and knows that something is wrong. She can even tell that something is wrong in the way that Sadie is acting. Something isn't right.
Lucas, Maya, and Sadie all sit down in the living room and watch a movie after going to the park and getting some ice cream. They run out of something to drink after a while, so Lucas stands up and grabs all of their cups.
"I'm going to go refill these right quick," He says. "I'll be right back."
Maya leans over to Sadie and says, "I'm going to go help your daddy. I'll be right back too. If you need anything just holler for us, okay?"
Sadie nods, and Maya follows Lucas into the kitchen where he's filling all the cups with some apple juice. Maya leans against the counter and sees the distraught look on Lucas's face.
"Did something happen while you were picking Sadie up?"
Lucas nods. He wants to tell her, but he has to be quiet because he doesn't want Sadie to hear. "When I walked up to the apartment that Kaitlyn lives in and knocked on the door to get Sadie, a different woman answered. Her name is Sophia, and she's the one who Topanga hired to look after Sadie while she's at Kaitlyn's."
"Okay. Did she tell you anything?" Maya asks.
"I'm so afraid that there is so much that's going on that she didn't tell me. I asked her where Kaitlyn was, and she told me that Kaitlyn left last night and hasn't been heard from since. She also told me that this isn't the first time that Kaitlyn has done this in the last month. She said that she was surprised that Kaitlyn is getting to spend any time with her," Lucas explains.
"Are you serious? I can't believe it," Maya says.
"I can. This is so typical of Kaitlyn. I don't want this to be taken horribly, but at least this will help me with getting Sadie back. This is the type of behavior that Topanga tried to get through to the judge. That's why I feel like so much happened behind closed door without our knowledge," Lucas says.
"I hope Topanga finds something."
Lucas sighs. "Me too." He checks the time on his phone and notices that it's getting late. "I need to take her back to Sophia. I am really going to have a tough time doing this, but if I take off with her, then I won't ever get her back."
Maya nods, "Do you want me to come with you?"
"No. I want to take her back there by myself. I appreciate it though. And I love you for always supporting us," Lucas replies. Maya kisses him and tells him goodbye before walking into the living room with him. When they walk back into the living room, they notice that Sadie has fallen asleep. She must've worn herself out after playing today. Lucas picks her up in his arms and turns her so that Maya can kiss her goodbye.
"Love you," Lucas says before walking out.
"Love you too."
Alright! This was the chapter before the plot twist! I hope y'all like it. I'm gonna try to update it as soon as I can! (So much stuff is going to happen in the next chapter so be prepared for anything!)
I will also be updating Two Way Door as soon as I can, so look out for that!
Love y'all!