Chapter 51: War is Hell…
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight related.
****Special thanks to LSU15 for your Beta skills****
Fifteen minutes later, Mary finally produced a urine sample that was satisfactory to Officer Simons. When Mary "couldn't pee", Simons made her go to the water fountain and drink for four minutes. She actually timed the encounter, which had me doing my best not to laugh out loud. Getting on Officer Simons' bad side was the last thing I needed.
After the water consumption was complete, she made Mary walk up and down the hallway four times, then walked her back to the bathroom and had her pee with the door open so that she wouldn't try swap the toilet water for urine. She'd already been caught trying that once so Simons wasn't taking any chances.
"Where were you?" Edward asked when we were finally seated.
"I'll tell you when this over," I told him, feeling drained and I hadn't been questioned yet.
It had been decided in our absence that Mary and I would be the ones giving testimony since we were Chris' biological relatives.
"All rise, the honorable Judge Atkins residing,"
"Please be seated," Judge Atkins instructed, taking his seat at the bench. "Why the delay? We were supposed to reconvene 30 minutes ago?"
"That one had an issue following instructions," Officer Simons said pointing at Mary.
Felix glared his wife while she looked at him lovingly. Dumb and blind, I thought.
"Mrs. Whitmore, I run a very tight ship. I'm not going to warn you again. Failure to follow my instructions will land you in contempt of this court. Now, approach the stand for your testimony."
"Sure Judge, sir," Mary replied, looking a little loopy, almost like she was high. Before we came back to the courtroom, Mary had excused herself to smoke a cigarette.
Jesus, I realized, she must have taken something. She was too perky to be sober.
Jenks blanched, realizing that this was going to be bad, very bad. When relying on the character of a drug addict in a custody case you were screwed.
"Please place your left hand on the Bible. Raise your right hand," Officer Hanson said. "Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?"
"Absolutely," Mary said giving him a salute.
I had to hold back a chuckle as did Edward. My parents looked mortified; as horrible as Mary had been she was still their child and this had to hurt them to watch their youngest spiral out of control before their eyes.
"Please be seated," the bailiff told her.
"Is she?" Mother whispered with obvious embarrassment.
Ah darling Mother, she had never been high in her life, her particular weakness was Buckingham cigarettes, so she didn't understand anything that altered someone's mind or behavior.
Both Edward and I nodded, not able to turn away from the train wreck unfolding. Ben was going to cross examine her and I knew that he was going to be brutal. When we had gone over the strategy this past week, he and Tanya discussed who they would cross examine or question.
I suggested Ben to cross examine Mary since I had feeling she thought she could manipulate men. Since we knew the defense was going to have no mercy on me, we felt that shaking them up with a false sense of security was the best strategy.
"Mrs. Whitmore please state your name for the record," Judge Atkins said.
"Mary Alice Whitmore," Mary replied, beaming with obvious pride.
"Mrs. Whitmore why do you think that you're the best candidate to be your nephew's guardian?" Mr. Jenks prompted her.
I leaned forward, interested in the answer myself. I knew whatever she said was going to be bullshit, but my curiosity was too strong to not listen.
"I'm the best candidate to be my nephew's guardian since I'm at home everyday," Mary replied, "And I'm a generous, loving person who puts everyone's best interests first. I'm selfless."
I had to bite my tongue, thinking of my dad's heart attack and Nessie's death.
"Describe your living arrangements and daily schedule."
"I'd love too! My husband, hi darling," Mary gushed waving at Felix who blushed and pulled at his collar, embarrassed. This time Kate couldn't help it and she giggled.
"Order," Judge said, striking his gavel, "Mrs. Whitmore, please continue and get to the point."
"Of course, Judge Atkins," she replied coquettishly, winking at him, Jenks actually flinched, "As I was saying, we live together on Park West and E. 86th. Our apartment faces the Met, it's really an amazing apartment. The boy would have a wonderful view of the park and sunlight in his room. It would be much better than what Isabella could offer him. She has a rat trap apartment on the West End and those tacky blackout blinds she put up in the boy's room. I mean she only has two bedrooms for Christ's sake."
My blood ran cold, realizing two things. First, Mary appeared to have no idea what Chris' name was, and second, she knew what my apartment was looked like. The blackout drapes had been a recent addition last week. Mary had never been there so how would she know about bedrooms, blinds, or anything else for that matter? Why would the PI be giving that information to Mary?
Ben and Tanya let her go on, not objecting to anything Mary said since she was doing a good job damning herself. Every sentence was progressively worse as Mary made her hatred of me well known.
"And she is always wearing those godawful peasant tops like a hippie," Mary finished on her last diatribe.
Judge Atkins finally stopped her. "Mrs. Whitmore, you haven't answered my initial question. Why do you want to care for your nephew?"
"I told you Judge Atkins, the boy would have a big room, all the toys he wants, and plenty of money."
"And your involvement?"
"I'll make sure to hire a good nanny and I'll use my position in society to get him into the best schools possible. He'll never want for anything; which is more than Isabella can do. She'll have to work a lifetime to give him a quarter of what I can provide."
"No further questions," Jenks said, realizing that Mary wasn't going to give him anything better than this. He was probably banking he could discredit me on cross examination.
"Your witness," Judge Atkins addressed Ben and Tanya.
"Thank you, your honor," Ben replied, approaching Mary, "Mrs. Whitmore, can you tell me your nephew's name?"
"Of course, his name is Swan. Although we will change it to Whitmore after we get him," Mary replied. My father flinched at this statement.
"I meant his full name Mrs. Whitmore," Ben replied. Mary looked a little dumbfounded.
"Objection your honor this hardly relevant," Mr. Jenks said.
"Your honor it's a simple question; the child does have a name. I'm simply asking Mrs. Whitmore to state his full name for the record," Ben replied.
"I'll allow it, like you said Mr. Cheney, it's a simple question. Answer the question Mrs. Whitmore," the judge asked.
"It's –" Mary looked at Felix and the McCarty's in a panic. Although I knew it to be true, I still couldn't believe it; she truly didn't know Chris' name. My hand grasped my locket and Edward squeezed my hand in reassurance.
"I'm going to help you Mrs. Whitmore; it's Christopher Jacob Swan," Ben told her sternly, "How do you expect to be a good parent if you cannot remember your nephew's name?"
Aro and Felix looked furious. I had no doubt that if there were no witnesses they would have hurt her.
"Well that's hardly my fault," Mary retorted in fury, "You can't expect me to know his name when my sister has refused let me see the child!"
"Mrs. Whitmore, you're estranged from your family are you not?" Ben asked, changing tactics.
"You know that or we wouldn't be here now, would we?" Mary countered with a haughty look.
"What is the reason for that estrangement?"
"We had a falling out when I married my husband. My sister poisoned my parents against us. She made up stories about me when she came home for our brothers' funeral," she said, the crocodile tears flowing down her face.
Tears were running down my face too, but they were tears of anger and frustration at her rewriting history. I agonized when I realized how sick she was and that she needed help. I was still furious at her betrayal of our family. She was not only the catalyst to father's heart attack, but she was also involved in Nessie's murder.
It was taking all my self-control to not jump across the divider and wring her neck. I had a feeling that Jenks was betting on me making a scene; however, years on my own had taught me when to strike, and this was not the time. I refused to give the judge any reason to question my bid for custody of Chris.
"What type of stories did she make up?" Ben asked, looking at her with sympathy. Mary ate it up, like he was on her side.
"That I was using drugs," she whispered conspiratorially.
"And what of your stay at St. Agnes?"
"It's an elite finishing school for girls. My parents wanted me to have the finest education," Mary boasted, "They didn't do that for Isabella so she made up stories about me."
"Really?" Ben asked, going in for the kill.
"Really, she even made up this ridiculous story about Felix hurting my sister-in-law," Mary replied, "My Felix wouldn't hurt a fly."
"And how do you account for Mrs. Vanessa Swan's fatal injuries?" Ben asked.
"Objection your honor! This is heresy. Mrs. Swan's death was ruled accidental," Jenks said.
"Your honor, Mrs. Whitmore brought the subject up herself," Ben replied, "And the inquiry was dropped to lack of evidence. I'm merely asking her to explain what she claims Mrs. Cullen lied about."
"I'm going to allow it, but careful counselor, Mr. Whitmore has been exonerated of wrongdoing," the Judge warned.
"Please continue Mrs. Whitmore," Ben encouraged Mary.
"Vanessa, my sister-in-law, was eight months pregnant, she slipped. That's all," Mary answered, probably realizing she was shooting herself in the foot. I looked at Felix who paled considerably. He was probably realizing that Mary was becoming a liability. That frightened me a little because I knew he was capable of murder, even if that someone was pregnant.
"And the nurses who overheard Mrs. Swan tell Mrs. Cullen that she was pushed down the stairs by your husband?" Ben pressed.
"Objection!" Jenks snapped.
"Withdrawn," Ben replied, knowing the damage had been done, "Mrs. Whitmore, you stated that your parents sent you to St. Agnes for educational opportunities. I have in my possession a copy of the letter sent to the school, which your drug abuse was documented: marijuana and stimulants. Your honor, I'm submitting this report as evidence."
"That, that-," Mary started to say.
"That is what Mrs. Whitmore? You stated you were sent to St. Agnes to further your education, but this letter from your parents and your family doctor detail your drug abuse. It also includes a list of people you were and were not allowed to communicate with it. Mr. Whitmore was on that list your honor, as he was the one providing the drugs to Mrs. Whitmore. In fact, Mrs. Whitmore, you were told by your parents you were not to see Mr. Whitmore after the incident on February 8, 1968 when your drug use was discovered.?"
Mary turned paled. "That was just another bold face lie that my sister told. The drugs were hers!"
"And the blood test your family doctor administered prior to your admission to St. Agnes? Was that doctored too?
"That was a mistake!" Mary snapped, "Isabella probably paid them to swap my blood with hers!"
"Can you tell me what happened on July 15th of last year?"
"I have no idea, but I'm sure you going to enlighten me."
"That's correct. That is the date of your father's heart attack, your sister-in-law's death and your nephew's birth," Ben told her. That silenced her and the defense. How could they make a case about Mary loving Chris if she couldn't remember his name or his date of birth?
"Well that day was a blur since my father had a heart attack, like you said,"
"Well according to your parent's household staff, you had a fight with your father where you instigated his heart attack."
"I did no such thing!"
"Really? So the affidavits from the staff and your family are fraudulent?" Ben asked.
"Objection your honor! A fight between estranged family members is hardly relevant and given that Mr. Swan is almost 60 and in poor health, you can't blame a fight as the cause of his heart attack." Mr. Jenks said.
"This is true, I'm not seeing the point here, Mr. Cheney," Judge Atkins.
"My apologies to court. I'm not trying to imply that Mrs. Whitmore was trying to make her father ill on purpose, but I'm trying to establish a pattern of instability here. Let me rephrase Judge. You had a fight with your father moments before he had a heart attack?" Ben asked Mary.
"Correct," Mary replied, glowering.
"And during that argument, you revealed some private things about your father to your sister and her then boyfriend, Mr. Cullen?"
"Yes, that he had dated Edward's mother in school," Mary replied, looking a little chastened.
"And some point after your father was taken to the hospital, you left the hospital with your boyfriend, Mr. Felix Whitmore, had a confrontation with your sister-in-law at your parent's home and then stole your sister's car?" Ben asked.
"Isabella never pressed charges," Mary muttered. I fumed thinking of my powder blue bug that she and Felix destroyed. I was really going to need a car when we moved.
"Whether or not Mrs. Cullen pressed charges is irrelevant. Did you take her car without her permission?" Ben asked.
"I can't remember," Mary muttered.
She truly doesn't remember, I thought to myself.
"Well what do you remember? Because I have a copy of the police reports; one is a missing person's report about you and the other is regarding a stolen car, your sister's car."
"I just remember a fight with Vanessa and then leaving! That's all!" she yelled. "Then we were in Niagara getting married and coming back home. Did my sister tell you that she hit me when I got back home? That she refused to let me see the baby? That I was a danger to him? Did my parents tell you they turned me out from their home without any money? That I get a measly $15,000 when I turn 30? Do you know that they offered to help Isabella start a business? Did my sister tell you that I had to clean up her mess when she left and my brother went to war? I had to play the perfect daughter all those years without anyone to help me. The first person who wanted me for me was Felix and they tried to take him from me. Well that's a crock of shit! They owe me that baby! I want Isabella to feel the kind of pain I've had to endure; my mother and father too!"
The court was as a quiet as a tomb; you could have heard a pin drop; the only sound was the fans circulating to provide some air movement in that stuffy, windowless room.
"No further questions," Ben said.
Judge Atkins looked at me with pity. "Mrs. Cullen would you like a moment?"
I shook my head not wanting to draw this out. Either my marriage and Mary's testimony was enough or it wasn't. No amount of time was going to change that and I did not need Jenks pouncing on any moment of weakness that I might have.
"Alright then Mrs. Cullen, can you please come to the stand?"
I got up and walked to the stand. I had to admit it was intimidating to be up there. I never liked a lot of attention, and now it was pouring down on me. My current and former husband were looking at me, Edward with kindness and support, James with complete hatred and, as much as it disgusted me, a touch of lust.
The McCarty's were staring as well; Aro mirroring James' expression and Sulpicia looking at me with an almost pleading look. Rose and Em, my first champions, the ones who taught me my self-worth; my parents, the people who in many ways started this and needed me to finish it. Chris who was sleeping on Rose, but thankfully unaware of the battle over who would be his lawful parents.
The entire Cullen family was there, but split between the ones who loved me and the grandparents who weren't sure what to make of this since I was Edward's wife. They looked mortified while Esme and Carlisle smiled at me, offering their support. I realized this was just like that nightmare Edward had last week. Hopefully it would not end the same way.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?" the bailiff asked after I placed my hand on the Bible.
"I do," I replied. Both James and Felix snorted as if they found something amusing.
"That'll be the day," Mary muttered.
Judge Atkins slammed his gavel again. "Mrs. Whitmore you've had your say and for the other young men in the room, I have told everyone to remain silent during this hearing. Next outburst and you're out."
Mary, James, and Felix stopped speaking and just glared me. Much better, I thought to myself. A dull pain started in my head signaling the beginning of a migraine. I wished I had a taken a Tylenol or something before the hearing, but it was too late for that now. I had to do this for my family and not even the worst migraine in the world would stop me.
"Please state your full name for the record," the Bailiff said.
"Isabella Marie Cullen," I replied, looking my ex-husband in the eye, my new last name rolling off my tongue without hesitation. In hindsight, it was probably the first I had said my new name out loud.
Ben stood to question me since Tanya and I had a personal relationship. We wanted the questioning to be unbiased in the eyes of the court. We couldn't afford to have any favoritism in my testimony that could be exploited by Jenks because he was an amazing attorney, even though he was a scum bag. Tanya was tough and took no prisoners, even with her good friends, but Jenks could manipulate that connection.
"Mrs. Cullen can you please tell the court why you want to continue raising Christopher?"
"He's my son," I said simply, "I might not have carried him but I can't imagine loving anyone more than Chris. Raising him has been the greatest joy in my life. I want to give him the best life possible."
"When did you start caring for Chris?
"In the hospital immediately following his birth. He was initially in the NICU since he was premature. I wanted to know everything I would need to know to help him since I wasn't sure how ill he would be when he was able to go home. I'm sure I annoyed the nurses to no end with all the questions I asked," I replied, a ghost of a smile playing at my lips; Edward's face mirroring mine.
"Has it been a challenge to care for Christopher since he was premature?" he asked.
"There have been some challenges, but I'm sure that all babies have them. I've never seen it as a challenge though. It's a privilege to care for him," I explained, "I hadn't plan to become a parent at this stage of my life, but it's been one of best blessings that's ever happened to me. The circumstance behind him being in my care is tragic, but he is a blessing."
"Can you explain what you mean?"
"I'm in this position because my brother and his wife are dead. My brother was killed in Vietnam and his wife died the day Chris was born."
"How did you gain custody of Christopher?"
"My sister-in-law asked me and Edward Cullen to be his guardians if anything happened to her before I moved to New York. She asked me again on her deathbed," I replied.
Ben gave the judge a folder containing the affidavits from the nurses who had overheard Nessie asked me to care for Chris.
"Can you describe a typical day with Chris?"
"In the beginning it was a matter of getting him on a routine. He was a preemie so that took time. Chris had terrible colic and that was why Edward moved in," I explained, "I hadn't been getting any sleep so Edward started coming over to give me some relief at nights. Once we got through Chris' colic he's been an easy baby. He started sleeping through the night in January. During the weekdays we have breakfast as a family. I usually go school or work in the morning and get home around 3. Edward goes to work and school afterwards until 6 or 8 depending if he has a late job. We try to have dinner together with Chris and then we take turns during the week to read Chris a story before bed."
"What about the weekends?"
"That's a little more up in the air. Edward has to work some weekends, but not too many hours. Weather permitting, I take Chris to park. We're in a mommy and me group that gives Chris time to play with other children and help him socialize before preschool."
I could see Mary roll her eyes and Felix biting his cheek to stop himself from commenting. He clearly felt that anything developmental for a child was a waste of time.
"And why do you want to raise Chris? You're a young woman in school and recently married," Ben asked.
"He's mine," I repeated the simple statement, "Parents made sacrifices for their children and I'm no different. If it takes an extra year to finish grad school then that's fine. We don't live an extravagant lifestyle but it's a good, simple, wholesome life."
Jenks immediately scribbled something and I could have kicked myself, realizing my mistake when I said "wholesome". One of the reasons why I was sitting here was because I had been living with my boyfriend while raising Chris.
"Why do you believe you're better suited than your sister, who clearly has more material wealth than you?"
"I have never believed you need a lot of money to live well. I lived with Emmett and Rose McCarty when I first moved to San Francisco and they helped me until I was able to live on my own. When I grew up in New York, I was taught how to act in society and that my only role was to get married. After my marriage fell apart, I realized I had no skills to take care of myself. The McCarty's showed me I didn't need a lot of money to be happy. I want my nephew to learn that having family and friends is worth more than money or anything material."
"Is material wealth important?"
"Let me be clear; you need to be able to support yourself, but you do not have to be a Rockefeller to be happy. I learned that the hard way. Chris has a good support system at home and doesn't want for anything."
"No further questions," Ben said.
"Your witness Mr. Jenks," the Judge said.
Mr. Jenks got up and buttoned his suit up over his enormous stomach. He had taken to growing his hair out compensate for the shine bouncing off his bald spot. He clearly didn't like this room's lack of air conditioning; beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. However, his beady gaze on me showed that he was looking forward to questioning me. He probably wanted to get even with me since I told him off when I fired him during my divorce.
I straightened my spine and squared my shoulders ready for this battle. I was stronger than I was all those years ago and I was going to do everything I could to protect my son.
As predicted, he went right for my jugular, not even trying to be polite like Ben was with Mary.
"Miss. Swan-," he started to say.
"It's Mrs. Cullen," I interrupted.
"My apologies, Mrs. Cullen," he said in that smartass way of his. I took a deep breath and focused, knowing he was trying to get me off kilter.
"You stated earlier that you lived a wholesome life. Do you stand by that statement?"
"I do."
"Even though you were living with Mr. Cullen without the benefit of marriage and engaging in sexual intercourse?" he replied, handing me a folder that contained a stack of photos. I nearly fainted when I saw them. Each shot was of me and Edward in various sexual positions.
"Objection," Tanya called out, "Mrs. Cullen has already admitted to living with Mr. Cullen prior to their marriage. This is irrelevant and embarrassing for all of us."
"We're establishing good moral character for the welfare of a minor child."
"Sustained," the judge said, "Mrs. Cullen has admitted to cohabiting with Mr. Cullen prior to their marriage. I don't see the point in photographic documentation of something that's been established by the witness."
"Withdrawn," Jenks said, smiling at me like he was imagining me naked. After seeing the pictures, he didn't have to use his imagination.
The way judge said "cohabitation" shot a shiver down my spine. But that wasn't why Jenks brought it up. He was trying to rattle me with the pictures. It was my worst nightmare; having my most intimate moments on film for everyone to see. Silently I closed the folder and handed it back to Jenks. The first thing I was going to have Tanya and Ben do was get all those pictures back.
"I've been a good parent and I love Christopher. He has never been a burden to me, he's a gift, not a means to end," I told him and anyone in listening range.
Judge Atkins nodded sympathetically and turned to Mr. Jenks. "Please continue your questioning but get to the point. I don't tolerate mud slinging."
"Mrs. Cullen when did you leave your husband?" Mr. Jenks asked.
"I haven't left Edward, he's right there," I replied, pointing to my husband.
The court, including Judge Atkins laughed.
"My apologies, your first husband?" Mr. Jenks asked.
"April 28th, 1964," I replied.
"And what was the reason you left your husband?"
"I walked in on him having sex with his secretary, Miss. Victoria James," I replied, remembering their encounter with disgust. It was comical that I once considered their acts the height of passion, but I hadn't met Edward yet.
"Miss. James came to my apartment the next day and told me she was pregnant. She said the baby was James'. I immediately contacted my brother and he and Vanessa helped me leave."
"Really? How adventurous, do tell; what happened next?"
"Seeing as you took my initial compliant before I fired you, I contacted the New York Daily News and notified them my ex-husband's infidelity and Miss. James' pregnancy."
"And why would you do that? That doesn't sound like something a stable person would do," Mr. Jenks asked.
"Objection, this is not relevant," Tanya said.
"I'm showing lack of stability. Mrs. Cullen has a history of instability and impulsiveness."
"Overruled, I'll allow this but get to the point Mr. Jenks."
"Certainly Judge, Mrs. Cullen you have a history of abandoning people and lying to get out of situations. Did you convince Miss. James to lie about her pregnancy? A pregnancy you knew was fathered by a colored man? You facilitated that whole situation to get sympathy. Same thing with Mrs. Swan's death and your sister's alleged drug use. You facilitated all of this sympathy to get your way. Including entering in a conveniently timed marriage to Mr. Cullen so you could enter this court a married woman," Jenks said, getting red in his face.
I looked at this ridiculous little man. "Mr. Jenks, the only thing that you said that is slightly true was that I married Edward Cullen last week. We were engaged when we were served. You can ask my sister-in-law, Kathryn Larson, my husband confided in her. I didn't make anything up. I walked in on my former husband and his lover. His lover accosted me in my home. I found my sister's drug stash. Trust me, I wasn't looking for any of that. The only thing I want to do is make sure that my nephew stays with me."
Silence again. Esme, Rose, and my mother looked at me with tears in their eyes. Edward looked at Jenks with fury but managed to keep his cool.
"No further questions."
"You may step down Mrs. Cullen," Judge Atkins said.
I got down and Ben held the gate open for me. "You did good," he whispered on the way out.
I nodded, not really sure if I did well or not. But I did my best and hopefully that counted for something.
Jenks and Tanya made their closing arguments, where they summarized why Chris should be raised by Mary and Felix as opposed to me and Edward and vice versa.
"I'm going to my chambers and will be back momentarily with my decision."
Once the judge left, I went to Tanya. "Tanya, they have graphic images of me and Edward. I want them back."
Tanya patted my hand, "Don't worry. If they came from James' PI, they'll be ours before we leave this courtroom. It's covered in the restraining order."
"But they're part of public record in this case," I fumed.
"They'll be given back, I'll file a motion before we leave," she promised.
I didn't tell Edward what was in the folder Jenks had since I knew he would deck James if he knew about them. I couldn't risk that with Chris' custody hanging in the balance.
While waiting on the judge to return, I went to get cup of water from the cooler by the courtroom door. I reached for one of the paper cups and realized that someone was behind me, I turned around and saw it was Mary.
We stared at each for a moment. She had come down from her high and was starting to look a little on edge.
"Can I ask you a question?" I asked, keeping my voice down. This had been bothering me but I needed to know.
She nodded, strangely enough. "What do you want?"
"I'm trying to understand why you want Chris. You know bloody well why you can't see him," I replied.
"Felix is my husband," Mary answered, "No matter what you say Isabella, I love him and I can't lose him. He wants the baby and the McCarty's will pay us."
I felt my blood run cold as she confirmed what I had assumed; Chris was a commodity to her. She looked at me with a cynical look. "Don't look so shocked Isabella, our own parents sold you to Edward. Children are commodities. Let's face it, it's not like our parents cared. What I can't figure out is why you're going through all of this. The child isn't even yours."
"How can you say that?" I asked, "Chris is a baby and he deserves someone to love him."
"Exactly! I deserved someone to love me," Mary told me coldly, "and that hasn't been you. You left and never looked back. I had to deal with your departure with two very distant and cold people. And don't give me that bullshit about writing. It wasn't the same. You and Jake were always a team. Nobody could be included in your relationship. After you left, Jake was always comparing me to you. He was also an idiot. He didn't have to serve. If he cared about any of us he would have taken the deferment and Vanessa would probably still be alive."
Pity and horror flowed through me as I looked at my baby sister who was truly lost. I couldn't sympathize with that level of cynicism and ugliness, even if there was an ounce of truth in what she said about me and Jake. We had been a unit. By the time Mary came along we had been that way for years. But not matter what she said, that didn't change what happened last summer. I could only hope the judge would rule in our favor, but you could never predict what was going to happen.
In a perfect world I would believe that she was wrong and good would prevail, but I was too cynical to believe in fairy tales. If everything went like it should, then yes, Edward and I should keep Chris, but life had taught me to expect the unexpected. Mary was erratic, her behavior on stand had proven that. She was also on something and I was sure the drug test would prove it.
But she had something in her favor; she has been married longer than me and only once. She and Felix also had more money than us. Maybe it had been a mistake to not take money out of our trusts. That would have poked more holes in their argument.
Shaken by my conversation with Mary, I slowly walked back to my seat.. Edward looked at me, concerned, but I kissed him briefly to reassure him I was okay.
Chris reached out to me, presumably to sit on my lap.
"Mama," he squealed.
"Auntie Bella," I corrected.
"Mama," he repeated, ignoring me.
"Hey," Edward said, whispering into my ear, "We've got this."
"Positive thinking? You've been smoking reefer with Jasper?" I teased.
"Of course, and a few hits of acid," he chuckled, as Chris grabbed his hand.
"Mary said she was doing this to hurt me," I told him, all humor gone.
"That's not surprising. Felix is doing it for money,"
"What if I liquidated my trust? Do you think that would work?"
"I think you're putting the cart before the horse. Let's see what the Judge says. If he rules in their favor then we can talk bribery. But let's give the court a chance."
"The law hasn't exactly been my friend," I replied, thinking that for a man that had seen every horror imaginable, he had a lot of faith in the system.
"A wise woman once said to give people a chance; they might surprise you," he said, throwing my words from our road trip in my face.
"You suck," I replied, realizing how juvenile I sounded.
Edward chuckled. "Do you realize how much you sound like Jake right now?"
I burst out laughing, thinking about my brother and remembering I was here for a little boy, not vengeance. Hopefully that counted for something.
-AMW-
The judge took about thirty minutes to make his decision. It was the longest minutes of my life. We stayed in the courtroom playing with Chris while we waited; me and my family on one side, my enemies on the other. It was sad to think that the little girl that I once tried to protect grew into a spiteful bitch.
"All rise, the honorable Judge Atkins presiding," Officer Hanson said.
"Thank you Officer Hanson," Judge Atkins said. "I have reviewed everything presented and have come to a decision. I have to with agree with you, Mrs. Denali, this case should have never been filed. There has been no evidence presented to suggest that this child was mistreated under the care of Mrs. Cullen. My decision is that Christopher Jacob Swan remain in the custody of Edward and Isabella Cullen."
"But that's unfair!" Mary demanded.
Judge Atkins continued like he hadn't heard her. "This hearing has been a major waste of time. Mr. Jenks you provided me a petition that would have been worthy in a soap opera, not a courtroom. For a man with over 25 years of trial experience, I cannot believe that you would even consider taking this case. However," he said and turned his attention to me and Edward, "The petition got attention because you two were not married. Under legal precedent, I usually place children with two parent homes in which the parents are married. Given the results of Mr. and Mrs. Whitmore's drug tests, and the plain fact that she and Mr. Whitmore are treating this situation like a passing fancy, I can assure you that she would not have received custody. Normally in this type of situation I would have probably assigned your nephew with the grandparents." That stopped my happiness a little.
"That might still be the case," Mr. Jenks said, pulling a document out of his case, "Mr. and Mrs. McCarty are willing to take custody of the boy. Both are solid members of this community."
And that was their game, I realized. The McCarty's figured they could get Chris after Mary had a positive drug test.
"That would be a waste of time. I read over the wills of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Swans. Both of them were adamant that they did not want their parents raising their children. Mr. Swan specifically asked for Mrs. Cullen to raise any child from his union. There has been no evidence presented to me that either Mr. Cullen or Mrs. Cullen are negligent in their care of the child. Mr. and Mrs. Cullen congratulations on your new marriage. I wish you both the best. Bailiff please take Mr. and Mrs. Whitmore into custody."
"What! Why? Because we failed a drug test?" Felix demanded as Officer Hanson approached them with two police officers.
"No, because you attempted to bribe Officers Hanson and Simpson into switching your samples with Mr. and Mrs. Cullen. That is a crime," Judge Atkins replied, calmly and then turned to us again, "Congratulations. I'm guessing that you haven't had an easy life."
"No, we haven't. Thank you," I replied, before bursting into tears. I hugged Chris close to me, feeling true relief for the first time in a week. In the background I could hear Mrs. McCarty wail.
"I'll get the paperwork started on the adoption," Tanya said, and then turned back to the Judge. "Judge Atkins, can we request that all photos of Mr. and Mrs. Cullen be turned over to the court or my clients and be destroyed? They were taken by a PI under the employ of Mr. Hunter. My client has a restraining order against Mr. Hunter and this is a clear violation of that order."
"I don't see why not," he said, "Mr. Jenks, all negatives and copies are to be forwarded to Mrs. Cullen's attorneys. If anything is missing I will hold you personally in contempt. Are we understood?"
"Crystal," he said, turning beet red.
"Wait," Mary screeched, turning to us, "You can't let them do this!"
"You did it to yourself," Father told her, turning his back.
"Isabella?" Mary pleaded.
"Have Jenks post your bail," I replied coolly, standing up with Chris, Edward wrapped his arm around me.
"One thing," Father said, turning to Jenks, "You're fired Gerald."
"Charles-," he started to say.
"I also want my retainer back," Father said, taking Mother's hand.
"Be reasonable, Charles. This was business, not personal," Jenks pleaded.
"You went after my daughter, that is personal," Father said coldly.
"You went after her yourself," Jenks retorted.
Father turned beet red remembering his past crimes.
"And you've made up for it," I told my father and then taking a page from his book, I turned to Jenks, "You let your hatred of me blind your logic you sick bastard."
"How dare –" Jenks started to say.
"How dare I? How dare you!" I handed Chris to Edward so he wouldn't leap at Jenks or James. We were just granted custody of Chris and I didn't want to jeopardize that or have Edward join Mary and Felix in jail.
"You brought nude photos of me any my husband to present to the court," I snapped, "Photos from a man who has been following me for years even though I went through the courts to protect myself from him. I'd like to know what your senior partners are going to think. You should have learned your lesson years ago and stayed far away from me when I fired you."
Jenks actually stepped back. I didn't blame him; I almost didn't recognize myself, but this experience had taught me to never let my guard down again. And Jenks knew I had him. You couldn't use evidence from a person someone had a restraining order against. Especially sensitive photos of a couple making love. I was going to make it my goal in life to make sure they didn't do this again, to anyone.
Maybe Tanya was right. I should have gone to law school.
******AMW******
AN: Again thanks to LSU15 for beta this extremely long, 31 page, chapter. This story would not be getting the attention it's received so far without your help.
So for the record, I'm not a lawyer. Other then two courses I took in college for healthcare law, my knowledge of the law comes from watching Law and Order. Everyone knows how true that can be . I also have never been involved in a custody hearing so I hope I got everything right.
So thoughts? I know people were worried about the officers switching urine samples or the judge ignoring the evidence. From my research, I found that if the two couples were married in a custody dispute, the challenging couple had to prove to negligence on the part of the custodial couple. Also I found that people in New York had to give consent to be photographed or taped for that matter. As a lawyer, Jenks could be disbarred for his actions.
So any thoughts on our favorite evil sister and brother-in-law? More to come soon! Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read/review/follow/favorite this story. I hit over reviews this week! Thanks so much to everyone again!
PS wish me luck as I have entered a story under the Kindle UK competition
