"Nervous...?" Amy's attorney asked when they were sat side by side in an office room, waiting for the mediation to begin. They were waiting for the other party - Ty and his people - to arrive, and Amy kept checking the time from the clock on the wall which was probably why Lara had noticed her restlessness.
"A little bit..." Amy admitted, seeing no need to lie. They were here to try to discuss their disputes concerning the divorce and the custody of Lyndy, so of course she would have some concerns. Surely her attorney could understand that.
"No need", Lara said, gently touching Amy's shoulder and assuring her even more with a smile. "You have a good case. Just the fact that Mr. Borden is behind bars and has previous history with breaking the law is probably going to prove the child custody evaluator and the judge alone about where Lyndy should be - which is with you - not to mention all the other factors we are dealing with here... I don't see no reason why you couldn't get the full legal and physical custody of your daughter."
"So, even after this, there's still the court part...?" Amy checked. It felt like this nightmare was never going to end. The whole thing had just dragged and dragged on forever, even though it all should have been pretty simple case to settle.
"Yes, but then after that the judge makes your divorce official and you can start living your life again", Lara explained. "So, just hang in there."
Amy sighed and nodded. "Okay."
"I'm curious to see what they are going to say", Lara admitted with a confident smirk, fiddling all the paper work she had in front of her. "At this point they are just trying to reshape the narrative and make it about his character, so don't be surprised by some of the things they'll say. I'm almost certain they'll make up the truth so they can get where they want to go. Unfortunately this system rewards bad behavior... With Mr. Borden's situation, they are going to fight ugly, I'm sure, but I want you to know that I will do everything I can to make sure Lyndy stays with you in the future. So, trust me on this."
"I will", Amy said. For weeks Lara had proved her professionalism with helping with the pending divorce and Lyndy's custody case. And Amy wasn't completely unfamiliar with Ty doing whatever it took to get his way or reshape the narrative either, so in a way, Amy figured she was pretty much prepared to what this mediation was going to be to some degree even if she had never been in this position before.
It was just going to be just another day in Amy Fleming's life at this point.
They heard the door open and in walked few men, no doubt one of them Ty's attorney and the other one some kind of assistant, just like she had, but unlike Amy, Ty was accompanied by few guards and he walked in wearing handcuffs.
Suddenly it all started to become more real and at the same time very bizarre.
They all got up and greeted each other, but most of it went over Amy's head as she just kept looking at Ty. He looked pretty much the same, maybe with a little more facial hair and darker circles under his eyes, but other than that, he was just like she had remembered.
When they had taken Ty's cuffs off and sat down, the attorneys began to talk. Lara had shared earlier with Amy that she wasn't really expected to speak, it was more like a discussion between the attorneys while their clients listened they were getting everything right and knew what was being shared. In a way it eased Amy's mind because she was afraid to say the wrong thing somehow, but Lara had done this many times before and knew what to say and when to say it.
Before all this, Amy had met up with Lara countless times and went over her relationship with Ty with her with such intimacy, that Amy almost felt like Lara had somehow become part of it as a third party. It was Lara's job to take things into account that were going to be important to fight the custody of Lyndy and to make sure the divorce process was going to be as easy as it could be during one of the most difficult experiences anyone could possible face during their lifetime.
Without a doubt Ty had done exactly the same with his attorney as it was important for them to know what they were dealing with and how to present their client's case. Amy kept looking at Ty who was just mostly staring at the wall behind her, not making any eye contact. She wasn't sure if she even wanted him to look at her.
It was strange thing to realize; pretty much all the people in this room - outside the guards - were familiar with their relationship and yet each of them had a different kind of take on it for their own personal reasons. No matter what had actually happened or not happened, all of them had their versions of what her and Ty's relationship had been like and what really mattered in the end. So many minutes, hours, days, weeks and years were all written on their minds like novels they all read through their own history and experience. So much bias.
As Amy's ears started picking up the conversation again, she looked at Lara who was talking to Ty's attorney.
The man beside Ty talked. "I'm sure you've went over my client's wishes already-"
"I have", Lara confirmed, "and to be completely honest, I'm really interested on your take on how Mr. Borden would be able to look after his daughter."
"Well, it's my client's expectation after his sentence is served that he will be locating to Vancouver where he not only was living at the time of the arrest, but where he also has family, his mother and step-father who have offered their complete support for my client and his daughter", Ty's attorney said, and from the corner of Amy's eye, she could almost see him twitch at the mention of Wade being his step-father.
Surely their relationship was different now, especially since Wade was supporting him through this process, but still, despite everything, Ty apparently would not ever allow Wade to truly be his family - except if it meant that it would help him win the case. It definitely was interesting to Amy just how much Ty was willing to suddenly change or adapt to get Lyndy, but how the things he did weren't sincere. She wondered if anyone could see through him as well as she did.
"Speaking of his sentence, he will be serving 20 months for assault causing bodily harm, correct?" Lara asked, checking from her papers, but knowing full well the details about Ty's conviction. She was just hoping it would make a better point to read it from the paper; they were dealing with a criminal who was looking into getting a shared custody of his daughter after the divorce after all.
"Yes, that's correct", the attorney confirmed, "and I know what you're thinking, but if my client successfully deals with his criminal case and has no new offences, then I don't see why he wouldn't have access to his own daughter."
"I think it's very important to establish if Mr. Borden has actually admitted any remorse of his crime. I mean, he not only abused my client's co-worker over some made-up scenario but also ran away from the law before he was arrested. I don't know, that concerns a little..." Lara said, wanting to explain why possibly giving custody to a criminal just didn't sit right with her. "You have to remember we are talking about the custody of a small child here. Not only has Mr. Borden been convicted by this assault, he has previous history with breaking the law and I think it's important for him to understand no one is above the law."
"But once he was captured, my client didn't resist the arrest and he actually admitted fault when he agreed with the plea, so I think it shows that my client is fully capable of taking responsibility for his actions", the attorney spoke on Ty's behalf.
Well, that would be a first time, Amy said to herself in her head.
"Okay, so let's say he does, I would be interested to know how he would support his daughter should he get the custody", Lara expressed. "Before the arrest, he was working in Vancouver as a vet, right?"
Ty's attorney nodded. "Correct." He already knew where this was going.
"But his licence has since then been suspended due to his criminal offence... What's your client's plan to provide?" Lara asked. "I mean, I'm just wondering how he'll adapt to this new financial situation, given that he was once a partner on a clinic in Hudson before he moved to Vancouver - which if that was still the situation we'd have no concern over his financial situation - but I believe he is no longer partner at the said clinic. And before the partnership was liquidated, he traveled as a volunteer around the world, not making any money, correct?"
"Yes, he volunteered", the attorney confirmed. "It was mutual decision between my client and your client that he would be free to do so", he wanted to remind her.
"Of course", Lara agreed, "but I think it's also important to note that during that time, much of the expenses were covered by my client. And when your client fell sick during one of his missions and had to recover for months, he wasn't working while Miss Fleming was working full time." Without skipping a beat, she continued: "Not only that but before all this volunteering was happening, the loft that they build together as their home was funded mostly by my client-"
"But my client took part in building the loft, even though most of the finances were covered by Miss Fleming", the attorney tried to argue. "So it wasn't all her doing."
"Helping build the loft is sweet, but not really that compatible, is it? Not in the eyes of the law, at least", Lara said with a smirk. "My point is, our clients's daughter is clearly based in Hudson. The couple was married in Hudson, she was born in Hudson, Miss Fleming has family in Hudson, she has a home and a stable income in Hudson... I don't know, if it was up to me, I would say this really is a no-brainer. All in all, we're just trying to maintain consistency for the child. It'll be very hard to convince the court to move the girl to Vancouver after taking into consideration all these facts."
It was the first time Ty moved his head as he glanced at his attorney who had a concerned look on his face. It was like a cold breeze went through the room.
Lara waited, but since there was a pause and they weren't saying anything, she continued: "Look, my client is willing to be flexible with the child support, and we can even discuss about the visitation rights-"
"But I have a right to my daughter", Ty spoke suddenly. "Every father does."
"I do agree with that, and that's why we even are here, to give you both equal opportunity for the custody, but at the end of the day we're trying to establish what's best for your daughter", Lara said.
"Everything I have done is to make sure she has a good life and a father to be proud of!" Ty insisted.
Amy pursed her lips together, wondering if Ty even knew how stupid he sounded. In what world would anyone think most of the things he had done were best for Lyndy?
"I'm sorry, when was that...?" Lara asked with a mocking tone. "When you left to Mongolia for months on end, not coming back when you were supposed to and then being on death's door upon your arrival back home? Or was this the other time you went to Mongolia a year later, got kidnapped, then were held on a gunpoint by poachers because you couldn't leave the situation to the authorities-"
"I was only trying to do the right thing!" Ty continued, making his attorney put his hand on his arm so he wouldn't get too agitated. The guards in the room got alerted as well. "I was trying to help!"
Lara continued to talk over him. "-and after you came home that time, you refused to fill in my client about the fact that one of the poachers that had kidnapped you was in Hudson as well and was out to get you, which not only resulted in him breaking in the said loft, setting your family in danger while you went after him, alone, wielded a gun like some sort of vigilante-"
"His gun!" Ty wanted to clarify. "I was trying to protect my family!"
"And then disappeared again to Vancouver for weeks before you came back with the proposition to move the family on the west coast without talking with Miss Fleming about it first. Or are we supposed to interpret your style to resist the authority and dismiss the law as a way to protect your family? Besides all that, we have to think about your obligations to provide for your family, because according to my client there's never been an agreement that Miss Fleming should be the only one doing that, and your history of recklessness with your finances is a clear proof that you are not able to provide a stable home life to anyone - including yourself."
Amy recalled a time when Ty had made a big deal about wanting to be the sole provider for the family - much to Amy's annoyance - which had resulted him taking risks with gambling while she had had a reasonable plan to train horses for the prince to make some money for the loft and their business. It was strange how his ambitions about money had since then vanished and how they had been replaced by trying to gain some kind of fame and glory to bring home to his family.
"What my client is trying to say is that he has made mistakes in the past", the attorney tried to salvage whatever was there to salvage, "but he has great sense of moral and he will do everything he can to prove that he wants to be the best father he can be for his daughter."
Lara scoffed. "Right... That's exactly what I took from it as well..." she said with sarcastic tone, getting evidence of Ty still not being ready to admit what he had done wrong.
The attorney continued. "My client has never hurt his family - if anything, he has tried to do everything in his power-"
"And beyond his power..." Lara muttered.
"-to make sure he keeps Miss Fleming and their daughter safe", Ty's attorney added.
"And was that what was happening when our clients were having a discussion about their relationship and their situation, and my client just so happened to fall down from the loft stairs after Mr. Borden lost his temper, leaving her injured?" Lara suddenly said.
Amy glanced at her with a surprised look. She had, of course, told her about it in the process of going over the last months before Ty's departure to Vancouver, but had not realized Lara was going to use it as an ammunition.
Ty's attorney looked at his client with a raised brow, almost as if asking what the hell was this about. They had apparently not disclosed this before.
"I have no prior knowledge of that, but I'm sure that if that was something we should be disclosing at this moment, Miss Fleming would have most likely reported it as domestic abuse, if that is what you're implying, if that really would have been the case, but I don't know it to be so, so..." the attorney tried to fight them off.
"Come on, Stevens, you know damn well that not every case of abuse gets reported, as does your client", Lara said, knowing that there were couple of situations involving Ty where he could have been charged with different types of charges, but had - for reason or another - not. "I have statements from the nurses that were treating Miss Fleming that night of the accident and they had made a note how quiet my client was being and how Mr. Borden was mostly in charge, which often raises red flags and was even the reason why they recalled the whole thing."
"I'm sorry, but this is irrelevant", Ty's attorney insisted. "If there's no official record of this being an abuse, we can't take it into account with this custody and divorce."
"Actually..." Amy interrupted them for a minute. They all suddenly looked at her, almost if not realizing she could talk. "Can I have a minute with him, alone...?" she asked, nodding to Ty.
Lara argued. "I don't think that's the best idea-"
"Please", Amy asked with a firmer tone.
The attorneys exchanged looks and finally shrugged.
"Okay, but the guards stay", Lara said, getting up from the chair and leaned into her ear. "Just..." she began saying, but not knowing what she should say. Despite that, Amy got her message.
"I know", she said, trying to assure her everything was okay.
The attorneys then stepped out of the room and both Amy and Ty looked after them until the door was closed. They then turned to look at each other.
Amy felt like this was the barn office confrontation all over again, only this time she felt safer with two guards in the room and an attorney just a hearing distance away, all ready to back her up. She was not afraid of him anymore and was ready to ask him the questions she had spent so many nights thinking about after everything had went down.
