The courtroom was abuzz with excitement and surprise.
"Order!" Judge Greene pounded his gavel a few times. "Order in the court please, ladies and gentlemen. Ma'am would you please approach the bench and state your name."
Emilee Davenport Walker confidently approached the bench. "My name is Emilee Davenport Walker."
"And what is your relationship to the defendant?"
"He is my husband."
Bill stood in front of the desk. "Mrs. Walker…"
"Please," Emilee interrupted. "Call me Emilee. I never go by Mrs. Walker."
"Alright," Bill tried to hide his smile. "Emilee. Can you please tell the court how you came to be married to the defendant?"
Emilee looked confidently out at the courtroom, refusing to meet Jesse's gaze. "Five years ago, I attended a New Year's Party thrown by one of San Francisco's most illustrious families. At this party, there was a lot of talk about a Jesse Walker, a widower who had struck oil in the Canadian Rockies. He had been invited by the host and he had everyone's attention—including mine.
"We had a whirlwind courtship. I will confess to being infatuated with his story. We married and on our honeymoon, I discovered a different side to my husband."
"Would you elaborate for the court," Bill asked.
Emilee cleared her throat. "As it turned out, the man that I had married was your typical rich playboy. He wanted fancy parties, expensive champagne and caviar, you name it. It was evident that he wanted to flaunt his oil money and the money that he had married into. His actions made me question and analyze just what life he had come from."
Bill turned to the desk and picked up a sheet of paper. "I present to the court, your honor, a paper document from the Hamilton Oil Company." Bill faced Emilee once more. "Emilee, would you share your knowledge of this document to the court?"
"Yes," Emilee stated. "Upon return from our honeymoon, I hired a private investigator to learn more about my husband. The first thing I discovered was his work application from Hamilton Oil Company. It stated that he was let go for unethical work practices. It also stated that he was single with no children."
Bill picked up another document. "Your honor, this is another document with bearing on the case. It is similar to the one from Hamilton Oil Company but instead from Union City Petroleum. Once again, it states that Jesse Walker was fired for unethical building practices. It also states he was single with no children."
Wesley Campbell finally spoke up. "Your honor, relevance."
"Your honor," Bill interjected, "these documents speak to pattern, motive, and intention."
"I'll allow it," Judge Greene ruled. "Proceed counselor."
"So, Emilee," Bill continued. "What did you do upon receiving this information?"
It was at this point that Emilee did look Jesse Walker squarely in the eye. "I did a couple of things. I put up walls. My husband could not be trusted. I also immediately met with my family's lawyer and put guidelines in place so my husband could not inherit my fortune, or my family's business, upon my death."
"Did you have any reason to believe your husband suspected any of these actions?"
"No," Emilee said confidently. "Not until recently and my lawyer told me Jesse was asking questions about the family estate."
Bill shared another document with Judge Greene. "This is a signed affidavit from the Davenport family lawyer—Mr. James Garry. He unfortunately could not come with the witness due to his wife being in the family way. However, Mr. Garry shared his conversation with the plaintiff, including the plaintiff's interest should a child be in the picture. As you can see, Mr. Garry eludes to the fact that should there be a child, they would become the sole heir to the Davenport estate."
Emilee continued with her story. "As you might imagine, my husband and I are not intimate. We have not been since our honeymoon. But I also know he has not been involved with any other women—at least has not gotten another woman in trouble, as they say. So I wondered if indeed, his being a widower with no children was true."
Bill looked directly at Jesse Walker, basically daring him to challenge. "What did you do?"
"I looked into the death of Jesse Walker's wife, Colleen Grant Walker. I discovered that she was survived by a daughter aged four. Everything lined up. And I have been determined, ever since, to make sure that that daughter is protected from Jesse Walker."
The courtroom rumbled with noise. "Order!" Judge Greene pounded his gavel.
"Thank you Emilee," Bill gave a genuine smile. "Your witness, Mr. Campbell."
Wesley Campbell stood up. "Emilee…"
"It's Miss Davenport to you."
Wesley Campbell looked perturbed. "Miss Davenport, my apologies."
"Oh it is not your fault, Mr. Campbell." Emilee stated. "Before my journey here, I began divorce proceedings against your client. Our marriage was built on false information and it is time to end that."
Everyone sat stunned for a moment. Eventually Wesley Campbell continued. "Be that as it may, it sounds as if your feelings in regards to my client are influencing your actions in this hearing."
"On the contrary," Emilee argued. "I believe it speaks to your client's true self regardless. In those documents Mr. Avery presented, Mr. Walker clearly stated he was a widower with no children. Not once. But twice. In fact, he remained silent on his daughter's existence until he was aware of changes to my will and the family estate. That speaks to his character."
Emilee spoke directly to Jesse. "You have never had any intention of loving a child. Not a child of our union. Not a child of your union with Colleen Grant. You care about wealth, status, and privilege. You were lucky that your struck oil on your own. Hamilton Oil let you go due to falsifying records. Union City Petroleum fired you because you were unreliable. You are not a man who has any business bringing a child into your life. Especially not a child who you have never invested in, cared about, talked about…a child you abandoned with your wife barely cold in the grave."
The courtroom continued to murmur and Judge Greene had to restore order once again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have been listening to testimony. I have analyzed these documents. While normally, I would call a recess and deliberate, I do not have a need to in this case."
Judge Greene looked directly at both Nathan and at Jesse Walker.
"Custody cases are my least favorite to preside over. Deciding the fate of a child is not one I take lightly or even want to have to decide. And to be honest, I thought I was going to rule one way before this case started. However, that is not so.
"Mr. Walker, I find your actions repugnant, baseless, and cowardly. You abandoned your daughter at a time when a child needs a parent—when they have lost one. But you didn't just abandon her momentarily, you abandoned her for the last eight years. You gave up your rights as a father that day. You have not shown yourself admirable in your business dealings or in your personal life. As a father myself, and as my duty towards the law, I deny your request for custody of Allison Colleen Grant. In fact, due to the length of abandonment, I find your parental rights in effect terminated."
Judge Greene looked directly at Nathan. "I hereby rule that custody, legal guardianship, and parental rights be given to and maintained by Nathan Grant, the girl's uncle."
He pounded the gavel one final time. "Case dismissed."