A/N: Thank you for all your reviews and support! Here's the next chapter for you :)
I just want to point out that the legal proceedings in this chapter are all fictional. I am not a lawyer and I'm not super familiar with court proceedings or legal jargon. I've only done a little research on the matter, so if some of my facts seem a little inaccurate to those of you who are more familiar with legal proceedings, I apologize. I'm doing my best here!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 17: The Deposition
Ana, Christian and Carrick all entered the conference room, and the moment they stepped inside, they noticed Ramkoff already seated on the opposite side of the table with a shrewd-looking woman who was clearly his attorney. While Ramkoff observed Christian and Ana with cool impassivity, the couple glared right back at him with unbridled loathing.
I hope we destroy this fucker, Christian couldn't help but think angrily, balling his fists.
The attorney woman stood up when they entered, smiling politely at Carrick. "Carrick - it's so nice seeing you again."
"You too, Lenna," Carrick smiled politely, reaching across the table and shaking her hand. The two of them took their seats before beginning to make small talk, and Christian and Ana sat down to the right of Carrick, anxiously waiting for the judge to arrive while steadfastly ignoring Ramkoff's gaze as he sat directly across from them.
After a minute or so, the conference room doors opened again and three people walked inside - a middle-aged woman with black frame glasses and her hair up in a tight bun, a well-dressed young man carrying a small typewriter and a stand, and a burly-looking man with a mustache and wearing a tan sheriff's uniform.
Carrick and the attorney named Lenna both got to their feet when the three of them walked in, and Christian, Ana and Ramkoff quickly did the same. The woman and the young man with the typewriter both walked to the front of the table and sat down in the two empty chairs there as the mustached man stood sentinel beside the door, his hands clasped in front of him in a stern pose. The others quickly sat down, and Ana and Christian noticed the woman with glasses giving them a sideways glance before donning a professional-looking smile on her face.
"Good morning, everyone," she said, glancing around the room at large. "My name is Lydia Connelly, and I'll be the presiding judge over this deposition. This here is my associate, Mr. Kurt Walden…" she gestured to the young man, who was currently typing away at the small typewriter he had set up in front of him. "He'll be the stenographer overseeing our session today, and over there is Mr. Tad Lenowitz, our presiding bailiff."
The next few minutes proceeded with other formal introductions made by Judge Connelly, Carrick, and Lenna - these were obviously just meant for the stenographer to keep on record, but it was making Ana feel more on-edge than she would've liked. As if he could sense her disquiet, Christian reached for Ana's hand under the table and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, calming her.
The bailiff then came forward holding a Bible in his hands, and Ana, Christian, and Ramkoff were all asked to stand and give their sworn testimony. Ana had never done anything like this before, and she felt a bit odd placing her right hand on the Bible and repeating the words Mr. Lenowitz told her to say, but she did it without complaint. A few minutes later, they were all done swearing in, and the deposition could finally proceed.
"So, today's hearing is going to be concerning the custody of a Ms. Lucia Meekaslav," Judge Connelly continued, glancing down at some files in front of her. "Mr. and Mrs. Grey are her foster parents who have had her under their care for the last three months and are now prospective adoptive parents. Is that correct?"
"Yes," Christian and Ana said together, nodding in confirmation. Carrick and Lenna both jotted something down on their respective notepads.
"…However, Mr. Adalay Ramkoff here has come forward, claiming he is Lucia's biological father and therefore states he ought to have sole custody of her?" Judge Connelly shifted her gaze over at Ramkoff, giving him a scrutinizing look over the tops of her glasses.
"Correct," Lenna agreed, setting her pen down and folding her hands professionally in front of her. Ramkoff said nothing, though he shot one more covert glance over at Christian and Ana.
"So I assume this is simply a matter of who wants her more?" Judge Connelly turned back to Christian and Ana, raising an eyebrow at them.
Carrick spoke up: "While my clients do have a conflict of interest in regards to Lucia's care, they also have real reason to suspect Mr. Ramkoff's motives for gaining custody of Lucia isn't in her best interest," he stated.
"Well, my client believes Lucia being in the custody of Mr. and Mrs. Grey wouldn't be in her best interest either," Lenna interrupted firmly, giving Carrick a shrewd glare.
Ana and Christian glanced at each other incredulously before turning their livid glares over to Ramkoff. Was he fucking serious?
"Well, just from what I can see here, I don't know where Mr. Ramkoff's concerns are coming from," Judge Connelly glanced down at her papers again, frowning. "Mr. and Mrs. Grey are a financially-stable married couple who have already had Lucia Meekaslav under their care for several months now with no complaints or reports of abuse from social services during that time." She looked back up at Ramkoff. "What is it about them that seems so terrible to you?"
Christian felt his stomach clench with a sickening feeling when he saw the smirk form on Ramkoff's face. "I've recently come across some disturbing information regarding Mr. Grey's lifestyle, and I don't believe Lucia, or any child for that matter, would be safe in that sort of environment," he said smoothly.
Christian exhaled through his nose, his jaw clenched in anger. He had had a horrible feeling Ramkoff was going to go there, but he didn't think it would be so soon in the deposition. Christian still had a strong urge to reach across the table and punch Ramkoff in the face.
"And what about Mr. Grey's lifestyle is so disturbing, Mr. Ramkoff?" Judge Connelly asked, sounding almost skeptical of his answer.
Carrick, who seemed he had prepared for this topic of discussion, quickly spoke up: "Your Honor, I believe I know what Mr. Ramkoff is referring to, and if you'll allow us to explain…"
"Excuse me, I believe my client was being questioned by Judge Connelly," Lenna interrupted Carrick firmly.
"Enough," Connelly said when Carrick looked like he wanted to snap right back. She then turned to Ramkoff, nodding at him. "Mr. Ramkoff?"
"Grey is a sick man," Ramkoff stated, staring boldly over at a glowering Christian. "He participates in a sadistic sexual lifestyle where he beats up women, and I don't want my daughter anywhere near him."
Christian's jaw twitched, and it was only the comforting touch of his wife's hand in his that managed to keep him from reaching across the table and strangling Ramkoff.
"And this so-called 'lifestyle' Mr. Grey participates in… you can corroborate this?" Judge Connelly turned to look questioningly back over at Carrick.
"Before I say anything, may I once again be assured that the information revealed in this deposition does not go outside this room?" Carrick asked professionally, probably more for his son's benefit than anything.
"You may," Judge Connelly nodded to her stenographer to ensure he recorded that. "Go on."
"My son admits to having participated in the alternative sexual lifestyle BDSM for most of his adult years," Carrick explained, revealing what he and Christian had agreed upon beforehand. "However, when he met his wife Anastasia, he decided to give up that lifestyle, and it has not been a part of his life since then."
Carrick immediately began presenting the evidence to the judge - documents, printed records, and even some photographs of Christian going to BDSM clubs going all the way back from when he was 21. It was all the evidence Christian had offered up to his father when he told him about his lifestyle (obviously not mentioning his time with Elena), and he and Carrick had agreed that in this particular case, the best defense was a good offense.
Carrick then began explaining the basics of BDSM to the room at large, how it was a perfectly acceptable sexual lifestyle since it was conducted in a safe and controlled environment with limits in place. Ana listened to her father-in-law speak about BDSM like it was a completely normal thing to do, and she couldn't help but feel infinitely uncomfortable - she could only imagine how uncomfortable Christian was feeling right about now too. Luckily, however, it seemed as if Judge Connelly was becoming convinced of the Grey's testimony, and she nodded along as Carrick spoke.
Once he was finished, Connelly glanced over at Ramkoff, gesturing to the documented evidence. "And what do you have to say to this, Mr. Ramkoff?"
The doubt in her voice was apparent, and Ramkoff clearly knew he had to say something in order to convince her he was right. "Grey has a BDSM dungeon in his house," he stated, a look of triumph in his eyes. Ana felt her heart stop in her throat, and Ramkoff's attorney immediately tried to hush Ramkoff from saying anything more.
"I'm sorry, what is he talking about?" Judge Connelly glanced between Ramkoff and Carrick.
"Your Honor, please let it be noted that the only way Mr. Ramkoff could have gotten that information is through illegal means," Carrick snapped, his angry eyes on Ramkoff. "My client did, in fact, have a room where he practiced his alternative lifestyle, but he had had it removed before Lucia Meekaslav came under his care - the DCFS home inspection on record from three months ago can confirm that. However, the fact that Mr. Ramkoff is aware of that room at all should be a cause for suspicion, since the only people who could have known about it had signed non-disclosure agreements. Ramkoff could not have obtained his intel legally."
"This isn't about my client. This is about your client creating an unsafe environment for his daughter!" Lenna shot back at Carrick.
"Enough!" Judge Connelly interrupted loudly, glaring between both attorneys, who both went silent. "We're getting off topic here." Connelly turned to look at Ramkoff. "Mr. Ramkoff, I don't know what purpose you think it serves to bring up Mr. Grey's past sexual lifestyle right now, but if your only goal here is to try to discredit Mr. Grey and make him appear like an unfit parent, then I'll tell you right now it's not going to work. Legally, a person's sexual preference has no bearing whatsoever on whether or not he or she can be an adoptive parent, unless clear and substantial evidence can be found the prospective parent has had a history of pedophilia. Since I have yet to see any evidence of that happening within Mr. Grey's life, I'll reiterate…" She turned to the stenographer: "Mr. Ramkoff's argument of Mr. Grey's sexual lifestyle being a danger to Lucia will have no bearing in this deposition, nor will it in court if this case happens to go that far."
Ramkoff looked as if Connelly had just slapped him - his lawyer Lenna started whispering something fervently in his ear, and Christian and Ana couldn't help but look at each other with relieved expressions on their faces. It felt like such a huge weight was lifted off of Christian's chest - Ramkoff couldn't use his information from Elena to try to destroy them.
"Let's get back on track here - namely, with Lucia Meekaslav's guardianship," Judge Connelly went on, straightening her glasses and gazing down at yet another sheet of paper in front of her. "It says here that Belinda Meekaslav, Lucia's mother, was married before she died?"
"That's correct," Lenna said immediately. "For approximately 6 months, she was married to Albert Penn, but he died of a stroke shortly after their wedding."
"And there's no chance he could have been Lucia's father?" Judge Connelly asked.
"No, your Honor - Mr. Penn died over 6 years ago," Lenna explained, passing a document over to her. "He was 58 years old when he married Belinda Meekaslav, and he was already in poor health. As far as we're aware, he had no progeny."
"Belinda was only 19 when Mr. Penn died, correct?" Judge Connelly asked, and Lenna nodded in confirmation. "She was all alone in the world and had to make ends meet - what did she do for work?"
Both Ramkoff and Lenna remained silent, and Carrick finally spoke up. "We have evidence to suggest that she was a prostitute," he said, staring boldly over at Ramkoff.
"A prostitute," Connelly repeated, turning to look at Ramkoff. "Is that correct?"
Ramkoff only stared at Carrick, the glower on his face evident. "She didn't want to be," he grit out after a moment. "But she had no choice."
"So, in summation, Belinda Meekaslav was married to a man for 6 months, and when he died, she prostituted herself for a living," Judge Connelly stated, looking back over at Ramkoff. "And yet you're convinced you are the biological father of her child?"
"I am," Ramkoff said confidently, straightening up in his seat. "She got pregnant around the same time we started seeing each other, so I know Lucia is mine. And I know Bella wanted me to take care of Lucia if anything ever happened to her."
Judge Connelly looked unimpressed. "Well, considering what Belinda did for a living, and the fact that she never left a will stating who Lucia's guardian ought to be, that remains to be seen." She straightened her glasses and glanced down at the file in front of her. "It says here you took a paternity test?"
Ramkoff exchanged a glance with his attorney. "I did."
Christian and Ana glanced at each other as well, their hearts pounding loudly in their throats. What those test results revealed would inevitably determine their and Lucia's fates.
"I assume you have the results," Judge Connelly went on, clearly impatient. "Are you Lucia's biological father or not?"
Lenna cleared her throat, shuffling some papers in front of her. "The test was inconclusive."
Ana and Christian both blinked, staring at Lenna in shock. Inconclusive?
"What?" Carrick asked, frowning in confusion and surprise.
Lenna passed the results of the test to Judge Connelly, who glanced over them before passing them over to Carrick. Ana chanced a glance over toward Ramkoff, whose face remained expressionless, though she could detect the tiniest hint of relief in his eyes.
"It says here they tested you twice," Carrick stated, looking up at Ramkoff as well with an accusing frown on his face. "And both tests were inconclusive?"
"That's actually not so surprising," Judge Connelly said to Carrick. "Genetic marker testing requires the DNA from the mother, father, and child in order to have the most accurate results. Since the mother obviously can't give her DNA for this test, the results were more likely to be inconclusive."
"So then what do we do now?" Christian blurted out, probably more forcefully than he intended.
Judge Connelly let out a sigh, looking down at her papers while once again straightening the glasses perched on her nose. "It doesn't happen very often, but in such cases as this, where there is no clear biological parent of the child in question, it would be up to me to determine what would be in the best interest of the child."
The room was silent after she said that - Christian and Ana looked at each other, their shocked faces appearing paler than normal. They had no idea what the judge was about to say, and a part of them almost didn't want to hear it.
Connelly stared down at her papers for a second before finally looking up at them all. "…I must say, I don't often deal with cases like this," she said after a moment, folding her hands on the table in front of her. "More often than not, I work with parental action suits where the biological father steadfastly refuses to take responsibility for his child. It's actually quite refreshing to see a father fighting so passionately for custody of his own progeny."
Connelly offered Ramkoff a small smile, and Ana felt her heart sinking into her stomach, a nauseous feeling overtaking her body and making her want to throw up. She suddenly wished she could leave the room so she didn't have to hear what Connelly was going to say next.
"…Especially after two inconclusive paternity tests," she went on, still gazing at Ramkoff. "You are still absolutely convinced you are Lucia's biological father. Is that right?"
Something in her tone didn't sound very complimentary, however, and Ana picked up on it. Christian, who had looked about as sick as Ana felt, was now gazing at Connelly with a small confused frown on his face.
Ramkoff blinked, glancing between Connelly and his attorney. "Well… you said that an inconclusive test was normal when the mother couldn't provide her DNA. I could still be Lucia's father, right?"
"You could, but you've had these test results for 24 hours now," Connelly said, gesturing to the piece of paper in front of her. "Did you know that the test results were likely to be inconclusive before I explained it just now?"
"No."
Judge Connelly gave him a shrewd look. "And yet you're still convinced you're Lucia's biological father?"
"Yes, I am," Ramkoff stated confidently.
Carrick made a small noise, and Ana glanced over at him to see he was fighting a smile. Apparently, Ramkoff had just said the wrong thing, and a small glimmer of hope bloomed in Ana's chest.
"Well, that's very admirable Mr. Ramkoff, since most fathers in your position wouldn't have the confidence you seem to have." Connelly gave him a sardonic smile before turning to look back at the test results in front of her. "While we're on the topic of your paternity, Mr. Ramkoff, can you tell me why you waited until 24 hours ago to take this test?"
"It's perfectly within my client's right to not take his paternity test until 24 hours before his deposition…" Lenna began fervently.
"That's true," Connelly nodded at Lenna. "He is allowed to wait until 24 hours before his deposition to take a paternity test, but I'm just wondering why he chose to wait until the very last minute to take the test when he was advised to do it weeks ago?"
Ramkoff definitely looked a bit more nervous now. He exchanged another glance with his attorney. "I didn't think it mattered," he said, trying to brush it off.
"Normally it doesn't, but I'm just curious… if you're so confident that you're Lucia's biological father, why did you wait as long as you did to take the paternity test? I would think a man in your position would take the test as soon as possible in order to prove early on that you are, in fact, her father."
Ramkoff was clearly uncomfortable, and he began to get a bit defensive: "I don't really see the problem here - I just didn't think it mattered, that's all. Since the paternity test was inconclusive, I could very well still be Lucia's father. I truly believe her mother would have wanted me to have custody of her!"
"And do you know what I believe, Mr. Ramkoff?" Connelly asked smoothly, looking Ramkoff in the eye. He went silent, staring at her with an almost fearful expression on his face. "I believe you have no idea whether or not you are Lucia's father. The obvious over-confidence you display of your paternity despite the inconclusive tests was a clear sign to me. Also, the fact you waited until 24 hours ago to take your paternity test - when most DNA tests need at least 48 hours to process - tells me you were pretty much relying on the fact that the test was going to turn out inconclusive so you could take this to court and try to fight it. Or maybe your goal was just to try to drag this out as much as possible in order to expose Mr. Grey's sadistic sexual lifestyle to the world? Considering the fact that that information was the very first statement you revealed in this deposition and had virtually nothing to do with Lucia, I'd say that explanation was also very likely. Either way, I'm not impressed."
Connelly took off her glasses, and Ana felt a fleeting sensation of familiarity, as if she knew Connelly from somewhere, although she couldn't quite place where. Ana didn't dwell on it much, however, since Connelly began to speak to the room:
"I'm sure it's probably clear to everybody what I'm going to say, but I'll state right now that I'm not going to allow this case to go to court," she said firmly. "I hereby issue that Mr. Adalay Ramkoff is not Lucia Meekaslav's biological father, and he is not to have custody of her at any point in her life. I also state that Mr. Adalay Ramkoff will be issued with a restraining order against Mr. and Mrs. Grey as well as Lucia Meekaslav, meaning that he is not to be in any sort of contact with any of them or issue any public statements regarding them, or he will be held in contempt. Lucia Meekaslav will remain in foster care for the foreseeable future, until the Grey's or some other adoptive family choose to take her home. Case dismissed."
Ramkoff began to say something heatedly, jumping to his feet as he confronted the judge, and Lenna immediately stood up to try to calm him down. However, Ana didn't hear anything beyond her own overpowering sense of relief - she felt Christian's arms pull her to him, and she immediately embraced him back, tears of happiness stinging her eyes. Only one joyful thought managed to permeate her brain:
We won.
A/N: Hope that was worth the wait! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review! :)
I'm going to have one more chapter after this to wrap everything up, then an epilogue after that. Thank you all so much for reading!
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