Chapter 4

It hadn't taken Kaiba long to put his plan into motion as just a couple of weeks later he sat in a courtroom whilst a judge decided over the custody of Jay. He glanced over to where Joey and Mai sat as they all waited for the judge to return with his verdict. The couple looked confident that the verdict would be in their favour and Kaiba knew that they were right in their minds to do so as he had nothing in his favour of gaining custody apart from his wealth and the fact that he was the blood father. That was why he had made sure that the judge was offered a huge bribe so that he would be victorious as he knew that any law and system could be bought; if the price was right.

The judge re-entered the room and stood at his bench as he announced his verdict. "After an hour of re-examining all of the evidence provided, I have reached a final decision on who should have custody over the child, Joseph Wheeler." He scanned the benches where the two parties where sat. "It has been decided, for the best interest of the child, that custody is awarded to … Mr Seto Kaiba."

Kaiba couldn't help himself from stopping a smug smile appear on his face after beating Joey once again. Nobody would ever get the better of him. He would always get what he wanted.

"I demand an appeal!" Joey roared after the shock had settled in.

"In this type of trial the judge's decision is final." The court clerk spoke up. "There will be no appeal."

"Well if you think that I'm gonna let you take away my son just because some guy wearing a wig thinks that he'll be better off with some stuck-up billionaire, then you're mistaken!" Joey's anger was playing off from his upset, but arguing against the system wasn't wise.

"You're making things worse." Mai told him as she tried to pull him back.

"Things can't get any worse!" Joey snapped as he pulled his arm free from her grasp. He turned to face Kaiba who was about to leave the room. "I hope that you're pleased with yourself. You've just used an innocent child to get back at me. What kind of a man does that make you? Well, I'll tell ya, it makes you a …."

"Joseph!" Mai cried over the abusive words that flowed from Joey's mouth.

Joey turned to see his wife staring at him as her eyes bulged with tears and her lip trembled. They knew that there would be nothing else that they could do to stop their first born taken away from them; both now needing each other to help them stay strong. Unable to hold back the pain and heartache any longer Mai broke down as she fell into her husband's arms.

As Kaiba left the room he could hear the cries behind him. He felt please with himself and the smiled on his face broadened as he heard Joey's sobs mix with Mai's. In his mind they both got what they deserved.

As he approached the room where Jay was being kept Kaiba straightened his face before he entered through the large doors. He saw the sandy -colour haired boy looking down at his legs as he swung them backwards and forwards underneath the chair he sat on. Kaiba cleared his throat and Jay looked up at him. "Hi."

"Hello mister!" Jay smiled happily. "I remember you. You're my mommy's friend."

"Yeah, something like that." Kaiba said quietly as he closed the door behind him.

"Do you know where my mommy and daddy are?" the young boy asked innocently. "They've been gone a long time now."

"Didn't they explain to you what is going on?" Kaiba asked in surprise as he crouched down in front of Jay.

"They said that everything was going to be alright, and that I should stay happy." Replied Jay as he thought hard about what had been said to him.

Great! Thought Kaiba sarcastically as he thought how was best to explain the situation to a young child. "Everything is alright now, and yes, you should be happy as you're going to come and live with me."

Puzzled Jay asked; "What about mommy and daddy?"

Kaiba thought for a moment. Telling Jay the truth would just complicate things even more, but he had a better idea that was sure to make his son forget all about the Wheelers. He sighed sadly and stared at Jay. "They don't want you. That's why they brought you here to me."

"Don't they love me anymore?" Jay croaked as tears started to form in his eyes.

As his eyes became bigger with his sadness, Kaiba was surprised at just how much Jay reminded him of Mokuba when he was upset. He had never liked to see his brother cry and didn't want to make his son cry either but he had to, just this once. Looking straight into the watery blue eyes he simply said; "No."

Jay began to cry uncontrollably at being told that his parents no longer loved him. His face reddened and soon his throat hurt so much that he began to cough which sent tears and mucus from his running nose flying all over the place.

After producing a tissue from his inside suit pocket, Kaiba handed it to Jay who accepted it, wiped his eyes and then blew his nose. Then Kaiba saw another expression appear on Jay's face which Mokuba also used to make. A pled for comfort to help ease the distress. Slowly Kaiba raised his open arms and embraced his son who had gotten down from the chair.

With his head now resting on Kaiba's shoulder, Jay began to cry again.

"Everything will be okay." Kaiba assured the heartbroken boy, with a sly, satisfied smile upon his face.