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Isabelnevercloses her door.
“What’s up?” she asks, sitting down next to me instead of behind her desk.
“I know you’re not in the habit of handing out free legal advice—”
She smiles. “Let’s consider this personal advice then, shall we?”
I nod gratefully. I’ve always liked Isabel, always felt like we could be good friends whenever we happened to end up sitting at the same lunch table at work or crossing paths at the firm’s Christmas party. We might have been, if it weren’t for the fact that I was too busy trying to keep my head above water to put any energy into developing new friendships.
“Sure. Personal.” I try to return her smile, but mine is weak, with more tears waiting if I get too deep in the weeds. “Before you came to Bane, didn’t you used to work in family law?”
“Ten years of it,” she confirms. “Is this about your nieces?”
“And nephew.” I take a deep breath and jump right in. “I want to legally adopt them. And I also want to strip their father of his rights.”
Isabel’s eyebrows hit the roof of her forehead.Not a good sign.
“It’s possible, isn’t it?” I press desperately. “It has been done before?”
“It has. But rarely. It is extremely difficult to get a biological parent’s rights stripped while they’re still in the picture, Emma. It can be hard for theotherparent to do it, let alone an aunt. And the only way a court would even consider it is if you can prove that your brother-in-law is a danger to those kids.”
I laugh bitterly. “I can do that.”
It’s a credit to her professionalism that she doesn’t wince or look surprised. She just nods and sighs. “Well then, that will make a difference. Is he abusive? Violent?”
“He drinks a lot. And lately, he has been getting violent. H-he… pushed Josh last night.”
I’m angry with myself for how this is all coming out. I’m making it seem like a non-incident when it was anything but. Hebrokethose kids last night. All three had clambered into my bed and it took five bedtime stories before they felt soothed enough to fall asleep.
“Does he have a history of that kind of behavior?”
“Last night was the first time it got that bad,” I admit. “But he does sometimes threaten to hit them. He’s been getting more and more belligerent. And the drinking has increased, too.”
Isabel sighs. “Emma, I’d love to be able to give you some positive news, but this sounds like it’s going to be a long, drawn-out court case. Unless of course your brother-in-law is willing to sign over his parental rights to you.”
I bite my lip. “I doubt he’ll agree to that.”
“Then you’re looking at a custody battle and that’s gonna take time and money.”
The nest egg that I’ve built in the last few months is significant. But it’s nowhere near enough to cover the kind of legal fees that a case like this would require.
“I don’t have enough of either of those things,” I mutter.
“Does he?”
“No… but he knows where to get the money,” I admit.
I call them Mom and Dad.They’d help him in a heartbeat.
Isabel fixes me with a sympathetic expression. “Listen—if you’re determined to go down this road, I can recommend a good lawyer. In fact, when it comes to child custody cases, she might just be the best.”
The anxiety is setting in something fierce right about now. Ineedthe best. But I can’t afford the best. The mere thought of lawyer bills hitting my inbox gives me the chills. “I’m gonna have to think this over a little.”
Isabel nods. “You do that and let me know if you need that contact.”
I thank Isabel and head out into the corridors of Bane Corp. feeling like I’ve just been spat out by a tornado. My heart is clamoring against my chest and it feels like I have only a few options left.
Plan A was the court system, but that seems like it might be out of reach right now. Plan B is drop a piano on Ben’s head and, as satisfying at that might be, I’m just not that type of person.
