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“If you could clear this up, that would be helpful,” Judge Allen said as he held his hand up to indicate for me to continue.
“The incident that Mr. Jackson is referring to happened when I was twenty-two. I was at a client’s house party in the afternoon, and his sixteen-year-old daughter was there. She had been sneaking drinks and was flirting with everyone there. She had flirted with me, but I turned her down each time and kept my distance from her. Cut to the next day, and the police arrive at my home. They bring me down to the station and question me. According to the police, her father had caught a man slipping out her bedroom window that morning. She claimed it was me. I had an alibi via my home security footage. The girl did admit later on who the real man was.”
It was a complete shitshow, and I had vented to Francis about it all. He knew it was complete bullshit, and now he was trying to use it against me. He had started this war, and he was not going to like where it ended.
“As you know, Your Honor, the police have to file a report for every single person they speak to. My client was cleared and never charged with anything. It has nothing to do with this case at all,” Alvin added.
“I agree. I have seen in your client’s response that you would like to have a drug test done for Miss. Hemming. I will submit the request based on your answer, and I expect Miss. Hemming to have the hair follicle test done before the next court hearing. If there is nothing else, then we will adjourn until a later date is set,” Judge Allen said, and he looked at us both to see if we had anything else to say.
Thankfully, we didn't, and we were free to leave. Alvin and I headed out, and he didn't speak until we were out of the courthouse and away from Ellis and her lawyer’s listening ears.
“What happens now?”
I was pissed, and I wasn’t going to allow Francis to get away with this. I would be striking back. I wasn’t certain how yet, but it was going to be bloody.
“We wait for the drug test and the appointment with the mediator. Once mediation is completed, if there isn’t a resolution, then we will go back to Judge Allen for him to make a ruling. I will continue to dig into her and see if there is anything that we could use to try and strong arm her into relinquishing her suit.”
“Okay. I will do everything I can to keep my cool and focus on what needs to be done.”
That was really the best thing I could do. I had to keep my head in the game and my nose clean. I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. That didn’t mean I was going to let Francis get away with this shit. I would get my revenge and justice one day. Francis was going to get what he deserved. But first, I had a son to protect.
Jasmine
Thesepasttwoweekshad been great. Things between Liam and I were going really well. We had gotten into a pretty set routine. Liam had been trying to keep his schedule pretty consistent, but it was hard at times with his clients that were overseas. They were in completely different time zones, but we were making it work. On more than one occasion, it felt like we were a family. A real family. It got far too easy to pretend like we were raising our sons together. It was a very dangerous game that I was playing, and I needed to keep reminding myself that all of this could be temporary. That eventually the truth will come to light.
Today, the boys were with a babysitter. I wasn’t too comfortable with having Jeremy at a stranger’s place. However, with Liam being in court this morning, and I had to come and meet with my lawyer, we didn’t really have much of a choice. We were using Jillian, a babysitter that Liam had used in the past since living in Newport. He trusted her with Christian, so I was going to trust her with Jeremy. That still didn’t change that I was nervous about it. I’ve never used a babysitter before, and I didn’t plan on using one very often, but with my custody battle coming up, I might need to accept Jillian’s help more often.
I couldn’t help the nervous bouncing of my right leg. Meeting with my lawyer should have been less nerve wrecking. The problem was I had to go with Liam’s lawyer because I couldn’t get any other one in Portland thanks to Adam and his dirty tricks. Something Liam was not happy about. It was a shady thing to do, and Liam had warned me about the antics that Henry might try to pull. All of it was making me even more anxious and terrified.
I still wasn’t comfortable with Liam paying for my legal fees. I was going to be paying him back every last cent. I didn’t care how long it took. The trick was going to be to get Liam to take the payments, but as long as he didn’t know the truth about Jeremy, then he should eventually accept it. I had zero idea how I was ever going to be able to get through a custody battle without having Liam discovering the truth.
I was torn in two between wanting Liam to know the truth and not wanting him to ever find out. I knew what I was doing wasn’t fair to anyone involved. Knowing that though didn’t make the paralyzing fear any better. I was terrified that by revealing the truth, I would eliminate one threat only to be confronted with another one on a whole different level. It was hard to think logically and rationally where Jeremy was involved.
“Miss. Garcia, Mr. McCormick will see you now,” the receptionist said, and I looked up to see her standing at the entrance of the hallway waiting for me.
I stood and followed her down the hallway and reached Alvin’s office. I walked inside to see him sitting at his desk. He was an older man, just a bit older than Liam I would say. He was very well dressed, and it was intimidating; that was for sure. He had kind brown eyes though that reminded me of a basset hound. The receptionist closed the door on her way out, and suddenly, it was just me and this man alone in this office.
“Miss. Garcia, please have a seat,” Alvin said with a soft smile as he held his hand out towards the two empty chairs across from him.
I went over and sat down, but it did nothing at all to ease my nerves. I couldn’t tell by his emotions either how it went for Liam this morning. I knew he couldn’t tell me anything so I didn’t bother with asking. I would have to wait to speak with Liam about it later on today. Assuming he felt like sharing.
“I have been going over your court documents,” he started, but I cut him off.
“I’m sorry. I just need to get some clarification first. I am aware that Liam is covering my court costs. What happens with my court case, whatever is said, will that stay between us, or is he your client and has the right to know about it?”
If he wasn’t going to be just my lawyer and not also going back to Liam with the juicy details, then this was never going to work. I would have to find a lawyer in another city willing to travel. If and when I told Liam the truth would be up to me, and I was not going to tolerate having to deal with an outsider on the payroll spilling his guts.
“I can understand your concerns. However, my client is the one on the court documents. In this case, that is you. Mr. Mitchell is not the first person to cover someone’s legal fees. I get spouses, parents, friends, and anonymous donors that will pay for someone’s legal fees. They only get the bill, and the bill is even just the hours that I have put in. They don't even know what the hours were used for. Everything you say is between us and classified as confidential. Even if I wanted to, which I would never, I am bound legally by client/attorney privilege. If I break that, I risk being disbarred. Something I am never going to risk. You can speak openly and freely here without any worry.”
I couldn’t help the deep sigh of relief that escaped my mouth. It was a massive relief to hear him say this. To have that confirmation, even if part of my mind suspected that he wouldn’t be able to say anything. I could at least now speak freely and not have to worry about Liam getting any information that I wasn’t ready to give.
“I’ve never told anyone this. I never expected I would have to,” I started. I couldn’t believe I was actually going to say this out loud.
“Whatever it is, you can tell me. You need to tell me if it relates back to your case. I can’t properly help you if I am in the dark,” he advised.
I took in a shaky breath. I couldn’t believe I was actually going to say this out loud. I had been holding in this secret for so long. And now the first time I let it out will be to a complete stranger that doesn’t even know me and might not understand why I had done this.
“I made a decision out of fear and stupidity. Adam he um… he’s not Jeremy’s biological father.”
