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I nodded as I steadied my breathing. I turned to look at Jericho and Jungle, and they both nodded at the same time. Manman gave me a slight smile, but I could tell she was just as nervous as I was. Turning to the front, I could see the judge walking in. The bailiff beckoned for us to stand, and we did. Once the judge sat and told us to be seated, he remained quiet for a moment. He was looking over something and after he did, he said, “Let’s begin.”
He was extremely short, and I wasn’t sure if there was a reason for that or if that was just his personality. Kaysyn’s attorney stood and painted me out to be an unfit mother who left her baby at a fire station. I could feel my face heating up with anger.
“Ms. Marcellus is in no predicament to raise a child, and her decisions have proven that nothing will change. She’s currently romantically involved with a suspected drug dealer, and she comes from a family that has criminal dealings as well.”
“Objection, Your Honor. He’s not stating factual information.”
“You’ll get your turn, counselor.”
I supposed since this wasn’t a trial, they just let them say whatever the fuck they wanted to say. There was no jury or anything like that, just us and the judge. Of course, there was a stenographer, but that was it.
“Ms. Marcellus cannot financially take care of a child. While she offered to sign a contract, what assurances does my client have that she won’t go against it? While my client would have the contract on her side, just the hassle of proving that would be a hardship on my client as well as her daughter. Because of her family’s past, Ms. Marcellus isn’t as trustworthy. The child’s father is her own brother. What does that say about her?”
My eyes widened. This man was standing here insinuating that I would intentionally have sex with my own brother and have a baby with him. I felt like I was about to spew fire. When I turned to Kaysyn, her eyes were just as wide, as if that caught her off guard as well. Glancing at Seneca, I saw he had a face of stone, and I knew that he was the one that fed the attorney those details. My body was trembling, and I was doing my best not to bite my lips off.
When the attorney took his seat, I turned to look at my family. I didn’t know whether I wanted to burst into tears or go over there and fuck the two of them up. Jericho was staring at Seneca like he was going to go over there and choke him out at any moment. Manman and Whitney were holding onto his arms as if trying to restrain him. Jungle’s frown was deeper than before, and he looked more deadly than I’d ever seen.
My attorney stood and took the floor with a smirk on his face. He slowly shook his head and said, “We are here because of them. Ms. Marcellus never threatened to take Jericka away from them. For them to bring this to a place that’s supposed to represent justice is baffling to me. They are dragging people’s names through the mud without evidence. If anything, this shouldn’t have even been heard.”
He slid his hand down his face. “Ms. Marcellus wants what’s best for her daughter. She felt that it would be in her child’s best interest to stay with Ms. Anderson. The evilness that just spewed from her attorney’s lips may have changed her perception. My client is a victim of rape. Her older brother held her captive in Florida for years. It’s true that her family doesn’t have a favorable past, but what does that have to do with my client?”
I closed my eyes, trying to rid myself of the thoughts torturing me, but all I could see was Jules’s face. I began taking slow, deep breaths. “However, Ms. Marcellus is not destitute. She has a support system in place that will help her take care of a child. We are also here to prove that Ms. Marcellus did not abandon her baby. She was stolen from her. Since Ms. Anderson and her attorney seem to have their wires crossed, we’re here to set the record straight.”
My attorney sat next to me and grabbed my hand. I opened my eyes to stare at him. “You okay?”
“Yes.”
He gave my hand a squeeze as the judge allowed the other attorney to call Kaysyn to the stand. After she was sworn in, the attorney’s first question to her was, “Ms. Anderson, can you tell me why we’re here?”
“Yes. Fear. And to protect my daughter.”
“When did you adopt Jericka? How old was she?”
“She was nearly three years old when we met her. She was the most beautiful little girl I’d ever seen. I could no longer have children, and I’d always wanted a daughter. To know this precious angel was in the system opened my heart up to her in ways it had never experienced. She’s seven years old now. The adoption was final nearly a year later, but she’s lived with me for almost five years.”
“What was your first impression of Ms. Marcellus?”
She glanced at me and said, “I didn’t have any negative feelings toward Ms. Marcellus. She was quiet, but I understood that. She didn’t know anyone. I didn’t feel one way or the other about her until I noticed her staring at Jericka. I can assume now that she was probably trying to figure out if she was indeed who she thought she was.”
“Did that worry you?”
“Well, of course. A woman I didn’t know was staring at my daughter. That would make any mother uneasy.”
“Did she approach you?”
“No. Her brother and my fiancé work together, so they’re close. Her brother spoke for her first.”
“Do you think she’d seen that you noticed how she was staring at your daughter?”
“Absolutely. I believed that was why Jericho spoke for her first, to ease the tension.”
“No further questions.”
When my attorney stood, I could see the nerves in Kaysyn shift, like she was afraid of what he would ask her. She should be, because I had a feeling he was going to tear her a new asshole. “Hello, Ms. Anderson. I’m going to just get right to it. Did you actually think Ms. Marcellus willingly created a child with her older brother, Jules?”
“No. I didn’t even know that information until today.” She glanced at her attorney with a frown on her face. “I don’t agree with him insinuating that one bit.”
“So you sympathize with my client?”
