He Picked the Wrong Wife to Sacrifice for His Sister novel · Chapter 17 of 24
Chapter 17: The Hearing
The emergency hearing was set for the following Monday, at nine, in a family courtroom on the third floor.
I went straight from the hospital. The baby was still in the unit, off her tube now and eating on her own, and the nurse had promised to call if anything changed.
My legal aid lawyer sat beside me in a rumpled suit with a paper cup of coffee.
Across the aisle sat Damon, in a navy suit, and the family's lawyer with a tidy stack of folders.
Judith sat behind them in lavender, with a Bible in her lap.
Donald sat three rows back, alone, with the accordion file on his knees.
Quinn had come in last, on the wheelchair, and stopped at the end of the back row.
I didn't turn around. I knew where he was anyway.
The judge was a gray-haired woman with half-glasses and a flat voice.
"We're here on a petition for temporary custody of an infant, filed by the father," she said. "Mr. Carraway's counsel, you may begin."
The family's lawyer stood and buttoned his jacket.
He was gentle and sad about it. He spoke of a young mother in a stressful week, a public disturbance at a church and at a place of business.
He spoke of a household she could no longer afford, a frozen account, a man in a wheelchair coming and going from her porch.
"The Carraways are only asking to help," he said. "In fact, they have prepared an offer."
He slid a document toward my lawyer.
"Joint custody with the child's grandparents. A trust of one million dollars for the child's education. A house on Isle of Hope in Ms. DeSaussure's name, free and clear."
"Your Honor, the offer is generous, and it's offered in good faith."
I read the paper, and what stood out was how much it cost them.
Judith had not once looked at me. She was watching her own hands on the Bible.
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