Romans & histoires Court Attention At All Cost

“Excellent choices. I’m glad you thought about the benefits on my behalf. But I found both the options… insufficient.” His confidence fell another point. “You want to drag this to court and make Eileen and Bethany suffer?” His voice was low, almost threatening. I shrugged. “We will see if Eileen and Bethany suffer, or you run out of funds to fight this grueling court battle.” I cocked my head to the side. “Do you know how long custody battles take? A few years, if the court doesn’t have a backlog of cases.” Arthur had obviously known that. The court summon was a scare tactic. If Eileen had been alone, she would have fallen for it. Still, she could, if I didn’t hold her back.

The concern visible on his face seemed to reflect her own worries. “I haven't been able to come up with anything, sir,” she confessed, her voice a mixture of uncertainty and frustration. “I’m aware of that fact, child. But we can’t afford to waste any more time. I want us to put our heads together and come up with something. We need an attorney—a very experienced one at that. We only have two days remaining until the court hearing, so we better work up some magic. Do you know any attorneys at all?” Mr. Thomas pressed, urgency creeping into his voice.

And since I was damn sure I kept it there the previous night, it could only mean that someone had engineered its disappearance. “Mr. Matthews…” he hesitated a beat before he continued. “If we don’t renegotiate and try to come to an agreement with them, this all ends up on the plate of a judge who may or may not end up deciding the case in her favor. And that would have already cost us more time and money.” After another desperate search of the fridge, I slammed the door shut. “I’m not renegotiating, Peterson. She either agrees to the terms or I’ll see her in court.”

“Hey.” “Did your mom talk to the lawyer?” She nodded. “Yeah. He said we’ll have to go to court. Maybe even back to New York. He’s claiming Mom’s unstable.” “That’s bullshit.” She gave a weak laugh. “Yeah, well, he’s good at that.” I hesitated for a moment before reaching out, my fingers brushing hers. “You’re not going anywhere, Miley. I’ll fight this with you if I have to.” She looked up at me, eyes glimmering in the fading light. “Why do you care so much?”

“Yes. Our information says your mother is a real predator in the courtroom.” "That's true. That's what I'm afraid of when an opponent in the courtroom will be pushed to the wall ruthlessly.” “And that's not the goal?” Patrick asked. “Not always. At tomorrow's hearing, we planned to reach an agreement with the client, but knowing my mother, it may not come to that. My mother doesn’t recognize half-wins, as she recognizes a settlement.” “It doesn't look good. You better be in the courtroom, not your mother.” “I have no other choice, man.”

If you decide to sue and leverage her PR team, she might be able to find a scapegoat. I looked disheartened, asking, "So the cost of cyber violence is that minimal?" "There's no way the law can fully control morality," Finley added after a pause, "but without pushing back, this sort of behavior is bound to worsen." I remained silent for a moment before asserting, "I'm taking this all the way to court!" Finley chuckled, "I'll do everything in my power to help." "Do I need to pay a portion of the attorney's fees upfront?" I suddenly recalled this.

I held his gaze, unbothered by his persistence. I nodded at Attorney David, my voice unwavering. “Let’s do that. If there is anything you need, please—” “You won’t have to do anything, ma’am,” Attorney David interrupted. His determination was unshaken. “This is why you paid over 400k for this case. It is my responsibility to see it through and ensure you get the justice you deserve,” he assured me. I nodded once more, satisfied. With that, we departed from the courtroom. Evelyn, Mirabel, Natasha, and I headed home in silence, each lost in thought.