Filed to story: Offered to the Lycan King Novel by Misha K (River & Hunter)
Lena nodded, tampering her wolf down and together they entered the courtroom.
When Natalie entered the courtroom, she had that aura of confidence in her. Her boyfriend, Garry, was standing in his police uniform on the right side along with one more policeman. As soon as their gazes met, Garry winked at her. Natalie bit her bottom l*ip to suppress the smile. She chose to sit with her friend. Their lawyer, Melissa, a young attorney who had just graduated from the local law school, was sitting in front of them.
Being in the police, Garry knew every judge in the town and by using his contacts, he chose this date so that only this judge could preside over the case. This judge, Ferdinand, had done something very stupid. He had k*issed a hooker in a drunken stupor and the hooker had groped him. Things went wild after that. Though the judge had done all that in the most clandestine way, somehow, Garry recorded the video of the incident. He used it against the judge whenever he wanted. Though the judge had offered him a lot of money for the video, Garry had declined it because he was smarter. Now he could use the judge to his advantage.
From the corner of her vision Natalie saw that Lena had come to sit along with Shawn as the defendant. Her cousin Maria was also with them and a bunch of others who she wasn’t interested in. However, when her gaze landed on a hulk with them, she clenched her teeth, not out of anger, but out of pure fear. Hunter looked pretty intimidating. It was like he was someone who could simply k*ill people with his bare h*ands like ants. She averted her gaze from them quickly, because she knew that as soon as the judge would come, he wouldn’t even bother to listen to the defendant and pass the judgment in her favor.
The reason why she had chosen a rookie lawyer was because she didn’t have to pay her a hefty amount. The lawyer was also briefed by Garry that all she had to do was to present the case, talk about Natalie being the biological mother and then demand custody of her daughter. The judge would grant it without even hearing the defendant.
Everything was set. All they had to do was to do things l*egally. Garry could have done it by force also, but then things wouldn’t have turned out the way she wanted. Natalie took a deep breath in and plucked a bobbin out of her light blue p*ants. Her eyes went to Garry who was talking to his partner.
There was a murmur in the courtroom as all waited for the judge. As soon as the judge came, the bailiff announced him. All of them rose from their chairs.
Natalie took a deep breath, glanced at Garry, who nodded at her with a quiet smile, assuring her that everything was under control. A pale blush crept on her cheeks, knowing that she would be out of the courtroom in less than fifteen minutes.
But what happened next was something she had never anticipated. Instead of Ferdinand, a different judge, Judge McDonell entered. She snapped her gaze to Garry who was looking equally bewildered as he stared at the judge. Judge McDonell was one of the toughest judges of the town and people wished that their cases never came under him. He was fearless and a very honest, law-abiding citizen.
A shiver ran down her body. She had hired a rookie lawyer. She wondered if Melissa could stand against his queries. On the other h*and, she knew that William, Shawn’s lawyer, was a seasoned lawyer and had several wins under his belt.
Judge McDonell glanced at all of them and the case proceedings started. The prosecuting attorney, Melissa was asked to open the case. Melissa was already fl*ustered. Natalie leaned over and whispered to Melissa, “Just try to stall this case for the day, okay?” Melissa nodded and rose up.
She started with her opening note and went on to say, “Natalie is the biological mother of Lia and she is demanding her right. She wants custody of her daughter. Shawn Mendez is her biological father with whom she had an affair and they had a daughter together. She left him because at that time she wasn’t able to manage her studies and child together, but now that she can, she wants her baby back. And no one can stop the mother from getting her baby.”
“Don’t teach me what I can do or can’t!” The judge snapped at Melissa on her last sentence.
Melissa’s jaw dropped. “I— I am sorry Your Honor. I just meant—”
“Do you want to call people in the witness box?” He cut her mid-sentence.
Melissa was embarrassed by the way the judge snapped at her, but she quickly recovered and called Natalie in the witness box.
“Natalie, do you recognize the man sitting over there,” Melissa said, pointing at Shawn.
“Yes,” she replied in a meek voice. All she hoped was that somehow, she could stretch the time today so that the judge wouldn’t pass his judgment. She had to talk to Garry on how to go about it next. And she was very angry with him that Ferdinand didn’t come.
“Can you tell us what was your relationship with him?” Melissa asked.
Natalie made a sad face. “Shawn met me when I was in college. I was facing financial difficulty and he helped me out of it. I was obviously very happy about it and I really liked him a lot. He started taking advantage of me. He would come to my dorm often and give me more money if I needed it. Eventually, I moved in with him in his home. He took my liking for him as love. He asked me to give him s*exual favors and-” she bit her l*ip. “I became pregnant with his baby. I was simply horrified because I was in college. As soon as I gave birth to Lia, I couldn’t take anymore of his manipulations and moved out. At that time, I couldn’t take Lia with me because I didn’t have enough money to support her.” She looked at the judge and signed. “Now I want my baby back. I can’t live without her” She lifted her eyes to see Shawn. He was seething. He had clenched his jaws and Lena’s h*ands were on his. She averted her gaze because she knew that she had slapped Shawn with s*exual harassment now. And that was too good.
“Do you want to call anyone else to the witness box?” Judge McDonell asked.
“No, Your Honor,” Melissa replied.
The judge invited William Jeffrey. “Good morning, Your Honor,” William bowed his head slightly in respect. He started with the case. “My client Shawn Mendez and Natalie had a relationship on mutual consent. They were two mutually consenting adults, so if Natalie is saying that he took advantage of her, then why did she not come out with it at that time. If Shawn was taking advantage of her and was only interested in having s*ex with her, then why did she dump Lia on him? She should have taken Lia with her.” He looked at Natalie whose m*outh had dropped to the floor. “She left Lia with him because she was confident that he would take good care of her.”
William continued, “Shawn on the other h*and wanted her to stay back and not leave the child without a mother. He offered to marry her. The fact that Shawn brought up Lia on his own and is trying to give the best a father could give to his little child, means that he was never taking advantage of Natalie. He was committed to the relationship in a serious way. He could have given up the baby for adoption, but he didn’t. For the last ten months, Shawn had taken care of Lia as both mother and father and is fiercely protective about her. Had he just wanted to take advantage, then why just Natalie? He should have continued taking s*exual advantage of other women, but he didn’t. And the main reason was-” William narrowed his eyes on Natalie. “Shawn was busy taking care of Lia.” Natalie pursed her l*ips and side-glanced at Garry who was as stiff as a ramrod.
The judge chuckled. “Would you like to call anyone to the witness box?”
“Yes, Your Honor? William replied politely. “I would like to call Natalie again.”
When Natalie came, she was sure that she wouldn’t answer his questions, or she would dodge them.
“Miss Natalie,” William said, holding the rail of the witness box. “You say that you want your child’s custody.”
“Yes.”
“How are you going to support Lia once you have her? I am sure you must be having plans because you are still in college. Can you please elaborate on those plans?”
She l*icked her l*ips and looked at Melissa to save her, but Melissa just shrugged. “I don’t want to reveal them.”
“You don’t want to reveal them or you don’t have plans,” William smirked. “Or is it something else?”
“I have!”
The judge leaned forward. “Then tell the court of your plans, Natalie.”
Natalie gulped as she stared at William. The lawyer was relentless. She wanted to stall the hearing for as long as possible, so she thought of ways to dodge his question. Since the judge had also asked her to reveal her plans, she had to say something, but she had to say something that everyone would believe for the moment. “I lead a decent life with my boyfriend, Garry. We intend to marry soon,” she said and then pursed her l*ips. This was the best vague answer she could give. They could infer whatever they wanted to, but they couldn’t refute that Garry didn’t earn well.
William asked, “When will you finish college, Miss Natalie?”
“In two years,” she gave a clipped answer.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?