Chapter 7
Court day came two weeks later.
The courtroom was cold, sterile, full of people who wanted to take Lila away from the only person who’d ever chosen her.
Victoria sat in the front row, dressed in a modest black dress, her face perfectly made up, playing the part of the wronged, grieving fiancée to perfection.
Eleanor sat next to her, her face cold, holding a stack of papers that were supposed to prove Ethan was unfit.
Our lawyer was good, but Eleanor’s was better—expensive, sharp, famous for winning impossible custody cases.
The trial started with Victoria on the stand.
She lied through her teeth, her voice soft, trembling, like she was about to cry.
“Ethan has always had a temper,” she said, dabbing at a fake tear with a tissue. “He was violent, once, when we fought. I was so scared of him. When he took that little girl from the wedding, I knew something was wrong. He’s not stable. He only took her to make me jealous, to get back at me for calling off the wedding.”
The judge nodded, his face serious, and my blood boiled.
Next, Eleanor testified.
She pulled out photos of Mia’s tiny apartment, of Lila’s old hand-me-down clothes, of the hospital bills Mia couldn’t pay.
“My daughter suffered for seven years because of this man,” she said, her voice shaking with real grief. “He didn’t care. He never looked for her, never tried to help. Now he wants to play daddy? It’s too late. Lila deserves stability. She deserves a family that loves her, not a man who only found out about her because she showed up at his wedding.”
Our lawyer cross-examined them both, poking holes in their stories, proving Victoria had lied about the abuse, proving Eleanor had cut Mia off when she got pregnant, refusing to help her, refusing to even meet Lila until Victoria called her.
But the damage was done.
The judge looked at Ethan with doubt in his eyes, and I felt sick.
Then it was Lila’s turn to testify.
The judge had the jury leave the room, to make her more comfortable. He knelt down in front of the witness stand, his voice soft.
“Hi, Lila,” he said, smiling. “I just want to ask you a few questions, okay? Nothing scary. Who do you live with right now?”
“With my daddy,” Lila said, her voice clear, no fear. “And Auntie Claire.”
“Are you happy there?”
Lila nodded so hard her pigtails bounced. “I have a pink bed. With a canopy. And Daddy makes me dinosaur pancakes. And he sings my lullaby when I have bad dreams.”
The judge smiled. “That sounds nice. Now, Lila—your grandma says she wants you to come live with her. She says she can give you lots of nice things. Would you like that?”
Lila shook her head immediately, her face serious.
“No,” she said, loud and clear. “I don’t know her. She was mean to my mama. She didn’t help us when we were hungry. My daddy didn’t know about me. It’s not his fault. Mama said he’d keep me safe. And he does.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the crumpled drawing from the wedding—the one of her and Ethan, the first thing she’d ever given him. She held it up for the judge to see.
“Mama sent me to him,” she said, her voice trembling a little, but firm. “She said he’s my family. I want to stay with my daddy. Please don’t make me go.”
The judge took the drawing, looking at it for a long time.
He looked at the DNA test, at Mia’s letter, at the CPS reports that said Lila was thriving with Ethan, at the photos we’d brought of Lila laughing, playing, covered in paint, happy.
He looked at Victoria, cold and calculating, and Eleanor, bitter and grieving.
Then he looked at Ethan, who was sitting on the edge of his seat, his face pale, his whole life hanging in the balance.
The judge cleared his throat.
“After reviewing all the evidence,” he said, his voice steady, “it is clear that Lila’s best interests are served by remaining in the care of her biological father, Ethan Carter. Mr. Carter has proven himself to be a loving, committed parent. The allegations of abuse and instability are unfounded, proven to be manufactured by Ms. Victoria Hale in an act of revenge.”
He turned to Eleanor.
“Ms. Voss, you are granted supervised weekly visits with Lila, should you choose to take them. But any further attempt to disrupt this child’s life will result in those visits being revoked immediately.”
He banged his gavel.
“Case dismissed.”
Ethan let out a sob, jumping out of his seat, and ran to Lila, lifting her up and spinning her around, laughing and crying at the same time.
Victoria stormed out of the courtroom, her face twisted with rage, and Eleanor sat frozen, staring at the floor, defeated.
We’d won.
May you like
But as I watched Victoria leave, I knew she wasn’t done.
She’d lost the battle. But she’d never stop fighting the war.
