Chapter 49
Forty-Nine
MALAKI
I may find myself in a similar courtroom if I get my hands on Benedict.
The number of times I’ve pictured myself choking him out is enough to forbid myself from ever being alone in an empty room with him anytime soon—or ever.
The judge slams his gavel, and Reese jumps.
I squeeze my fists, my fingers aching from how tight they are. I’ve never endured torture like this.
Skating suicides for hours before I threw up? Shitty. That time I took a puck to the nose and gushed blood on the ice? Hurt like a bitch. Hearing Reese tell me to leave the courthouse? Knife to the heart. But watching her struggle up there alone? I’d rather die.
“Mr. Whitney, since you filed the emergency motion, you may proceed.”
Instead of Benedict standing up and speaking to the judge directly, it’s his lawyer.
“Your honor, my client fears for his child’s safety and well-being.”
My teeth grind against one another. This fucking asshole.
“Ms. Moreno is erratic, indecisive, and impulsive. Just the other day, the child was in the emergency room getting stitches–”
“Do you have evidence of that?”
The judge is calm, but I’m shifting in my seat every few seconds. Reese’s head is hanging low, but she remains quiet.
The bailiff takes a paper from Benedict’s lawyer and hands it off to the judge.
He scans it and then eyes the lawyer once more.
“This is proof of the child being in the emergency room. This isn’t enough evidence to say that the mother did something to cause the injury or that the safety of the child is jeopardized. Was Children Services called?”
“Well, no–”
Benedict interrupts his lawyer, all eyes flying to him. “Of course not. She knows how to spin a story, but my daughter sustained the injury while on her watch. Who knows what she and her fiancé were up to when this occurred.”
The judge is irritated. He slams his gavel again. “Mr. Whitney, if you would like to speak, please take the stand. I do not tolerate speaking out of turn.”
It only takes a minute for Benedict to be sworn in by the bailiff, then he’s spouting at the mouth with all sorts of lies and exaggerations. A drop of sweat slips down my spine, my jaw aching from clenching.
“Mr. Whitney, did you personally witness any harm to your daughter?”
“Well, no, but–”
“And no report was made?” The judge flips through the documents again, and it’s obvious that Benedict is angry he’s not getting his way.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw a tantrum.
He goes on and on, bringing up past incidents and even Reese’s home life before moving in with me.
At one point, he even says that Reese was charged with a misdemeanor as a minor because she assaulted her father’s friend.
“So, just to be clear…” Judge Ramirez looks to Reese and then to Benedict. “You’re asking me to remove custody from the child’s mother based solely on your word and past allegations that aren’t documented?”
Benedict pounds the table. "There's documentation!”
Benedict’s lawyer whispers something to him, clearly attempting to calm him down.
Judge Ramirez raises his voice. “You are not helping your case by acting out in my courtroom. I suggest you listen to your lawyer.”
Benedict shoves his lawyer’s hand away and crosses his arms.
The judge turns toward Reese, and my heart pounds. “Ms. Moreno, I’m going to give you a chance to respond to the allegations.”
Reese stands nervously. Her breaths are shaky, her back straight as a board.
“Your honor, my fiancé wasn’t even home at the time of the incident, and I wasn’t distracted while caring for my daughter.
She is nearly a year old. She’s beginning to pull herself up and take risks.
She’s fast too.” Reese laughs softly. “She climbed the first two stairs, and before I could run over to her, she fell and hit her head. There was no abuse or neglect. It was simply an accident.”
“Was it an accident when you bashed someone’s knees in with a baseball bat at the age of seventeen?” Benedict shouts. “Who’s to say you won’t do that again in the presence of my daughter? Or worse, to my daughter.”
Reese winces.
Judge Ramirez bangs his gavel. “Mr. Whitney, this is your last warning.”
I wipe the back of my hand over my damp forehead. I’m going to take a baseball bat to Benedict’s knees when this is all said and done.
Benedict sits with the help of his lawyer gripping him by the shoulder and forcefully pushing him into his chair.
The judge bounces his attention between Reese and Benedict, and it’s obvious he wants to give into Reese, but he’s hesitating.
“Listen. I am not dismissing the seriousness of the claims from Mr. Whitney. I take the safety of children very seriously, and without corroborating evidence from either side, this court is in a difficult position. As of right now, it’s your word against his.”
So what does that mean?
Benedict’s lawyer stands. “May I speak, your honor?”
He nods.
“Considering Mr. Whitney has never had an incident like this happen or ever been accused of harm to their daughter, I feel that temporary custody with the father would be beneficial until the custody hearing.”
Reese shoots up out of her seat but waits until the judge nods in her direction. “That’s because he is never with his daughter.” She glares at Benedict and his lawyer before looking back at the judge. “And that is not my doing. The offer is always there, and I’ve been willing to compromise, but–”
The judge puts his hand up to stop her. “This is becoming messy, and I don’t like messy. You have both put me in an impossible situation. Your word against his.”
Suddenly, I find myself standing. “Your honor, if I may…”
A hush travels through the courtroom.
All eyes are on me, and my heart pounds so hard my chest tightens.
I make no move to look at either Reese or Benedict. I put all my attention on Judge Ramirez.
“And you are?”
“Reese’s fiancé. Malaki Young.”
He nods.
Before I can think things through, I go with my gut instinct and continue. “I’m willing to take temporary custody of Charleigh until this is resolved.”
I glance at Reese briefly. Shock ripples across her face. The light above her head shows just how glossy her eyes are.
I move my attention back to the judge. “I can provide a safe environment. A baby gate has been installed since Charleigh’s fall, and she’s grown comfortable with me since her mother and I have gotten engaged.
Reese’s sister, Zoe, is a college student but is around often enough that she’ll be another familiar fa–”
Benedict stands abruptly. “This is ridiculous! He’s known the mother of my child for no more than–”
“Sit down, Mr. Whitney!” The judge’s voice booms throughout the courtroom.
Judge Ramirez eyes me closely, and I can tell he’s considering this to be the best option.
Reese and I will figure out the rest after this case is closed, or at least while it’s on hold, but there is no way in hell I’m allowing a man like Benedict to take Charleigh into his possession like she’s a bargaining chip.
And the mere thought of Charleigh being removed from Reese and thrust into the arms of a stranger kills me just as much.
I’d adopt Charleigh right now if that’s what it took.
My heart races, and I open my mouth to say just that, but then the door flies open behind us.
“Your honor!”
I turn, and my vision tunnels onto the PI I hired weeks prior.
“I apologize for the abrupt interruption, but I have evidence relevant to this motion.”
Mark eyes me with a tight-lipped smile, but I stay rigid in my spot.