Chapter fifty-four
MICHAEL
Caleb and Margaret were beaming, as if this wasn’t a court hearing but one of their social events. They were dressed elegantly, and Margaret held Alice in her arms like a trophy, in the pose of a proud grandmother, even though they were accompanied by a nanny—who was no longer Alanis.
My daughter stretched her little arms out toward me when she saw me, but Margaret wouldn't let me get close. That broke me.
But perhaps it was for the best. I had no chance in that case. Accepting the agreement was the greatest victory I could take that day.
I was sitting on the bench in the courthouse hallway across from the courtroom, and the Harrises and their attorneys were keeping a safe distance from me. It was about ten minutes before the start time when Janet arrived and sat down next to me.
“Sorry I'm late,” she asked.
Janet always arrived well in advance for her appointments; arriving just ten minutes early was considered late to her.
“Tell me that your 'delay' was in an attempt to find some new information that could save me.”
“It was indeed, but I couldn't. I've been trying to talk to Camila since early morning, but her phone is out of range. Have you talked to her?”
I cowardly hadn’t. Living without Camila was an idea I could no longer live with, but at the same time, I needed to stay away from her those days.
I knew that crazy redhead well and I knew she would insist on trying to find ways to find information that would dismantle the arguments the Harrises had against me.
And I couldn't allow Camila to risk herself anymore because of me.
And taking risks was all she had done since she met me.
“No. But why do you want to talk to Camila?”
Janet pretended to look at the stack of papers she was carrying in her hands.
“Nothing special. I just like talking to her.”
“Janet? ...Janet, look at me!” She raised her face, looking at me. “What business do you have with Camila?”
“We talk badly about you.”
There was a good chance that this was true. However, I knew there was something more to it, and I was worried about what it could be.
Finally, the door to the courtroom was opened and we were invited in.
The room had a transparent glass wall, although the outside was mirrored, which overlooked the courthouse parking lot, and a large rectangular wooden table.
In front of it was a bench where the judge and the clerk were already seated.
I sat next to Janet, and on the opposite side of the table sat Caleb, Margaret—with Alice on her lap—and their attorney.
The attorney immediately began to present his proposed settlement.
He made a point of presenting the terms in detail, and I waited for Janet to speak up and say that she accepted, as we had agreed.
However, she didn't say anything, and I looked at her, noticing that she was distracted with her eyes fixed on her cell phone that she left on the table.
“Janet!” I nudged her, making her realize that everyone there was waiting for an answer from her.
“Excuse me, I need a minute to review the terms.” She held out her hand, asking the other lawyer to hand her the papers with the proposal.
And I couldn't understand what she intended with that.
We already knew the terms, we had already talked about it and the agreement was that we would accept. Weekly visits to my daughter would never be enough for me, but either I accepted that, or I could risk losing any chance of being with her.
As my lawyer looked through the papers, seemingly without any hurry, the sound of Alice's crying reached my ears and I looked at her, seeing that she was waving her little arms at me, wanting to come to my lap.
By instinct, I stretched out my hands to grab her, but Margaret pulled her away in time, turning her back to me.
“Be quiet, Alice, we'll be going home soon,” Margaret whispered, trying to force a caring tone into her voice, where in reality I only felt impatience.
The judge spoke, demanding a response from Janet, who asked for one more minute.
I swear I didn't understand what she was analyzing there. I took a breath to ask her that, but the words died in my mouth when my eyes stopped on the glass wall and saw a familiar figure running into the courtyard. I blinked a few times, trying to make sure I was seeing correctly.
“Is that Camila?” I asked, incredulous.
Janet turned in the same direction to look at what I was indicating. Then she sat back in her chair and handed the papers back to the other lawyer, saying, “We do not accept the proposal.”
“What?” I practically shouted, looking back at her. Then I started whispering. “Are you crazy, Janet?”
“Trust me, kid. Have I ever let you down in my life?”
Before I could answer, the Harris lawyer took a deep breath and began to lecture me, telling me all the facts that made me a terrible father.
I confess that I was no longer paying much attention to what he was saying, because my attention was divided between Alice, who was still crying, and trying to understand why Janet had refused the agreement and what Camila was doing in the courthouse.
As if I were trapped in a dream where nothing made sense, I saw the silhouette of more people running in the courthouse courtyard again and looked at the glass wall again.
This time, the one who came running in was a man I didn't know, followed by... my mother?
What the hell was my mother doing there? And Camila? And who was that guy?
Just to make things even stranger, my brothers were right behind them. They weren't running, but walking quickly.
My two brothers! Even busy Logan.
Had someone slipped drugs back into something I drank?
“ Dadda ! Dadda !” Alice's little voice, amidst her crying, brought me back to reality. To the certainty that it was real, even though, now, it seemed more like a dream.
She had called me dad for the first time.
I stood up and reached out to grab her. Margaret also stood up and stepped back. That angered the judge.
“Gentlemen, please remain seated, the hearing has not yet ended.”
“Your Honor...” I said, trying to control the emotion in my voice. “I'm sorry, that was the first time my daughter said the word 'dadda'. She's crying a lot and showing signs that she wants to come with me. I just want to hold her for a while, please.”
Margaret protested, but the judge, seeming to take pity on my case, asked her to hand over the child to me, and she did so, visibly reluctantly.
As if by magic, Alice stopped crying as soon as she was in my arms, and I sat down again, hugging her tightly, thinking how I would bear it if this were the last time I could hold her in my arms.
And perhaps it really was. Hearing all that was said about me, I thought that even I would not leave a child in the care of someone like the man described in those words.
When the lawyer finally finished his speech, the judge turned to Janet and me and asked if we had anything to say. Janet looked at me silently, as if asking if I wanted to speak. And I did, even though I had nothing really concrete to say.
“Your Honor, unfortunately I have no way of proving that the things said about me are outdated or untrue. It is true that I was an irresponsible and reckless playboy, but that is in the past. Since I discovered Alice’s existence, I have changed.
It is also true that not only she, but also my fiancée have been the target of kidnapping attempts recently.
And I know that this was all a setup against me, but unfortunately I have no proof of that. So, all I have left are my words.”
“ Dadda !” Alice repeated, bringing her little hand to my face.
When I looked at her, I was greeted by the most beautiful smile in the entire world, and at that, I couldn't hold back the tears.
Looking at her, I continued to speak, “I didn't really know what love was before this little girl came into my life.
She was the one who opened my heart, and it was thanks to her, too, that I fell in love with a wonderful woman, who also loves my daughter and would be the best mother in the world to her.
And all we want is to be able to have that opportunity.
It's because of Alice that I've been trying to be a better man, day after day. For her and for...”
My speech was interrupted when the door to the room was violently opened. Everyone present – even Alice – turned their eyes there, finding Camila completely out of breath, as if she had run a marathon to get there.
“And for... the crazy woman who just invaded the room...” I finished, incredulous.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” the judge asked, completely in shock.
Camila took a few more steps, entering the room, and raised her hand, looking at the judge.
“I protest, your honor!” she managed to say, almost breathless.
“Protest against what?”
“I... I don't know... But I always hear that in movies.”
Caleb started to speak as he walked towards Camila.
“Who let that crazy woman in here? Isn't there security in this courthouse?” He threatened to grab her by the arm, but I got up and, taking Alice with me, practically ran, getting in between the two of them and stopping that son of a bitch from touching her.
“Stay away from my fiancée,” I said in a threatening tone.
The judge stood up, irritated by the whole thing.
“Order! Or I'll call security. By the way, where is security? Who is this woman and what is she doing here?”
Camila took a deep breath and turned back to face the judge, starting to speak, “I can explain everything, Your Eminence...”
“Your Excellency,” I corrected her.
“That's it. Mr. Judge, can it be? It can, right?”
“Just tell me what you came here to do,” the judge ordered, already more than impatient.
“I brought new evidence to the case, which shows that Michael is innocent of everything those two accuse him of, and that they were the ones who set it all up. Please, I just need five minutes, and I will be able to explain everything.”
A real commotion ensued there. The door opened again and the security guard who was supposed to be on duty in the hallway came in, but only now did he seem to realize that there had been an invasion of the courtroom.
Caleb and Margaret began shouting for them to get 'that crazy woman' out of there.
Janet shouted back, asking them to let Camila speak.
But the most significant sound that reached my ears was Alice's laughter, who shook her arms happily upon seeing Camila.
“Hi, princess! I missed you too...” Camila said, holding Alice's little hand, where she placed a kiss. Then she looked at me. “I missed your idiot father too, but I'll deal with him later.”
“Silence!” The judge's shout made everyone fall silent and look at him. Then, he pointed at Camila and ordered the security guard. “Let the girl say what she came to say. And all of you go back to your seats.”
The guard nodded and left the room again. Taking Alice with me, I returned to my seat next to Janet. The Harrises protested a little more, but eventually they too complied and sat back down.
Camila remained standing and turned to face the judge.
She took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she had to say.