Page 47 of No Regrets

Chapter Ten

After weeks of searching for an answer, Kaden had to face the court again, and he hated being unprepared. His case was basically no different than the last time he came before a judge, and if what Brianna said about this one was true, he really dreaded it.

She had called him earlier to wish him good luck, and boy, did he need it. He’d worked his ass off trying to figure out this case, spending nights away from his family and with an uninvited house guest. Once he had time, she’d be out on her ass faster than he could say: Go. But he came in tired, locked himself away in his room, and studied until he passed out on his bed.

For the most part, she never bothered him. She was too busy partying and came in at all hours of the night. She tried to get in his bed a couple of times, but he didn’t allow it so she gave up. She had plenty of other men she could play around with. She didn’t need him.

He stood on the steps of the court house, waiting for his client. If he didn’t get her, her grandchild, she’d be shipped back to Cuba and the child will be tossed about ignored and discarded like an old dish rag. He’d seen too many of the cases his father handled and knew it to be true. He hated family law, which is why he had gone into criminal law instead.

“Mister! Mister!” the young child shouted from a distance away from him, securely placed at a social workers side. “She’s gone! You have to help my grandmother! The bad people took her back to Cuba!”

Kaden looked at his watched and pulled out his cell phone to call Tiffani at the office. He spoke after she answered. “I need you to pull up immigration files on my client.”

He waited while she typed in a series of things then said, “Immigration shipped her back. Her visa expired yesterday.”

“Fuck!” he shut the cell phone and climbed the steps to the courthouse. This little girl didn’t have a chance if he didn’t do something now.

Once inside the courtroom the Honorable Judge Ryan Parker stood before him, catching his eye and making him cringe. Yeah, he could tell his wife hit the money on the head when she insisted he was a prick. He didn’t say two words but he could tell.

Case after case went by, until finally they called Kaden’s case. He steeped forward along with the social worker handling the little girl’s case and waited for the judge to enter back into the courtroom.

“This is adoption case 34560.” He looked over at Kaden and the empty space next to him. “Counselor, where is your client?”

“Her visa wasn’t supposed to expire until two weeks after this hearing, but Immigration forced her back to Cuba this morning.” Kaden knew it was a weak argument, because if he didn’t have the grandmother, he didn’t have the case.

“And how can this little girl be adopted if there is no one here to adopt her?” The judge looked at the files, then took off his glasses, and threw them to the side. “You’re wasting everyone’s time, counselor. Especially mine.”

“I’d like to file a motion to bring her back and reschedule the hearing for the adoption. The grandmother wants the little girl. I think it’s only fair that family should come before the state.”

He looked down at the files reading the child’s information. “It says here mother is dead and father is in jail. Grandmother is illegal. If she were to gain custody, I suppose she wanted the right to stay in America too, huh? Counselor, let me get one thing straight. When you come in my courtroom, you have all your ducks in a row. You have your client by your side, and all the paperwork filled out. You don’t sit there acting like a rookie to this and expect me to give you leniency. Motion for grandmother, denied. As for case 34560, dismissed.” He banged the gavel, and the room fell silent.

“No!” The little girl shouted at the judge. “No! I don’t want to go back there! I want to be with my grandmother! Please, mister! Please! Tell him to do something!”

Judge Parker looked at Kaden expecting him to quiet the girl down. Kaden just stared at the little girl as she rattled on through her tears of how she wanted to be with her grandmother.

“Get the whiny kid out of my court room,” Judge Parker said, standing to move to his chambers.

Before either Kaden or the social worker could stop her, she took off toward the judge. “I hate you, you evil man! You just like them! You hate us and you’re just like them!”

She pounded her little fists into his legs. Two bailiffs came over and dragged the child away crying, kicking and screaming at Judge Parker. Everyone stood silently watching the child, and Kaden turned to see a bit of sympathy cross his face. He met Kaden’s eyes, turned quickly, and left the room.

So much for winning this case.

* * * *

Stopping by the apartment to clean up his mess, he ran into Bethany who seemed to be packing her belongings. It was unusual to see her at this time of the day, nevertheless he really didn’t care.

“I laid your key on the counter. My dad said I could stay in the lake house in the mountains so I’ll be leaving.” She shuffled her bags next to the doorway. “You look like you lost your best friend. What’s wrong?”

Kaden stuffed the key into his pocket. “I lost my case today.”

She frowned. “You never lose a case.”

“Yeah, well, I did this one.” He grabbed a bottle of Irish whiskey and poured a generous amount of it in a glass. “So I’m going to get drunk and pack all my shit up and go home to my wife and kid.”

“You really love her, don’t you?” Bethany stepped in front of him taking a drink from the glass.

He stared, biting his lip as their eyes met. “Yes, I do.”

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