Chapter 9 - The Courtroom Showdown
The family courthouse was freezing cold.
I sat at the petitioner's table next to Harrison.
My hands were folded neatly in my lap.
Grant sat at the respondent's table across the aisle.
He looked utterly destroyed.
His expensive tuxedo had been replaced by an ill-fitting gray suit.
He had dark bags under his eyes, and his hands were trembling.
His high-priced defense attorney had quit two days ago after the embezzlement story broke.
Now, he was sitting with a nervous public defender.
Judge Ramirez entered the courtroom.
She was a stern woman with zero tolerance for nonsense.
Everyone stood up.
"Be seated," Judge Ramirez ordered, banging her gavel.
She adjusted her glasses and looked down at the massive file on her desk.
"We are here for the emergency custody and protective order hearing regarding the minor child, Sophie Bennett."
The judge glared at Grant.
"Mr. Bennett, I have reviewed the security footage submitted into evidence."
She shook her head in sheer disgust.
"I have been on the bench for twenty years."
"I have rarely seen such a blatant, callous disregard for a child's safety."
Grant stood up abruptly.
"Your Honor, please, I was just trying to protect the exhibit!"
"Sit down, Mr. Bennett!" the judge snapped.
Grant collapsed back into his chair, looking like a scolded child.
"You assaulted a seven-year-old girl over a piece of glass."
Judge Ramirez flipped to the next page in her file.
"Furthermore, I see pending federal charges for grand larceny and wire fraud."
She looked at me.
"Mrs. Bennett, you are requesting sole physical and legal custody?"
"Yes, Your Honor," I answered firmly.
"And a permanent restraining order?"
"Yes, Your Honor."
"Does the respondent have any objections?" the judge asked lazily.
She clearly did not care what Grant had to say.
Grant's public defender stood up slowly.
"Your Honor, my client requests supervised visitation."
"He loves his daughter."
I actually laughed out loud.
The sound echoed in the quiet courtroom.
"He hasn't called the hospital once to ask how she is doing," I stated clearly.
I looked directly at Grant.
"He only called to beg me for money."
Grant looked down at his shoes, unable to meet my eyes.
Judge Ramirez slammed her gavel down.
"This is not a difficult decision."
She signed the paperwork with aggressive, heavy strokes of her pen.
"Sole legal and physical custody is awarded to the mother."
"A ten-year restraining order is granted against the father."
"Mr. Bennett, if you come within five hundred feet of your daughter, you will be arrested."
The judge looked at the bailiff.
"Take him into federal custody for the pending fraud charges."
Two armed officers approached Grant's table.
They pulled his arms behind his back and clicked heavy handcuffs onto his wrists.
He looked back at me as they dragged him toward the side door.
"Clara, please!" he cried out.
"Don't do this to me!"
I simply turned my back to him.
May you like
I packed my files into my briefcase and walked out of the courtroom.
I was finally free.
