277 Rosaly’s custody
Angela squirmed nervously as she watched the judge’s expression change. Although she couldn’t see the video, she recognized her voice asking someone for help. That was definitely the day when she sought Evan. The man had betrayed her. Though she couldn’t exactly call it betrayal as he didn’t say anything about being on her side.
“Miss Williams, do you have any way to prove that this video is authentic and has not been edited?” Asked the judge.
Zaria was waiting for this question. “Yes. This is a copy I got from the surveillance camera of The West Resort. Mr. Evan West can testify that Angela asked him to lie about Desmond’s relationship with people as well as play the original video on the monitor. Your honor, there are other videos too.”
She took the chance to give every piece of evidence she had instead of waiting for Angela and her lawyer to discredit the first.
When Angela overheard the most recent feud she had with Zaria play out, she burst into tears.
“She made all of this up! Her brother and mother are both programmers. They could have easily created videos to frame me.”
The judge dropped the gavel. “The court is adjourned for three hours.”
Zaria was overjoyed but she kept it in. That was just enough time for the court to send someone to the West golf course to prove the authenticity of the video. It probably didn’t matter whether the others were true or not. In actual fact, the judge had probably made a decision already and was just doing it to make sure she was not overlooking anything.
As they left the courthouse, Angela glared at Zaria.
.....
“Will you be happy if my daughter is kept away from her mother like you were?”
Zaria clenched her fists and her first reaction was to want to launch a blow, but Desmond held her shoulders and calmed her down.
“Angela, I would be careful if I were you. The court is no longer in your favor. If you try to befriend us instead of causing trouble, we might let you visit Rosaly whenever she wants to see you. It will be a pity if we have to keep her away from her mother just because your heart is full of nothing but hate.”
“Don’t act like you care.” Angela rolled her eyes.
Desmond didn’t let down his guard. He took Rosaly in his arms worriedly. “She might try something. I think we should let grandmother pick Rosaly up.”
“I don’t want to go.” Rosaly spoke before Zaria could respond.
She was going to agree but when she heard Rosaly’s whine, she couldn’t bear to send her away.
“It’s okay. She can stay with us. We just need to leave as soon as the verdict is read.”
Desmond hugged both of them. “And here I was, worried that I would not be able to stop myself from spoiling her. You will probably spoil her rotten before I do.”
“We are hungry.” She spoke to shut him up. Sure enough, he switched his focus to taking them out for lunch. There was an Italian restaurant near the courthouse and they were in the mood for Italian food so they went over.
___
They returned just in time for the court to resume. They had spent all the extra time at the restaurant to avoid having to deal with whatever stunt Angela intended to pull.
Without wasting any time, the clerk read out the judge’s decision to the nervous trio.
“The court has investigated the facts brought forward earlier to determine the custody of Rosaly Aguilar. On one hand is a father who knows nothing about parenting and who is trying his best to learn how to take good care of his daughter, and on the other hand is a mother who turned her little girl into a popular ballerina with a seven figure net worth that she not aware of.”
Angela gasped as the clerk continued.
“Based on all the evidence that has been presented to us, the court has decided to give full custody rights of Rosaly Aguilar to her father Desmond Fort.”
When the judge slammed the gavel, Angela couldn’t hold it anymore.
“I did it so she would live the kind of life she deserves!” Angela yelled even though it was too late. “I wanted my daughter to have everything she needed. Her father didn’t give a dime to raise her. What was I supposed to do?”
“Maybe work your ass like everyone else does? Rosaly’s ten daddies were already providing enough anyway.” Zaria rolled her eyes and grabbed Rosaly’s hand to leave.
“No wonder she wanted custody of Rosaly. It was not because she actually wants her daughter but she just wants the ballerina who helps her live in luxury.”
Desmond wasn’t too surprised. “Angela Aguilar cares about no one but Angela Aguilar.”
He carried his daughter in his arms, smoothing her hair. “If you don’t want to dance ballet anymore, tell me about it and I will cancel your classes.”
Rosaly wasn’t sure whether she wanted it so she simply nodded.
___
“So, what’s the news?” Theodore asked when the trio arrived even though it was already obvious. The court would have made Desmond give Rosaly back to Angela immediately if they decided to let her stay with her mother. The fact that they were here and looked overjoyed meant the verdict had been in their favor.
As soon as they arrived, Rosaly had run all the way into the living room to find Theodore and was now playing with Des at his feet.
“Make a guess.” Desmond pretended to be mysterious.
“What guess? You get to live with Rosaly half the time, right?” Natalie spoke, poking her head from the hallway.
Zaria had not noticed her and was pleasantly surprised. Now that she had revealed her presence, the others showed up too.
“Surprise!” Ximena winked and pulled Liam to the living room behind her.
“Uncle Zeus!” Rosaly excitedly rushed to Zeus when he appeared from the kitchen with Devonte.
Zaria stared at them in amusement. “Devonte, Natalie and Zeus in the kitchen at the same time? That sounds too much like a recipe for disaster.”
“Not when I’m with them!” Lucy skipped out with a giggle. “I knew the court would be fair. It’s the life of an innocent little girl in question after all.”
“Yes.” She was still in awe. “Did you guys just assume we were going to win?”
“What do you know? I’m a fortune teller and I told them you would win.” Evan joked. He knew they would definitely win since they had the video of Angela admitting to want to lie about Desmond. The woman had even asked him to lie about bruises he saw on her when she left Desmond’s house in the past. Even if she had the law in her hands, there was no way she could get past that one.
Zaria found the explanation acceptable but it still felt as though she was missing something. She caught the subtle glances that passed between Desmond and Rosaly before the girl rushed out of the room. She didn’t need to ask before the girl returned with a piece of paper in hand and stood next to her father.
“Desmond?” She probed.
“Zaria,” He dug into his pants pocket.
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