Page 62 of Under Their Protection

“Take a deep breath, Anika,” Theo says softly.

“See? Mentally unstable,” my mom says as she walks past us.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Mia nearly shouts. “She is your fucking daughter, you stupid bitch!”

“Mia,” Rowan says softly. “It’s not worth the stress.”

“Useless cunt,” Mia mumbles before turning back to me.

“Focus on me, not them,” Theo says.

“They won’t leave me alone. I just want to be left alone,” I whimper, trying to not fall apart.

“I know you do. We just need to get through today, okay?” Theo says and I nod.

“Alright, Anika. Your name has been legally changed, so I am going to be referring to you as Anika Garcia. All the documents are under that name as well,” Emma says.

“I like the sound of that,” I smile and relax a bit after she distracts me from my panic.

“It suits you,” Mia says. “Chin up, beautiful. You’re the one with a support system. Not them.”

“You’re right,” I say. “Let’s go.” I take Rowan and Max’s hand and we walk into the courtroom. Emma leads us to sit in the front on the left side of the room. My parents, sister, and ex are sitting in the front on the right. The judge comes in and goes through one case before calling us forward.

“Alright, Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, you are calling into question your daughter's mental health and attempting to place a conservatorship on her but you're first contesting her recent marriage. Is this correct?” Judge Michelle Knuth asks.

“Yes, Ma’am. We are concerned for her well-being and have been for many years,” my mom says.

“Why now?” the judge asks.

“She has become more erratic. She recently had a breakdown when her fiancé left her then she promptly moved in with her boss and is now married to him. We are concerned that she is illand that he is taking advantage of her. We wish to get her help, but she refuses to accept it,” she says.

I roll my eyes and the Judge sees. “Mrs. Garcia, do you have anything to say about this claim?”

I look at Emma and she answers for me. “Mrs. Garcia has a lot that needs to be said but we would first like to submit the evaluation she has done on the state of her mental health. Dr. Theo Dathe performed the evaluation Monday evening via video chat when she was away for a business conference with her husband and boyfriend,” Emma says.

“We would like to question the legitimacy of anything he has to say. Anika has a history of manipulating people,” my dad says.

“Mr. Dathe frequently performs these tests and testifies on the information collected. He has been declared an expert in many trials. His opinion is unbiased,” Emma says.

“I have worked with Mr. Dathe a few times myself. I would love to hear his professional opinion on the matter. Mr. Dathe?” Judge Knuth says.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Theo says as he stands up and joins me, Emma, Rowan, and Max at the front table. “I had the initial session with Mrs. Garcia on Monday. I went through standard questioning to assess her mental state at the time of the session. I asked her a series of questions about her life as well as her emotions in the way she saw them. During the test, she was responsive and cooperative. Her mental state was level-headed, and her emotions were appropriately displayed depending on the topic at hand.

“She was in the presence of her husband and boyfriend who remained on camera with her, so I was ableto observe them as well. They both presented as genuine in their concerns over how her mental health is being affected by her biological family. They did not display any body language that would suggest that they are in any way manipulating her words or actions in general. From that short session, I can say, without a doubt, that their relationship is healthy and positive for all parties included. They have all known each other for several years, so there is a large amount of trust between the three of them.

“It wasn’t until Mrs. Garcia’s childhood was mentioned that she became upset. I did get her to open up about a few incidents. Because of their nature, she was reluctant to say anything specific at first, but we did work through things and she eventually did explain things in more detail. I feel that the diagnosis that I made is extremely accurate. Any reputable psychiatrist would come to the same conclusions.” Theo explains.

“What conclusions did you draw from this session? I am also curious to know if Mrs. Garcia would be willing to allow you to speak on the specifics of the session,” Judge Knuth says. Theo looks at me to answer.

“He can speak on anything that I stated in the session,” I say and the Judge nods before turning to Theo.

“I diagnosed Anika with severe complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This means that she experienced trauma over a long period of time that resulted in PTSD. When she is triggered, she seems to have a few different ways she reacts. It seems that anger is a quick response when she is triggered but during the session, she was able to self-regulate perfectly when she realized that she was becoming overwhelmed. Another reaction I have seen is that she reverts into a child-like state and becomes scared essentially.Shewill seek comfort or support from someone trusted, just like a child would do with their parents when they hide behind them.

“No matter her reaction though, she remains perfectly competent and capable of making logical choices. When she becomes triggered, she takes notice of this immediately and starts to attempt self-regulation. I believe that despite the severe neglect she experienced during her entire childhood, she has created a stable life for herself. She has been at the same job for eight years. She has a bachelor's degree and she graduated at the top of her class. She has a healthy relationship with her best friend. She left a toxic relationship and made logical choices that led her to marry Mr. Garcia and begin a relationship with Mr. Rivers. Their relationship is healthy and caring. They both show her love and respect, and she responds appropriately by showing them the same affection,” he explains.

“And the specifics? I would like your opinion as a professional on the legitimacy of the things that she is stating in her session as well,” Judge Knuth says.

“The most concerning of the things she stated was that her parents have made claims that the only reason she was born was so they could use stem cells from her umbilical cord to aid in the treatment of her biological sister's cancer. She further stated that she was made to donate bone marrow at four years old. This was backed up by medical records of significant scars she has in an area that is commonly used for donation in adults.

---