Page 29 of After Midnight

“That won’t do, Your Honor. The money set aside was also used to support the plaintiff’s other children, who she is raising as a single mother.”

“I object, Your Honor. That isn’t stated anywhere in my client’s trust, and furthermore, the stepchildren Mr. Clifford speaks of have their own trust, established by their biological parents before they passed.”

The old judge lifted his hands in the air and the courtroom fell silent. “That’s enough, that’s enough. Clearly, this is more complicated a matter than can be decided at this hearing. I’m going to order that Ms. Shipley be given the stipend she had consistently received before the defendant turned twenty-one.”

When Mr. Langdon objected, the judge added, “At least, until we meet in court again.” Then he actually winked at my evil stepmother and turned to his assistant. “Set up a time for two months from today.”

“My sisters,” I said quickly, sounding panicked even to my ears. With everything going on amid this courtroom shitshow, I had to make sure Alli and Olivia were okay.

Mr. Langdon stood up immediately. “Your Honor, I’d like to request my client be given primary custody of his two sisters throughout the process. Especially since you’re ordering he financially support them via his trust fund until our next court appearance.”

That earned him a nasty look from the old judge. Before he could get a word in, though, Mr. Langdon continued. “Your Honor, I should also state that as in Sexton v. Sexton, if one party is required to provide the majority of the financial support for children, he or she is entitled to one hundred percent of parental custody of said children.”

The judge opened and shut his mouth multiple times before he finally said, “Well, my hands are tied here because that is pretty much an ironclad rule in this court. One I’ve defended myself on multiple occasions. However, this isn’t a custody case. Mr. Lawson may submit that if he wishes to do so, but until then, I don’t think Sexton v. Sexton applies, at least not entirely in this situation. That being said, and to avoid my own judgment being overturned by my previous judgments, I grant Mr. Lawson shared custody of the children. During the week, they will live with Mr. Lawson and attend their regular school, and they will spend the weekends with Ms. Shipley. Of course, that is if Mr. Lawson can provide for the children while the trust remains inaccessible?”

“He can, Your Honor, and I’m happy to demonstrate that to you in testimony if you wish.”

“You can submit it in writing, counselor,” he said.

“Thank you, Your Honor. There’s also one more issue. If Ms. Shipley is to receive the stipend from my client’s trust, I petition the court to allow the same amount to be distributed to him. He is responsible for most of the expenses, after all.”

The judge’s discerning eyes cut to me, then my attorney, before he said, “Denied. For the benefit of all parties, the only distributions at this point will be going to the plaintiff, Ms. Shipley.”

With that, he swung his gavel and stood up to leave.

I felt the world spin, an uneasy feeling swamping me. For the first time, I felt as if Margarette had been right. I would never win against her.

I turned to say something to Mr. Langdon, but he quickly shook his head.

We waited until Margarette and her attorney left and then filed out behind them.

When we were outside the courtroom, Margarette gave me a feral smile and turned to her attorney. “I’m so happy you were able to convince the judge my stepson is the hateful man he is.”

“Shh,” Mr. Langdon voiced quietly and escorted me past them, into the elevator, and out of the courthouse.

“Okay, so that went well,” he stated and my knees went weak.

“What?” I asked incredulously. He couldn’t be serious. Had we been in the same court hearing?

Mr. Langdon chuckled. “I’m sorry, son, but you can’t and won’t win in that courtroom. Our strategy shifted the moment that judge took the bench. As it is, he’s the most overturned judge in the state of Colorado. He’s unfair, biased, hateful, and wrong more often than not.”

“Well, duh,” I said, and Mr. Langdon laughed out loud.

“Freezing you out of your own money is the first thing we can use to overturn him. If you wish, I can appeal the decision now, but I recommend we wait. I’m sure he’ll step in it even more at our next court date, which will only help us in overturning his entire decision. And overturn him, we will.”

“Meanwhile, I’m broke. How am I supposed to support myself?” I asked. “I can probably pick up shifts bartending, but only on the weekends since I’ll need to be home weeknights for the girls.” If I had to wait until the lawsuit was fully settled, things were going to get financially difficult quickly, and I had the girls to consider. No way was I going to let them suffer any more than they already had.

My attorney frowned. “I don’t have any ready-made solutions, but I have some ideas. Let me make some phone calls, and I’ll let you know what I find out.”

I shook my head. “Not like I have much choice.” I was already going over the options in my head, but I couldn’t see a way out. Despair was pushing at the edges of my already frayed emotions.

Mr. Langdon slid an arm over my shoulders and pulled me into a side hug. “I’m sorry about all this. I helped set up your trust and know for a fact it is legally ironclad. Unfortunately, we drew the short straw in being assigned this judge, otherwise the lawsuit would’ve been dismissed out of hand. Now we are on a roller coaster, one we’ll have to ride to the end, I’m afraid.”

That night, as I lay alone in the big house Margarette had bought using my money, I began thinking of it as her mausoleum. Cold, unfeeling, and empty, just like her.

I tossed and turned in my bed, unable to shake the thought of the house’s emptiness representing how I felt inside. I had experienced every negative emotion possible since I got home from court, but now I was numb.

I let the tears flow as I remembered my dads. I had a recurring memory of when I was in middle school. They were arguing about something work-related and neither were yielding to the other. That had been such a strange occurrence, it made me pay attention.

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