Page 26 of Laws of Love
“Let’s move on to custody of Yas,” she continued, and Knox, who, mostly, had been silent and impassive, worked overtime to keep the irritation he knew could grow at bay. “Now, I love my daughter more than anything, and I’m acutely aware that you want sole custody with my visitations supervised. My question to you is how much is that worth to you?” she finished with a smirk.
This bitch, Knox thought.
Aiva felt Knox stiffen beside her, and she reached over under the table and placed her hand on his lower thigh. She knew he was seething inside, and she couldn’t blame him. Aiva was ready to reach across the table and strangle the other woman.
She had put nothing past Mia, and Aiva hated to admit it, but using their daughter as a bargaining tool had been something she suspected. While she knew Knox at least had a little faith in Mia not to use their daughter in such a way.
She knew as soon as the words tumbled from Mia’s lips that Knox would be upset by them, and rightfully so. However, she didn’t want him to act out or say something that could jeopardize his case. Not that it would hurt much when weighed against everything Mia had been recorded saying, all the text messages she’d sent.
Aiva wasn’t usually one to comfort her clients in situations like this with touch, using words more often than not. Before she could stop herself, she’d done it. While her action surprised her, what shocked her, even more, was Knox’s hand coming down on hers.
Harvey looked a bit mortified at what his client had just said, and Aiva felt they hadn’t discussed this beforehand. Mia had this in her back pocket and was waiting to pull it out to use it to her advantage.
Aiva wondered if Harvey regretted his decision to represent Mia. He hadn’t fully known what he was getting into with her, and his choice had placed him in a precarious position.
“Custody of your daughter was not mentioned in your counterclaim,” Aiva stated. She knew that didn’t mean they wouldn’t discuss it because it was in Knox’s. She simply wanted to turn the tone of the conversation.
“But my dear, future ex-husband brought it up in his. He decided that after five years, I was an unfit parent and wanted full custody. So, I would say it’s appropriate to discuss it.”
“I agree,” Aiva replied, wanting to remain calm for herself and Knox. “However, I would suggest we discuss this cordially. We’re talking about the future and well-being of a child. Not a bargaining chip.”
Aiva watched Mia sit back in her seat as she felt Knox begin to play with her fingers. She figured it was in an attempt for him to stay calm. Aiva knew he was upset, but as mad as he may have been by Mia’s words, his touch was gentle, his hand on hers soft.
“I wasn’t the one that used Yasmine as a bargaining chip. That would be your client’s doing when he decided he wanted to take her from me.”
Aiva schooled her facial features because she saw Mia was not only a money-hungry gremlin but also delusional. There was no way she could have thought that Knox asking for full custody was him using Yasmine as a bargaining chip when he was upholding everything in their prenup.
“Is custody of our daughter worth my demands?” Mia questioned. “Since she’s the center of your world, you should be willing to do anything to get custody of her.”
Aiva had heard enough. Mia was playing Uno, but Aiva always played chess. Always stayed steps ahead. She pulled up the pictures she’d loaded onto her tablet.
“February seventh at one twenty-three p.m. Quote: ‘You can’t afford to keep ignoring me if you want to see Yasmine this weekend.’ End quote. February ninth at ten-thirteen a.m. Quote: ‘Give me what I asked for, or you can forget about seeing Yasmine for a while.’ End quote.”
“What…” Mia questioned, stunned, trailing off.
As icing on the cake, Aiva played a voicemail Mia left Knox where she was cursing him out and threatening to take Yasmine away. It was a message from when they first separated that he’d still had, and as soon as Aiva heard it, she knew it would be her trump card.
“I have hours of recordings like this one and pages of text messages like the ones I’ve read. So, here’s what we’re going to do. As per your prenup, my client will pay you a settlement of two million dollars.”
“That is not acceptable. I—”
“If,” Aiva continued, cutting Mia off. “You aren’t satisfied with that; we will not meet back in mediation. I will take this in front of a judge and present every shred of evidence I have. They will hear the voicemails and read the text messages and witness statements. At which time we will not only request full custody of Yasmine, but that you pay child support as well.”
Aiva felt Knox run his thumb over the back of her hand before releasing it. While Mia sat in stunned silence, Aiva packed up her things, and she would be lying if she said she hadn’t enjoyed wiping that smirk off her face and humbling her. Harvey sat as if he regretted getting roped into this case, but he hadn’t heeded her warning.
Knox pulled her chair out for her, and Aiva thanked the mediator before they exited the room. They were quiet until they reached the parking lot, and he walked her to her car.
“Thank you,” he stated. “I don’t know what I would have said or done had you not been there.”
“You don’t have to thank me. Your frustration and irritation were warranted. I wanted to reach across the table and put my hands on Mia, but I’d prepared for that to come up. I’d hoped it wouldn’t, but I was ready for it.”
“Do you think she’s going to take your threat into consideration?”
“I don’t make threats. I make promises,” Aiva responded with a smile. “I believe Harvey will attempt to get her to, but I have little faith that he’ll be able to talk her into it. We’ll give her some time to decide. In the meantime, contact and communication with her should stay the same. Only regarding Yasmine. I would say have a third-party conduct pickups and drop-offs between the two of you if possible, so she isn’t able to rope you into a conversation.”
“I can do that.” Knox sighed. “I know it’s optimistic, but I want this to be over as soon as possible.”
“Quick would be nice, but nothing will be lost if it takes a while.”
