“Okay, that will help show that she was an inconsistent parent when you received custody. How often has she been around lately?”
“Before her drop-in at Mikal’s birthday, we hadn’t seen her for over a year, and then it was only Kodi, Landon, and me who saw her. I try to keep her away from the younger three because it just crushes Mikal when she leaves. I don’t think the twins quite comprehend what’s happening during those times, though.”
“I’m going to assume that Nathan and Omari are the twins. How old are they?” Meila asked, getting back to taking notes.
“Yes, and they turned six in October.”
Again, Meila stopped and looked up at her. “So, you’ve had custody of them almost their entire lives.”
“Legally, yes. But Valerie stayed maybe four months after they were born before she was gone again, and I took care of them. It was then I decided I wanted custody so we wouldn’t have to keep going through that.”
“This woman is a narcissistic whore,” Meila said, placing her pen down. “She wants to tear away two children from the only parent they’ve known. I honestly don’t care what her reason is or how she tries to spin it; she’s being a selfish bitch.”
Rohan chuckled. “There’s the Meila I know. I almost thought you were going to keep it professional the entire time.”
“Shut up, Rohan,” Meila shot back before her attention returned to Jalen. “Okay, moving on. The court will ask for your employment history.”
Jalen nodded. “I’m an LPN. I’ve been at the same hospital for almost three years, and I work in the children’s wing. I’m currently finishing up school to become an RN.”
“Do you work days or nights?” Meila questioned, pen poised to write again.
“I rotate. Typically, every month, but sometimes more depending on demand.”
“Who watches the children when you’re working?”
“When I work during the day during the school year, they’re at school. Over the summer, Kodi watches them unless she’s busy; then I hire a babysitter. And when I work nights, Kodi watches them.”
“And when Kodi goes off to college. Who will watch them at night then?”
“I’ll hire a babysitter,” Jalen told her with a shrug. The one she used now during the day, when Kodi had plans, also babysat some nights as well, so Kodi could go out with her friends.
“Landon can watch the others for a few hours if she needs to,” Rohan stated. “But Mom and I will help too.”
“How old is Landon?” Meila questioned, still taking notes.
“She’ll be fifteen in April,” Jalen responded.
“And Mikal?”
“She just turned eleven.”
“Okay. I think I have everything I need at the moment. Rohan, you want to show us what you have?”
While he connected the laptop to the screen in the conference room, Jalen poured herself some orange juice and grabbed a donut. Meila did the same.
When the information came up on the screen, there were a ton of pictures. Each of them was time-stamped, and there were different men in several of the pictures. Vega had even gone as far as pointing out which one was Valerie’s actual husband. It was clear from the photographs that she was seeing the other two men on the side.
Vega had also included information on all three men, and Jalen felt sorry for them because they seemed to be decent men. They just had the misfortune of Valerie wanting to sink her claws into them because they were well off.
Vega had also tracked some of her movements over the years while she was missing in action in their lives.
They looked over everything that Vega sent, and Meila chuckled once they’d gotten to the end. Jalen looked over at the other woman.
“Oh, I’m going to eat this bitch alive in court. I think we have a solid case with her being absent as much as she has, but having this as an ace if we need it will be perfect.”
Jalen let out an inaudible sigh of relief. She believed Meila. The look in the older woman’s eyes let her know she was not joking.
Once they’d finished their donuts and packed everything away, they headed out of the building. Rohan set the alarm and locked up behind them.
