“You’ll address me as Your Honor,” the judge corrected.
Kennedy grinned.
I smiled sweetly at the judge, fluttering my lashes as I heard Atlas chuckle softly from behind, and I could have sworn the judge’s eyes softened slightly as they passed over me.
A newfound sense of determination began to spread through my belly.
Screw Evan and his bitch girlfriend.
My ex was going down.
CHAPTER 26
DONOVAN
Sitting in that courtroom, unable to say a word, was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do. Honestly, there were no fucks given about the shit Evan’s smarmy lawyer accused me of—I was used to being judged—but his insinuations that Rosie was a bad mom ground my gears in a way where I knew I wouldn’t rest until I’d made her ex pay for all of this.
Atlas kept glancing at me, his eyes conveying the exact same emotions filling my chest, but I had to give him props because he was doing well in keeping his mouth shut, too.
It was the right thing to do for Rosie and the kids because Evan’s narcissism was showing in the way he kept interrupting, even though he’d been told to shut the fuck up. I could see the judge getting more and more pissed with him, and it reminded me of something my dad used to say.
Give a fool enough rope, and he’d inevitably hang himself.
At that moment, the noose seemed mighty tight.
Judge Merrick’s voice echoed around the room. “Mr. Palmer. You’ll be given the opportunity to respond, but if you continue to interrupt these proceedings, I’ll have you removed. Do you understand?”
Evan’s lawyer put a hand on my ex’s shoulder, but the stupid fucker still huffed. He looked like a kid forced to eat broccoli, and I had to hide the twitch at the corner of my lip as I watched him pout like an overgrown toddler.
“Mr. Palmer is very concerned about his son’s language,” the lawyer announced. “Daniel Junior cusses and swears excessively and has done so since he was fourteen years old. Mr. Palmer believes the cause is Ms. Wood’s brother, who belongs to a motorcycle gang. Daniel has an unhealthy obsession with the Speed Demons MC, and Mr. Palmer would like to remove Daniel from that environment so he can start instilling some good values in his son before it’s too late.”
Atlas tensed beside me.
Kennedy stood and announced, “Objection, Your Honor.”
The judge’s gaze sliced to her and said, “Overruled. Let’s hear what Mr. Palmer’s counsel has to say, shall we?”
Kennedy gave a sharp nod and took her seat.
Evan’s lawyer shuffled a stack of papers. “Furthermore, we have evidence for the court that Ms. Woods creates an unhealthy environment for not only Daniel and Gabrielle, but also their friends.” He passed a stack of photographs taken by Evan’s PI to the court clerk, who walked over and handed them to the judge. “As you can see, the children’s mother often dresses inappropriately around her children. She parades around town wearing next to nothing and even has young teenage boys over at the house while topless.”
I heard a tiny whimper leave Rosie’s throat while a low growl left mine, and suddenly, I had to fight down the urge to break a chair over the bastard's head for daring to spout such bullshit.
The judge flicked slowly through the images, some of them no doubt even worse than the ones we’d already seen, and his stare flicked to Rosie as his mouth tightened.
“Mr. Palmer has found contraceptives in Daniel’s belongings, which indicates he’s sexually active, and as you can see in the photographs, Gabrielle’s seemingly very close to a young man who visits their mother’s house when Ms. Woods isn’t there.”
Kennedy jumped to her feet again. “Your Honor. All evidence was ordered to be submitted to both parties. Neither Ms. Woods nor I have been given access to these images, which goes against the court order. Because of that, I ask that the evidence shown today be inadmissible.”
The judge’s mouth pursed, and he looked over the top of his spectacles at Evan’s lawyer. “Why weren’t these included in the evidence passed to Ms. Wood’s counsel?”
The asshole looked down at his papers again, shuffling them around. “I thought they were, Judge.”
“You’ll address me as Your Honor, Counsel. This court will not be used to showboat. Do you hear me?”
Evan’s lawyer must’ve realized he’d fucked up because he gulped, then replied, “Yes, Your Honor.”
“I’ll allow it, but we’ll take an hour’s recess. It will give the defendant and her counsel enough time to go over the evidence and re-establish their argument. I also think it’s time for Daniel and Gabrielle to join us. I want to ask them some questions.” His stare cut to Evan. “But I’m warning you, Mr. Palmer, you play dirty again, and I’ll throw the case out. Do you understand?”
