New Year Second Chance

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Are you married?”

“No, Your Honor.”

He peers over his podium. “Where is your counsel?”

I glance at the empty seat beside me. “I’m…”

Before I can finish, the doors at the back of the room open and an auburn-haired woman wearing a cream-colored pantsuit enters the room. Her stilettos clatter on the floor.

“I’m here, Your Honor,” she says as she comes to my table. “I’m Veronica Taylor, here to represent Ms. Jenna Holt.”

What? I don’t know her. I certainly don’t know why she’s here or where she came from.

That is, until the doors open again and Dax enters the courtroom, Victor behind him.

My heart stops. My gaze meets Dax’s and he gives me a nod. My heart skips a beat.

He’s here?

Chapter Nineteen

Dax

“What are you doing here?” Jenna asks me in an excited voice.

I can see the excitement glistening in her eyes, too, and all over her face. After the judge postponed the hearing for ten minutes to give Veronica time to catch her breath and prepare her notes, I thought she was going to jump out of her seat and throw herself at me like Duke does when I get home after work.

She didn’t jump out of her seat, but she still looks like she wants to jump me. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind. I’m just as thrilled to see her, too.

“To help you, of course,” I tell her. “Looks like you need it.”

“Yeah.” Jenna fidgets with the cowl neckline of her dress. “I never thought anyone would try to take Shanna away from me.”

“Well, they can try, but they won’t succeed,” I assure her. “Veronica is one of the best lawyers I know.”

She smiles. “Thanks. But how did you know I needed a lawyer? Or that I was here?”

“Arthur called.”

Her eyebrows arch. “My dad called you?”

“He called Victor, actually. Victor gave him his number when he went to your house. Your dad must have remembered it.”

“He didn’t mention it,” Jenna says. “But wait. Wasn’t Victor out of the country with you? How was my dad able to contact him when I couldn’t contact you?”

“He came back ahead of me to take care of some things,” I answer. “Believe me, I wanted to come back with him and see you right away, but I had meetings to finish. I just arrived last night.”

“To see me?” Jenna gives me a puzzled look. “But weren’t you mad at me?”

“Because you broke up with me a second time? In an airport crowded with people?”

She touches her nape. “Technically, I wasn’t the one who ended things the first time.”

“I meant when you broke up with me on the stairs. At your house. Remember?”

She frowns. “That doesn’t count.”

“Okay. I’ll rephrase the question. Because you broke up with me in an airport?”

“Yes.” She nods. “You have a right to be mad.”

“But I’m not,” I tell her. “Because I know why you did. I know you only broke up with me because you thought I was your half-brother. So of course you had to break up with me. I thought it was true, too, so I didn’t go after you. But now, I know it’s not.”

“How?”

“Walt told me he didn’t get your mom pregnant after that article came out.”

“Walt told you?” Jenna’s eyes grow wide. “He didn’t tell me.”

“He said he was upset to hear your mom had died. Apparently, he loved her best.”

Jenna shrugs. “Actually, she’s not my mom.”

My eyebrows crease. “What?”

“To sum things up, I’m adopted.”

“Okay.”

“Anyway, I’m glad Walt told you. But wait. You said he read the article?”

“He thinks Chloe was the one who gave away the false information.”

“Oh.”

“She was the one who told me about it, too,” I say.

Jenna sighs. “And here I thought she was getting nicer.”

I shrug. “So yeah. Walt told me. Well, he told Victor and Victor told me and I figured I’d tell you the truth, so I came back. But it seems you already know.”

She nods. “I never should have believed it.”

“Anyway, it’s good that that’s sorted out.”

“Now, we just have to sort this case out,” Jenna says.

“I’m sure Veronica will handle it.” I glance at the other woman. “Right, Ron?”

“Yup.” She looks up from her tablet at Jenna. “Victor has given me a lot of information, but I just have to ask you some questions.”

Jenna nods. “Sure. Whatever you need. Let’s get this case over with.”

~

After the hearing resumes, the judge says a few words. Then Barbara takes the stand first.

From her answers to her lawyer’s questions, I learn that she is a manager at a hotel in New York who’s willing to give up her job to take care of a baby. Her husband is a corporate man. He’s in public relations and earns quite a lot. They have been trying to have kids but haven’t been successful. Her brother, Shanna’s father, died of a drug overdose. She’s been keeping tabs on Jenna and Shanna, sending them packages filled with things Shanna needed every few weeks or so. She thought Jenna was doing a good job up until she got a boyfriend and Shanna’s picture ended up on the internet. That’s why she decided to step in. Simply put, she thinks she can raise Shanna better, away from the public eye and all the chaos I’ve brought.