“You’re my attorney right, so I can ask you things—things that are off the record?” I swallowed hard and looked at her.
“Of course.” She nodded quickly.
“What if I just took Charley and left town? What if I just skip the hearing entirely?” I tensed up because I was terrified of her response.
“Well…” She closed her eyes for a moment. “The judge could issue a bench warrant for your arrest. If he decides to review the evidence anyway and give Jackson custody, then you could be charged with parental kidnapping—it’s not as bad as a real kidnapping charge, but you could still go to prison.”
“You see what’s in front of me here—I’ve told you how dangerous Jackson is. What do you recommend?” I exhaled sharply.
“If Charley was my daughter, he wouldn’t get anywhere near her—especially not if he’s on drugs and put his hands on me.” She pursed her lips. “Of course, I would have cut his balls off if he laid a hand on me…”
Maybe I should have done that the second he showed up in Carson Cove.
I felt dejected after my meeting with Addison. The harsh reality was staring me in the face. If I tried to take Charley and run, I could end up in prison—and he would get custody if that happened. The only real option I had was to face him in court and try to convince the judge that I was competent enough to raise my child.
Addison said that the judge in our case would normally favor the mother—she had statistics for that too—but the video was a damning piece of evidence. Jackson obviously knew that—or his mother did—which was why he set me up in the first place. I drove to the hospital after my meeting with Addison and found out that Jon had been moved to a different room, so I didn’t have to beg the doctor for permission to go and see him.
“Hey…” I pushed the door open and saw Jon in bed, but when I pushed the door further, I realized that Bryant and Taylor were there as well. “Oh, I’m sorry…”
“No, come in.” Bryant motioned to me.
“He knows.” Taylor stood up and walked over to give me a hug. “It’s okay.”
“I heard about your custody issue.” Bryant shook his head back and forth. “Addison’s the best—you’re in good hands.”
“I hope so…” I sighed. “She seems to know what she’s doing, but I may have really screwed up.”
“What do you mean?” Taylor tilted her head to the side.
I told Taylor about the video and how bad it was going to look if it was presented in court. Telling the story again made me feel like more of an idiot. The setup might as well have been staring me in the face, but I walked into the trap without even thinking about it. Jackson knew how to press my buttons with lies. He was the only guy I had ever been with before Jon, and he said he loved me once—but it was clear that his version of love was nothing but manipulation. I would have seen that when I was younger if I wasn’t blinded by my feelings for him. He manipulated me any way that he could when I was a teenager, and he was willing to take things to a whole new level—just to relieve some fantasy that had been expired for a long time. I was never going to be his sunshine again.
“Damn, he sounds like such a fucking asshole.” Bryant shook his head angrily.
“Yeah.” Taylor nodded. “But—you said he has a video of you—on his cell phone?”
“On his friend’s cell phone.” I nodded. “I assume they’ve already given it to Jackson’s attorney at this point.”
“I might know someone who can help…” Taylor raised an eyebrow.
Taylor excused herself to make a call. I tried to talk to Jon, but the medication had put him out like a light. Bryant and I talked for a little bit while Taylor was out of the room. I tried to think of something to ask that didn’t revolve around my drama—like wedding plans, and where they were going on their honeymoon. I was interested in all of that, but it just felt like meaningless conversation. The only thing I could really focus on was what was going on with my daughter. Taylor returned with a smile on her face, so I hoped it was good news.
“Alright, Anna and Bolt are on the way.” She sat down across from me.
“Uh…” I raised an eyebrow. “No offense, but how can your little sister and her boyfriend help?”
“There are a few things that I haven’t told you about how we took down Alexis Devereaux.” Taylor laughed under breath. “Let’s just say that B
olt is quite the hacker.”
“Yeah, but…” Bryant tilted his head. “You needed her phone to do that. I don’t think you’re going to be able to get your hands on the one that has this video…”
“He might know another way.” Taylor shrugged. “It’s worth a shot, right?”
“I’ll try anything at this point.” I nodded quickly.
I was praying for a miracle when Anna arrived with Bolt in tow, but we didn’t find one in his electronic wizardry. He needed access to the phone and said that it probably wouldn’t be as easy as taking down Alexis Devereaux because Jackson and Duke would have shared the video with others—mainly Jackson’s attorney, who probably had it registered as evidence for the hearing. If it disappeared for some reason, I would be the top suspect and that could cause the judge to rule against me anyway. It was a hopeless situation all around, and my chances of being able to keep custody of Charley seemed to diminish with every conversation I had.
Eventually, everyone left, and I was alone with Jon. I had so many thoughts running through my head, and I couldn’t stop the tears from coming. The man I had fallen for was in a hospital bed—stabbed because he tried to help me—my daughter had no idea that she could be ripped from the only home she had ever known to live with a monster. I had no idea if Jackson would actually go through with what he said and try to use her against me, but I couldn’t ignore that threat. He hadn’t made an idle one yet.