Chapter 4

When we entered the judge's chamber, she — yes, we had a female judge - I saw Carly and a man that I thought might be Carlos - I saw him the one time in that parking lot - and her lawyer looking smug at me.

I looked at John for some kind of hope. "Don't worry, Jerry, everything is going to be alright," remarked John.

I remember Sheila telling me that John was one of the best divorce lawyers in the area. I was sure hoping that she wasn't just complimenting him because he was her husband and that he really was good.

The judge began her proceedings by asking if everyone was present. John told her that he had another witness that would be there shortly but we could go ahead and get started.

"Let's see," said the judge. "We have a custody battle over a six month old baby girl named Maria. We also have a problem with the wife being pregnant again. The husband says that the child is not his so there won't be a problem of custody but the wife is asking for child support for both the daughter and the future child. And, last we have a division of assets to consider as well as who keeps up the medical payments during this pregnancy. Does this pretty much cover it, counselors?"

Both sides nodded in agreement. "Well, let's begin with custody of Maria."

It needs to be noted: From this point on I have taken a few liberties in some of the conversation in the courtroom. It was hard trying to remember everything that was said by both parties. So, this is somewhat of a synopsis of what was said.

John stood up. "John Bryant for the defense, Your Honor. I have a witness in the lobby who is willing to testify on behalf of my client, Mr. Davis. Linda DeMarco has spoken to the plaintiff many times about her marriage. May I bring her in, Judge?"

After a nod from the judge, John brought in a nice looking Hispanic woman maybe in her early twenties. I'd never seen this woman before and wondered where John had met her. I looked over at Carly and she was astonished to see this Linda woman come in. She yelled out, "Linda, how could you sell me out? I thought you were my friend. I told you those things in private."

"Please be quiet, Mrs. Davis. This is my court and I'll let you know when you can speak. Ms. De Marco, what can you tell us about this child, Maria, that we don't already know?" asked the judge.

"Your Honor, Carly - that's Mrs. Davis - told me that she didn't even know who the father was. She said that she told her husband it was his and she also told her boyfriend Carlos, that's the man sitting with her that it was his child."

"Let's stop right there for a moment," said the judge. "I think we better know who the father is before we can even decide custody. Mrs. Davis, who do you think the father is? Mind you if you don't think it's Mr. Davis then he would not have to pay you child support, and of course Mr. Davis, if it's not your daughter, I can hardly give you custody."

Carly looked dumbfounded. On one hand she wanted the money for support if she got custody, but on the other she could lose her boyfriend. He probably wouldn't accept another man's baby. Especially after he was told it was his.

John stood up. "Your Honor, if I may speak. My client, Mr. Davis, had a DNA done shortly after the baby's birth. Here are the test results that prove that he is Maria's biological father." John handed the document to the bailiff.

The judge spoke. "Well, that helps with child number one, but how can you prove that child number two isn't his also?"

"Your Honor, Mr. Davis also had a vasectomy done right after he found out Carly was pregnant the first time. He never said anything to her about it. Of course he wasn't married to her at the time so he didn't legally need to tell her. So, Your Honor, it proves that she had an affair to have gotten pregnant a second time. Ms. De Marco is here to tell you that she was told by Mrs. Davis that the baby was conceived through an affair." John passed my test results to the bailiff.

"What do you have to say about these allegations, Mrs Davis? It appears you never told your lawyer about these allegations."

I remember the attorney for Carly standing up. "Judge, I'm James McCoy for the plaintiff. Mrs. Davis said that it was a one-time affair. She didn't mean to get pregnant. Besides, we'll agree that he isn't the father of the unborn child. We just want custody of Mrs. Davis's daughter."

"Mr. McCoy, we don't need a lot of lawyer talk here. What I want is facts so I can make the right decision for the well-being of this child. Where would your client live and what would she be doing for work if she were to receive custody of this child?"

"She wants to move back to Texas and be with her parents. I have letters from them saying they would help raise the child. As far as finances go, we were hoping for a decent child support amount and of course alimony."

John stood up. "Judge, they're not allowed to take the child out of the state without my client's permission, and I can assure you said permission will never be given. On the other hand, if my client receives custody of his daughter he has lived here his entire life. He has all the material things necessary to raise his child. But, most of all he has family and friends that all have written letters that say how they will all be there to help raise this child."

"You are correct about staying in the state, Counselor. Mrs. Davis, are you willing to live here in Ohio and raise your child here if you're given custody?"

"It's not fair. Just because he has money, he gets to call the shots. I don't want to live here. I should have a right to see my daughter, it's just not fair."

"On the matter of custody, I'm going to rule for the defendant, Mr. Davis. In doing so I will also rule that Mrs. Davis should have a right to see her daughter every other weekend. I am concerned about Mrs. Davis removing her daughter from the state, so I am ruling that her visits be supervised, either by a member of Mr. Davis's family or a court appointed person. The fee for supervision will be paid by Mr. Davis."

Carly was mad. I know that it was the money that she was mad about and not Maria. Carlos, on the other hand, sported a kind of smirky happiness look. I guess since Maria wasn't his, he didn't want her around.

"Now, on the matter of division of assets. I have in front of me a pre-nuptial agreement signed by both parties. Mr. McCoy, is there any reason that I shouldn't go by this agreement?"

"Your Honor, my client said it was signed under duress. If she had known that in case of divorce she would walk away with nothing, then she wouldn't have signed it. You have to remember that she was in a strange state, alone and pregnant and taken advantage of by a much older man at the time."

"Mr. Bryant, is there anything that your client would like to say about all this forced signing of this document?

"Your Honor, I was the attorney who made up the pre-nuptial agreement. No-one was under any duress at the time. It's why we have pre-nups. To save the assets of both parties who enter into marriages. I might add, Your Honor, that this marriage only lasted a year before Mrs. Davis cheated on her husband. If it was even the first time. Also, Your Honor, my witness, Ms. DeMarco would like to speak on behalf of my client. I can assure you it will help to make a decision as far as division of property goes."

"By all means. Ms. DeMarco, what can you add to the distribution of assets?" asked the judge.

"I'm a fact finder investigator and was asked to check on the background of Mrs. Davis and her friend Carlos Hernandez. They are schemers. They take things from people and resell them. They originated out of Texas. I will pass you proof of the things I'm telling you. Mrs. Davis forged a credit card using Mr. Davis's name and reputation. She has run up over twenty thousand dollars in debts on it in the last year. Most being cash advances. I don't think Mr. Davis was even aware of it till now.

"Since Mr. Davis trusted her, he never suspected anything. She would pay the minimum payment each month so Mr. Davis wasn't even aware of it. She also started taking belongings that used to belong to the deceased Mrs. Mary Davis. She told me personally how he would never know since he probably didn't know what she even owned. During this time, Mr. Davis continued to give her a hundred dollars a week for herself. He purchased all items needed for the household and the baby. God knows how much she would have stolen from him if she did all this in just one year."

The judge was looking over all the information that Linda had passed up to him. I was totally taken aback by what I heard. John had passed me a copy of the bank statement to see how Carly had scammed me. I actually had tears in my eyes. I was just a lonely guy who had sex with this young woman. I had no idea that she was out to take me for everything I owned. The judge was ready to render a verdict on division of property.

"Mrs. Davis, you are the worst kind of human being out there. You should be locked up and have to pay for your crime against this man. Taking advantage of a lonely mature man and then trying to take everything away from him, including his child. You are one despicable human being. Unfortunately, I can only rule on the evidence that is before me.

"You, Mrs. Davis, will leave with whatever clothes and personal belongings you now have in your possession. You brought nothing into this folly of a marriage and that's what you will leave with. As far as this money you stole from Mr. Davis, he will have to file an identity theft claim against you in order to receive his money back. If it comes to my court, I'll see to it that you are locked up.

"I am also going to amend the visitation of Maria to once a month for two hours for one year. Mr. Davis, you are still married to Mrs. Davis and will be responsible for the medical care of her unborn child until a DNA match is done to prove you are not the father. I can't just accept the vasectomy even though I believe it's accurate. At least your medical insurance will cover the cost of the baby's delivery. If there is nothing more to be brought before the court, this case is settled. I have made my rulings."

I was a very happy camper. I hugged my son-in-law, his friend Linda hugged me. I wanted to know so much more about her but John said that they had another meeting to go to and that they would see me at his and Sheila's house later.

I went home feeling pretty good. I couldn't believe that Carly would do something like that to me. I guess sometimes you think you know a person but later you find out you weren't even in the same ball park. At least I got custody of Maria. I didn't care about the cost; I just wanted to make sure my little girl would stay with me.

I called Sheila and told her the good news. I could feel her smiling over the phone. She was one great daughter and even though I did all these stupid things, she was still there to help me.

"Dad, you need to come over in a couple of hours. There is something we need to discuss."

"Is Maria all right." I asked.

"Yes, Dad, it's just a few things we need to talk about. I don't want to get into it over the phone. Just be here in a couple of hours, please?"

"Yes, Dear, I'll be there." We both laughed because that's how I used to answer her mother. She caught on pretty quick.

When I arrived at Sheila and John's, I couldn't believe how many cars were there. I parked and walked inside the living room. There was Barb sitting in a good pair of slacks rolling a ball to Maria.

I said, "Hello, Sweetheart," and Maria started crawling over to me. She was almost seven months old but she seemed so smart. I know a lot of parents say that about their kids, but I meant it. I picked her up and she said, "Da-da." I hugged her and kissed her. She didn't care that I was old; she knew I was her daddy and her protector. It was good enough for me.

I looked up as everyone started coming into the living room and adjoining kitchen. I looked up and just about everyone in my family was there. Let me see if I could name them. My daughter Sheila, and her husband, John, and of course my little grandson, Dane. Barb was there along with both her kids, Sandy and Eric. Both had their spouses and Sandy brought her son. I saw the woman Linda sitting there talking to John. I was finally going to find out who this woman was who helped me save my daughter as well as my dignity.

I looked up and saw another person enter the room. It was my son Ryan. He must have come down from Michigan. I was almost in tears seeing all the people who meant the most to me. I walked over and hugged my son.