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In this moment, while laying my head on Mr. Winters's chest, smelling his intoxicating cologne that makes my whole body fill with warmth, and swaying with Mr. Winters under the moonlight, makes me think nothing in the world can ruin this moment. But every good memory has to come to an end.
I stare out of the Lamborghini Urus's window, biting my lip as Mr. Winters drives. This is the third and final day of court for Violet against Dave. Right now, they have equal parts of evidence against them. Today's the day when we find out who the kid's custody will go to.
My foot taps against the courtroom floor as I stare at the judge's bench, nervously. Mr. Winters grabs my hand.
"Don't worry, everything's going to be okay," I look at him sitting next to me and smile as his touch calms every bone in my body.
I turn my head towards the door as I see Violet and Stephanie in business suits. They walk in the courtroom and walk down the walkway towards the left side of the room. They sit down at a large table ahead of a row in front of me, opposite Dave and his lawyer, sitting on the right side of the courtroom.
"Why were they late?" I whisper to Mr. Winters.
"Violet and Mrs. Waltons had something to talk about before court," I bite my lip, nervously as I see a guard stand by the bench.
"All rise for the honorable Judge Candance," I rise with everyone in the courtroom as the Judge enters the room from a door by her bench and sits in her chair.
"You may be seated," I sit with everyone in the courtroom, and the judge bangs her gavel.
"All right, let's get this started with a recap of what has happened in the past two days," Judge Candance puts on her glasses and picks up a stack of papers in front of her.
"Mr. Smith, your client Dave Whicherton wants full custody of Kayla, Tia, and Mark Stone-Whicherton?" I see Dave's lawyer stand up.
"Yes, ma'am. We request full custody with no visitations, or any involvement from the mother," Dave's lawyer sits down.
"Okay, Mrs. Waltons, your client is requesting the same thing?" Stephanie stands up.
"Yes, Your Honor. The defendant would also like to request a protective order against Dave Whicherton," Stephanie sits down.
"Okay, starting with today's matter, physical and written evidence has been provided by the witness for Mr. Whicherton, proving Violet Stone to be a bad mother. Mrs. Waltons, you have provided written evidence, proving Dave Whicherton to be a bad father. Mrs. Waltons, do you have any physical evidence to support your written testimonies?" Stephanie stands up.
"Yes, Your Honor. As I said in yesterday's court, I have provided three physical evidence to back up my written testimonies," The Judge flips her papers, and the guard rolls in an old television.
"Yesterday, we left off with Mr. Smith's testimonies, so let's start with Mrs. Waltons. Mrs. Waltons?" Stephanie stands up.
"Yes, Your Honor," I watch Stephanie walk through the gate, and onto the main floor, holding three pages of paper. She clears her throat.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the court and jury, I would like to start off by saying Mrs. Violet Stone is the only parent fit for the guardianship of Kayla, Tia, and Mark Stone-Whicherton. In this courtroom, I have three pieces of physical evidence that will prove that statement. The first evidence is a film split into three parts. If you all will please look at the television, you will see the first part," I look at the television, amazed at Stephanie's strong introductory statement. Stephanie grabs the small remote on top of the television and pushes play.
"On this first part, you will see the original video of Mr. Whicherton walking into what appears to be a strip club," She pauses the video.
"Now, this is the original video, but it seems to be fuzzy. Let me play part two of the video," She pushes play again.
"As you can see, this video is much clearer and shows a clear image of his face as he is walking into the club and asking what appears to be a stripper for a dance," Stephanie pauses the video on a close-up of Dave's face.
"As for part three of the video, you will see a clear image of a timelapse of Dave walking into the strip club and ordering a dance while drinking an alcoholic substance. The dates shown above the footage are aged from six years ago, to recently Tuesday. I must warn you in advance, this video is not meant for children underage," Stephanie plays the video.
"Objection!" Mr. Smith screams while standing up.
The Judge waves her hand toward her, and both Stephanie and Dave's lawyer walk up to the Judge's bench.
"Your honor, this could be a fake video put together to make my client look bad. Plus, my client was not aware of this evidence in recent advantage," Mr. Smith says quietly. Stephanie shows the paper in her hands to the judge.
"Your honor, I've said it very clear, three times in yesterday's court that I had physical evidence. If I may continue with my next second piece of evidence, I can assure you that this video is not a fake," Stephanie replies. Judge Candance looks at the paperwork Stephanie handed to her and sets them down.
"Overrule. Mr. Smith, you had three full months to prepare for this trial. If you are unprepared, then that is not the defendant's fault. Mrs. Waltons has made it very clear in yesterday's testimony that she had physical evidence. Mrs. Waltons, you may proceed," I furrow my brows at the Judge's response in confusion.
Three months? We only had a week and a half at most. Why didn't Violet notify me months ago about this? Stephanie clears her throat, drawing the attention of the jury.
"If I can continue, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this evidence brings up one question. Why would a good father and husband go to a strip club? If you are asking yourself, that is not Dave Whicherton, then I'll please ask you to look at the printed papers being passed out as I speak being my second case of evidence," I watch as the guard passes papers to the jury in the stand.
"What you have in front of you is a copy of Mr. Whicherton's membership for thirty different strip clubs ranging from all around the country."
"Objection!" Mr. Smith says while standing up.
"Overruled. Mr. Smith, please let Mrs. Walton finish her statement," Mr. Smith sits down, and Stephanie clears her voice.
"What you have in front of you is Mr. Whicherton's club membership, tell me, if Mr. Whicherton was a good father, then why would he have a club membership, some longing over six years old?"
"With that being said, I would like to present to you evidence number three," Stephanie puts a different tape inside the television.
"If you please advert your eyes to the television, you will see a picture in the film of how abusive Mr. Whicherton is to his ex-wife. I must warn you, this is a very sensitive film," Stephanie presses play showing the video of Violet's bruises and hit marks all over her body.
"What you are watching, ladies and gentlemen, is a timelapse of abuse over the years brought to Violet Stone by her ex-husband Dave Whicherton," I cover my mouth, shocked.
Oh, Violet. Why didn't you tell me? I look at Violet with her head down and face covered, embarrassed.
After it shows Dave striking Violet in the face at a public restaurant, I cover my face in Mr. Winters's side, not being able to watch the rest of it. I hear the video click, and I look up to see Stephanie pause it.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I ask you, what kind of father would abuse his ex-wife? Who knows what will happen to the children behind closed doors left alone with him?" Stephanie starts slowly walking back in forth in front of the jury.
"What father, after a hard day at work, would go to a strip club instead of going home to his loving wife and children? You think he would hurry his way home to see the smiling faces of his beloved children as they grow more every single day. What father goes to the strip club after work and comes home to strike his wife? What will become of the future if he gets custody of his children and he's not there for them or could abuse them behind closed doors?"
"Objection! There is no proof that my client has ever abused his children," Mr. Smith yells while standing up.
"Sustain. Mrs. Waltons, please stick to the physical evidence you have provided for your testimony," Stephanie stands in place and stares at the jury.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you this. Why would a father go out of his way to not see his kids and try to fight for them at the last gleam of hope? Violet Stone has always been there for the kids. Waking up early to fix them breakfast. Fixing their school lunches. Driving them to school. Being at every single recital or play at school. Grocery shopping for them. Being there to pick them up and ask them how their day was. Fixing their dinners. Taking care of their boo-boos. Violet Stone has been there every step of the hour, day, week, month, and year. She's been there through the hard and the best of times because that's what a mother does. So, I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, why would you give a loving mother, who's been there every step of the day, her kids away? Thank you for your time," Stephanie walks back to her seat, and I stare at her with my eyes wide and jaw dropped in awe.
The Judge clears her throat. You can tell Stephanie's speech almost brought a tear to her eye.
"Mr. Smith, do you have anything to say?" Mr. Smith snaps out of his zone and digs through his papers, knowing he's screwed.
"Uh- Yes, your honor!" Mr. Smith says as he pulls out a paper from his pile.
"Your honor, for my last witness, I would like to call the defendant's sister, Evangeline Stone to the stand," I look at Mr. Winters, shocked as I stand up. My heart races as I hear my heels click against the wooden floor while I walk to the stand.
The guard holds out a bible, and I put my hand on it.
"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help you, God."
"I do," The guard gestures for me to sit down, and I walk around the podium and sit in a chair in front of a microphone. Dave's lawyer walks in front of me.
"Can you speak your full name for the jury?" I lean into the microphone.
"My name is Evangeline Stone," Dave's Lawyer flips through the papers in his hand.
"Mrs. Stone, is it true that you are a stripper?" I look at him confused. What does that have to do with Dave?
"No?" Mr. Smith smiles at me.
"But in the past, you were one?" I look at him, confused.
"Yes?"
"So, you're saying you being a stripper around Dave could have led to Mr. Whicherton's addiction."
"Objection!" I hear Stephanie yell as I see her stand up.
"Overrule. Mr. Smith, I'm not going to warn you again, please ask a question," I look from the Judge and at Dave's lawyer and laugh.
"No. I've never been around Dave when I used to work as a stripper," Mr. Smith clears his throat and looks through his papers.
"That will be all, your honor," I watch Mr. Smith sit down, and Stephanie stands up and walks towards me. She smiles big as she looks at me.
"Mrs. Stone, how long were you a stripper?" I lean close to the microphone.
"Five years," Stephanie chuckles.
"In what city did you work when you were a stripper?"
"New York," Stephanie looks at me with a fake puzzled face.
"So, you're telling me over the SIX years Dave Whicherton has had an addiction when you were stripping, there was no chance you could be anywhere near Seattle, where Violet and Dave lived at the time?"
"Yep," Stephanie clears her throat and rubs her neck.
"I'm sorry if this next question is sensitive, but in recent years, you have lived with your sister, Violet. Has Dave ever sexually harassed you when you lived with them?" I look at the microphone and bite my lip.
"Yes," I say quietly.
"Has he ever sexually touched you in any way?" I quietly sigh.
"Yes," I look up at Mr. Winters, seeing his eyes narrowing at Dave mad.
I look at Dave, staring at me with an angry expression with his fist closed under the table, while secretly shaking his head at me while giving me death eyes.
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-End Of Chapter 48-
Thank you sooo much for reading Chapter 48 Of CRASHING DOWN INTO GLORY!
Have a unco day/night! <3