“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
I laughed through tears.
For several minutes, the three of us stood in that courthouse hallway holding onto one another.
Then Jeffrey whispered against my shoulder.
“Was I mean?”
“No.”
“I don’t want her to think I hate her.”
“You told the truth.”
He pulled back.
“Are we going to win?”
There was that word.
Win.
I hated it.
Because no child wins a custody fight.
At best, they survive one without losing too much.
“I don’t know yet,” I said.
But for the first time that morning, I could breathe.
Part 10 — The Judge’s Decision
When court resumed, the atmosphere was different.
Vanessa no longer looked like the person in control.
Her attorney spent several minutes trying to explain that her financial demands had resulted from an unrelated dispute.
The judge wasn’t persuaded.
Rachel focused on three things.
Ten years of voluntary absence.
