Reclaimed Love Read online

  Chapter 13

  “All rise. Superior Court of the State of Georgia, County of Chatham, Department Child and Family Services, the Honorable Judge Tommy Mathis presiding, is now in session. Please be seated and come to order.”

  Everyone in the court took their seats after the elderly judge was in place. Rebecca was sitting on a bench directly behind David where he sat with his lawyer. On either side of her were Sandy and Joseph. Their side of the courtroom was filled with their friends and families, who, after five days of testimony, were ready to hear what the judge had to say. David’s lawyer had not only called on practically everyone they were close to, but also various people in town, Dr. Martin and several of her nurses who had born witness to the fight Natasha started, and several experts that Cartwright had hired to prove that the tapes David produced were authentic. Natasha had only five witnesses, all friends who testified to her character and ability as a mother. Unless she’d managed to bribe the judge with a blowjob, she didn’t stand much of a chance, and everyone in the court knew it.

  Judge Mathis looked up from his file and addressed the court. “Over the past week, I’ve heard from practically every person that is involved in this matter. I’ve seen the tapes that have been shown to be beyond a shadow of a doubt authentic, and I’ve spoken in private with Alexander and Matthew Johannessen. After careful consideration I have come to my decision.”

  Looking over the courtroom, the judge said, “After reviewing all the evidence I find that Mr. Johannessen has indeed proved his case. I believe the evidence is overwhelming that Natasha Johannessen is guilty of emotional abuse, brainwashing, sabotage, and manipulation when it comes to Alexander and Matthew Johannessen. Because of this, I am ruling in Mr. Johannessen’s favor.”

  The court was completely silent as Judge Matthis ruled, “It is my decision that the divorce and custody agreement be amended to Mr. Johannessen’s specifications. He will be granted sole physical and legal custody of the boys, and all alimony and child support payments to Mrs. Johannessen from this moment forth will be suspended. Furthermore, Natasha Johannessen is hereby ordered to pay $1,000 a month in child support to Mr. Johannessen. Per Mr. Johannessen’s request, Natasha Johannessen will be allowed two supervised visits with the children each week. Lasting no longer than two hours. Each visit must be scheduled a week in advance, and must adhere to Mr. Johannessen and his family’s schedule. Cancelled or missed visits will not be made up. She will not be permitted to take the children from his home without his express permission, and, should he grant it, a chaperone of Mr. Johannessen’s choosing must be present at all times. Should said chaperone feel that Mrs. Johannessen is engaging in harmful behavior with the children, the chaperone will be within their rights to remove the children immediately. All birthday and holiday visits will be at Mr. Johannessen’s discretion. Mrs. Johannessen is permitted one twenty minute phone call to the children a day, to be monitored by Mr. Johannessen. If at any time Mrs. Johannessen violates this decree, Mr. Johannessen may refuse her contact.”

  Closing his file, the judge added, “And on a personal note, I’d like to say that I have never in all my years in the justice system seen a case of such malicious intent.” Looking hard at Natasha whose mouth was hanging open, he continued, “Frankly young lady, you are lucky Mr. Johannessen is allowing you any contact with the children at all. Had he asked for a total nullification of all your rights, had he asked for a no contact order, I would have granted it to him in a heartbeat. What I saw on those tapes is sickening.”

  Turning to look at David, the judge advised, “As for you, young man, I can’t do anything about the money this woman has already extorted from you and your family, so it is my suggestion to you that you take her to civil court and file a lawsuit against her. I’m also ordering a copy of these proceedings sent to the district attorney’s office so that should your parents decide to press charges against Mrs. Johannessen for blackmail, this case will serve as evidence. Case dismissed.”

  When the gavel came down David jumped up and turned around to smile at Rebecca. He watched Joseph help her up before she came to stand at the railing. Leaning forward David enveloped her in a hug and whispered in her ear, “We did it.”

  “We did.” Hugging him back, Rebecca whispered teasingly, “After the kids go to sleep tonight, I’ll help you celebrate.”

  “Looking forward to it.”

  Releasing Rebecca, and turning to shake his lawyer’s hand, David said, “Mr. Cartwright, I can’t thank you enough.”

  “I didn’t really need to do all that much. Your ex pretty much handed us our victory on a silver platter. You are intending to pursue this matter in civil court, are you not?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well then, I’d like to suggest you continue to retain my firm’s services. I excel in family law, but my niece Cheryl is remarkable in civil matters. Here’s her card.”

  David took the card and replied, “I’ll call her first thing next week. Again, I’d like to thank you for everything you’ve done. Your efficiency in handling this problem is very much appreciated.”

  “Just doing my job, Mr. Johannessen, and I’ll have the finalized custody agreement for you and Mrs. Anderson by the end of next week. You can come to my office any time to sign it.” Mr. Cartwright nodded his head at David’s family and friends before heading out of the courtroom.

  When he was gone, David pocketed the business card as he faced Rebecca again. “Let’s get out of here. Nadira is probably having a time of it trying to keep the kids under control at the museum.”

  Neither David nor Rebecca had wanted the kids exposed to the court proceedings, and the only time the boys had come was when the judge wished to speak to each of them privately in his chambers. David knew he was going to have to have a talk with his sons about why they couldn’t see their mother as often anymore, and why their lives were changing, but he didn’t want to do it today. He and Rebecca had already decided to take the kids out to eat and then have a family night at home. There would be plenty of time tomorrow to go over everything with them.

  Sandy drew their attention as she said, “I’m so glad I got to watch that bitch lose everything. Do you think mom and dad will press charges?”

  Sandy, after learning the truth of what her parents had done, had stopped speaking to them as well. She had been ignoring them as thoroughly as David, and hadn’t even glanced at her parents today when they’d taken their seats in the back of the courtroom to hear the verdict read. She’d always known that her parents could be manipulative, but she’d never known they could sink to such levels. Just as Rebecca had predicted, she would not speak to her parents again unless David told her he’d forgiven them.

  “I don’t know, Rebecca has done all the communication with them,” David replied to his sister’s question.

  Everyone looked to Rebecca and she answered, “They told me they will be pressing charges, but I don’t know any details about it.” Looking at David, she added, “It might help your lawsuit if you wait for them to do so. Mr. Cartwright told us that with all the evidence against her she wouldn’t stand a chance, just like today. It would make it easier for you to take her for everything if she lost not only here, but in criminal court.”

  “I’ll think about. Right now I just want to get the hell out of this courtroom.” Taking Rebecca’s hand, David began leading their group out of the building. He didn’t see his parents anywhere, and figured they had slipped out while no was paying attention, as they had practically every day of the hearing. What Rebecca had said to his mother at the baby shower had obviously affected both of his parents since neither had tried to contact him since then. He hoped it stayed that way. He was in no way ready to talk to them.

  Making their way o
ut of the courthouse lobby to the front of the building David and Rebecca accepted congratulations from Sandy, their friends, and Rebecca’s family, and then told everyone they’d be having a dinner on Sunday after church to celebrate, and everyone was invited. With that done everyone began to disperse, and David looked at Rebecca and said, “I’m going to go get the car. You wait here, alright?”

  “Ok.”

  “Don’t try walking down those steps until I get back.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Promise?”

  “Yes, I promise. Go get the car. I want to pick up Nadira and the kids and go get something to eat. I’m starving.”

  David laughed and planted a kiss on her brow before taking off down the courthouse steps to head to the parking lot to get the car. When he was gone Rebecca made her way over to one of the benches nearby and lowered herself down on it so she could check her emails on her phone. The triplets were pretty active at the moment and kicking the hell out of her spine, not to mention she hadn’t slept well the night before due to nervousness about how the hearing would go today, so she was feeling pretty tired. December was a week away and she had absolutely no idea how she was going to get all of her Christmas shopping done. She had completely backed out of Black Friday after Thanksgiving because there was no way she had been willing to brave those crowds in her condition, and she refused to pawn all her shopping off on Nadira. She did love being pregnant, but she wasn’t exactly fond of all the limitations carrying triplets caused her.

  “Don’t think I’m going to let you get away with this, you bitch!”

  Looking up from her phone, Rebecca saw Natasha standing in front of her. The other woman was spitting mad, and she had good reason to be. Her world was falling down around her, but Rebecca felt no pity for her. “Go away.”

  Natasha glared at Rebecca, only stepping closer, as she hissed, “This is all your fault! If you’d just stayed the fuck away everything could have stayed the same!”

  Putting her phone away and hoping David arrived soon, Rebecca countered, “Natasha, you’re the one that got pregnant on purpose, you’re the one guilty of blackmail, and you’re the one that has been manipulating your children to hurt David. Everything that happened today is a direct result of your actions. You’re blaming everyone else instead of taking a long look at your behavior and seeing your own faults.”

  “You think you’re so fucking perfect! But I know what you are!”

  “And what am I?”

  “A man stealer!” Pointing an angry finger at the seated woman before her, Natasha snarled, “You’ve always wanted David all to yourself, and you just couldn’t take that he chose me over you!”

  “But he didn’t choose you over me, did he? He chose his child, and I love and respect him for that. You he married out of some misbegotten sense of duty. You were never anything more than an obligation to him, and you know it, Natasha. You go around telling me I’m trying to take something from you, calling me a whore, claiming that I’m trapping David by getting pregnant on purpose, but really, you idiot, who are you trying to fool?”

  Pushing herself up slowly from the bench and setting her hand over her stomach as she glared at the slightly taller woman before her, Rebecca finished, “You’re the one that lied and cheated to get David. You’re the one that trapped him with a pregnancy because you knew it was the only way to keep him, and you, Natasha, are the one that spreads your legs for anything with a dick and a fat wallet. Not me.”

  Anger building, fueled by the fact she’d just lost her children, Natasha stepped closer and warned, “David doesn’t love you. He never did. Not really. You’re just a safety blanket for him. He’ll get bored with you before you know it, and toss you aside like the trash you are. He never wanted you before you left, and he only wants you now because you’re famous.”

  Rebecca laughed. She actually laughed, thoroughly amused by what she’d just heard. “Natasha, you’re delusional, you know that? Where the hell were you over the last few days when those tapes were played? Not only did you admit to David at his home while I was there in the kitchen a month ago that you knew he was in love with me in college, that you knew by trapping him with that pregnancy you were keeping us apart, but you said pretty much the same thing in the older tapes. Remember the first tape used as evidence? The first one you made with David’s parents when they told you that they wanted you to get him away from me because they knew he was in love with me, and that he was going to leave with me? In that tape you told them you knew that he loved me and wanted to be with me, and that you’d have no problem driving a wedge between us.”

  Laughing in Natasha’s face again, Rebecca said, “Do you not realize what a fool you make of yourself every time you come at me like this? Spouting off pure nonsense? You contradict yourself left and right, and make yourself look like a total dumbass doing it. I didn’t win anything today, Natasha, because I’m not in competition with you. Simply put, you’re not anywhere near my league to be able to compete with me.”

  At Natasha’s shocked and outraged expression, Rebecca finished, “You are a vile, shallow, manipulative, bitch, Natasha, and today you finally paid the price for that. Everything that is happening to you is because you’re such a horrible person, and I have absolutely no pity for you.”

  “I won’t let you get away with this! I’m going to get my kids back!”

  “If it makes you feel better to think so.”

  As Rebecca and Natasha were facing off David pulled Rebecca’s Mercedes SUV up to the curb, they’d taken it since it was too hard for her to climb up in his truck, and he easily caught sight of the two women. Throwing the car in park he was out of the vehicle and racing up the steps to get to Rebecca’s side just in time to hear Natasha swear she would get their boys back. Moving to wrap his arm around Rebecca’s waist, he growled at Natasha, “Get the fuck away from her!”

  Natasha glared up at David, hating how he shielded Rebecca from her. Even when Natasha had been pregnant, even when they’d been married, he’d never been that protective of her, never reached for her out of pure instinct because she meant that much to him. She might not have loved him, but he had been hers, and she couldn’t stand anyone taking what belonged to her.

  She screeched, “I’m not going to tolerate this, David! I’m not going to let you take my boys from me! I’m not going to let you ruin my life! Not after everything I’ve done to get where I am!”

  David laughed. “You’re never going to get the boys back, and you’re lucky I’m going to let you call them every day and see them twice a week. If I didn’t love them more than I hate you, I’d be cutting you out of their lives entirely. As for ruining your life? I haven’t even begun to make you suffer, you heartless bitch! As soon as my parents have you arrested for blackmail, I’m taking you to civil court. I’m going to get every last fucking penny back that you ever took from my family, and then I’m going to get the house, your car, and anything that isn’t nailed down. You’re going to be homeless, turning tricks on the streets when I’m finished with you.”

  Narrowing his eyes, David concluded angrily, “Of course that won’t be such a hard thing for you to do. You’re already the biggest slut in the South. You fuck anything with a dick and a dollar.”

  “You son of a bitch!” Natasha screeched. “How dare you speak to me that way!”

  “I said it because that’s true.”

  Looking back and forth between David and Rebecca, Natasha snarled at the other woman, “I won’t let you do this! You won’t take my family from me!”

  “You don’t even know what family means,” Rebecca countered, “you really only care about yourself, and that’s why the judge took the boys away from you. As for David, he was never yours, Natasha. He’s always been mine, and he’s always going to be mine.”

  “He’s not yours!”

  “Isn’t he?” Rebecca set her hand atop her stomach and said, “I have a big ass stomach that says otherwise. And I have this.”

&nbs
p; Rebecca reached up and pulled David’s face down to hers. She kissed him deeply and lovingly, and moaned into the kiss when he returned the embrace with just as much fervor while his hands settled on either side of her belly. When they pulled back she gave him a soft smile, which he returned, before looking into Natasha’s furious expression. “You might have stolen him eleven years ago, but where is he now? Right back where he belongs.”

  Grabbing David’s hand, Rebecca looked up at him and said, “Let’s go. I’m hungry.” She was done with Natasha. She’d said what she needed to say, and the other woman didn’t matter in the least to her now.

  David grinned broadly as he tightened his hand around Rebecca’s and began to lead her away as he said over his shoulder, “You stay the hell away from my family, Natasha. My lawyer will contact you with the visitation and phone schedule. You’d better adhere to it or I’ll have you right back in court for a no contact order. And I’ll see you in court very soon to take back the only thing you really care about. Your money.”

  Natasha watched them walk away. She stood there with her fists clenched as she observed David help Rebecca into the car, his hands gentle and loving, before he got into the driver’s seat and drove away. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. She’d worked so hard to land David in college, done her best to lock him down, and made the necessary preparations to ensure that she would be able to live her life the way she’d wanted even if he did divorce her, which he had, but she’d never counted on Rebecca coming back. She’d never counted on the other girl coming back and taking apart all of her careful planning like she had. Staring off after the Mercedes, Natasha swore she’d make Rebecca Anderson pay for ruining her life.

  * * * *

  Late that night, David’s hands dug into Rebecca’s hair as he bucked his hips into her mouth. Due to her pregnancy she was sitting in a chair with him standing in front of her so that she could give him oral sex. The position allowed his cock to slip right down her throat, and he once again thanked God she’d gotten rid of her gag reflex, because he absolutely loved the feeling of her swallowing his entire dick like she was.