Chapter 9 - The Settlement
The custody and child support hearing was the last time I ever had to sit in a room with Julian Hayes.
He sat at the respondent's table, looking utterly defeated. He didn't have a high-priced lawyer this time; he had a tired public defender.
Marcus presented the facts flawlessly. Julian was unemployed, facing massive civil judgments for his corporate embezzlement, and had a documented history of instability.
The judge granted me full, unshared legal and physical custody of Leo. Julian was granted supervised visitation, which he would have to pay for, pending random drug and alcohol screenings.
"Furthermore," the judge stated, banging his gavel, "Mr. Hayes is ordered to pay thirty percent of whatever future income he generates in child support, retroactive to the date of birth."
Julian buried his face in his hands. He was financially tethered to me for the next eighteen years, but he would never have the privilege of being a real father to his son.
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As for Victoria, she packed her bags the day after the restaurant incident and fled the state, moving back in with her parents in Ohio, drowning in debt and completely disgraced.
I walked out of the courthouse that afternoon into the bright Seattle sunshine. There were no storm clouds today. There was only clear, open sky.
