“You should have given up.”
“That’s not…” he takes a deep breath, then says in a shaky voice, “It was Mark and Jillian who wanted the kids in my care.”
“That doesn’t mean you are the right person for the job. You should step aside and let me take care of them from now on.”
“That will never happen.”
“I see.” She nods slowly, then looks around. “And where are the kids?”
“What’s going on?” Mason’s voice reaches us just then.
“Oh, there you are.” Mrs McCormack slowly turns to face them. She glances at them, just as she did with Seth, then turns her attention to Ross and Mr Yang. A smile that precedes victory finds its way to her lips. “You’ve grown up.”
Mason and Logan instinctively cling to Emily, which makes my anger and blood boil.
“If we’re done.” I step forward. “I need to discuss with my client in private.”
“Sure.” Again, that smile, that confidence. “I’ll leave you to your discussions. I’ll see you later,” she concludes, turning to the kids.
“Don’t get your hopes up too high,” Mason replies in a tone that doesn’t sit well with Mrs McCormack.
“I see you’re bringing them up nicely,” she says sarcastically to Seth. “Fortunately, I’ll take it from here,” she then walks away, leaving us all in utter despair.
* * *
“BREATHE, UNCLE SETH.” Logan encourages Seth, who is trying to return to normal breathing with the help of a paper bag, which Ross promptly remedies.
“It’s OK,” Emily reassures him as she gently massages his back.
“I’m sorry,” he tells the kids, his voice muffled by the bag. “I’m sorry,” he repeats, this time turning to me.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Ross comforts him. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Someone else instead…”
I look sideways at Ross. “That doesn’t help.”
“Well, you saw her too, the Wicked Witch of the West.”
“Please, Ross.” Seth drops the bag. “Not in front of the kids.”
Ross holds up his hands in apology. “They know I’m right too.”
“That’s not helping either,” I say, raising my voice slightly, hoping to calm everyone down.
Unfortunately, these things happen. Someone often gets a little carried away when they meet in the corridors during court trials.
“I should not have allowed this meeting.” I take responsibility because I'm the one who made it happen.
“It’s nobody’s fault,” Paul says. “And blaming yourself won’t help. Believe me.”
“What… what can we do now?” Mr Yang asks hopefully.
“Be quiet and calm during the hearing. That would help a lot,” I tell him.
“I’ll do that.”
I rub my already exhausted forehead with two fingers. It's certainly not the first time the parties have indulged in comments or worse, but this case… I don’t know. It makes me particularly nervous, and I’m never anxious.
I should not have agreed to represent Seth. I shouldn’t have got involved like that.
