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Something to Believe in PART 53 “Your daughter?” Max echoed, trying to get the words to sink in. “That’s right. I believe you and your wife are temporary guardians to my little girl Rebecca, and I’ve come to retrieve her.” He announced. “I’m sorry but …..” Max started to object before being interrupted. “I am sure you have taken good care of her and given her a nice place to live for a while. But I am her biological father and I am now exercising my right to reclaim her.” Tom said, making the little girl sound more like a piece of meat, or lost luggage, than a living, breathing person. His head whirled as the words floated around, not really penetrating his brain to make clear sense. Rebecca’s father? Back in the picture? Oh this couldn’t be happening, could it? Glancing at his calendar on the wall, Max bit back yet another curse. How much of a bad time was this call? They were less than a week away from the adoption being final, and suddenly this man jumps in to claim he is her father? Oh this was not good, Max thought silently, not good at all! “Mr Evans?” Tom queried, making sure he was still on the other end of the line. “I’m here.” Max finally responded curtly. “Good. I appreciate all you have done, but I would like to arrange a time to stop by and collect my daughter. We have missed out on a lot of time together and I want to start catching up immediately.” Tom replied, sounding as if he expected Max to just stand aside while Rebecca was taken from them. His brain finally starting to lift from the fog that had descended, Max tried to think clearly. There was no way he was about to just hand Rebecca over to some stranger, whether he was her biological father or not. In his heart, for all intent and purposes, Max felt like he was Rebecca’s father and no man was about to wade in and steal her away just like that. “Now just a minute! You know as well as I do I’m not about to just hand over Rebecca to you, whether she is your daughter or not.” Max said firmly. “For starters I don’t know you from ‘Adam’. I want hard proof you are Rebecca’s father first of all. After that I can assure you I will be arranging a full and thorough search of your background to ensure you are not only financially stable, but also physically capable of looking after Rebecca.” “Search away, I have no skeletons Mr Evans.” Tom replied casually, the smile on his face drifting through into his words. “And then, Mr Bergstrom, I can assure you my wife and I will fight you tooth and nail to retain custody of a little girl who is very much a huge part of our lives.” Max said abruptly. “So you’ll be hearing from my lawyers very shortly. Goodbye.” Quickly replacing the receiver, Max blew out a deep breath. Dropping his elbows to his desk, Max rested his forehead on up turned palms and tried to process everything that had just happened in the last few moments. His head was spinning; the dull thud of a headache pushing through, and a sense of dread filled every fibre of his being. Oh this was not a good day, not a good day at all, was all he could think about clearly. The shrill ringing of his phone once more made Max jump and for a moment he hesitated. It was his personal call tone, meaning it was either Tom Bergstrom again, or Liz. For the first time he thought about the advantages of caller ID display, and made a mental note to ask Callie to arrange it for him. Unable to avoid the call though, Max took a deep breath before answering.
“Max?” “Liz, hi.” He sighed. “Are you ok? You sound funny.” Liz commented. “Erm yeah, tough day.” He replied, clearing his throat in an attempt to sound more normal. The last thing he wanted was Liz to ask more questions. He never could lie to her, and telling her over the phone about Rebecca’s biological father coming back into the picture wouldn’t go down well at all! “What can I do for you?” “Well
apart from hearing your sexy voice. I
thought I’d let you know I just got a call from Alex.” “Already?” “What do you mean already? She’s nearly a week overdue Max.” Liz replied, wondering how that had slipped his mind. Isabelle had called every night over the past week and that often came up. Clearly being pregnant had been starting to take its toll on her sister-in-law. “Oh yeah, I knew that. Sorry.” Max covered up. Lifting a hand he gently hit his head with his palm, in a vain attempt to knock some sense back into his fuddled brain. Geez if he kept this up Liz would surely know there was a problem. “Are you sure you’re ok Max? You sound like you’re on another planet or something. Are you sure work’s ok? Has Callie done something to upset you?” “No Liz really it’s fine. Callie’s fine and the business is going from strength to strength I promise. I’m just having a really bad day that’s all.” He assured. “Do we know how long Isabelle will be in labour?” “Not
yet, Alex was more panicking about getting her to the hospital before she had
the baby. He was convinced she was
going to have it there and then. He
said he’d call me once he got to the hospital.” All he had to do now was think about what to tell Liz. Having her upset with the baby’s wellbeing at stake was not something he wanted. Then again, was this really something he could keep from his wife? What if it did go to court and Rebecca was taken away from them. How would he explain that to Liz? Placing his head in his hands again, the thumping in his head deepened along with the dread of the situation he now found himself in. Oh how Max wished he could bury his head in the sand and let this all go away. But a feeling told him Tom Bergstrom was after something, and not just Rebecca, and wouldn’t let up until he got it. Five hours later, Max was on his way to the hospital. Liz had called two hours earlier to say Isabelle had given birth to his new niece, much to Alex’s joy. Despite the happiness that surrounded the event, as he pulled into the hospital car park a sense of apprehension filled him. Facing Liz, and pretending as if nothing was wrong would be very taxing, even for Max’s acting skills. He couldn’t lie, or hide if she asked him, but at the same time blurting it out at the hospital wouldn’t do them any good either. Besides, he was here to see Isabelle, Alex and their new baby. It was a happy occasion and the last thing he wanted to do was mar it with news of Tom Bergstrom upsetting all of their plans to adopt Rebecca. “Oh Isabelle she’s beautiful.” Liz gushed as Max entered the private hospital room. Standing beside his wife was Alex, with a huge grin plastered to his face. The pride he was emitting radiated and filled the room as he gazed down at the bundle of soft white blanket that encased his newborn daughter. Beside him stood Philip and Diane, holding an arm full of wrapped presents and a bunch of sweet smelling flowers. Maria stood next to Liz peering at the sleeping tot, while Michael hung back slightly with a fidgety Mackenzie in his arms. The cabinet beside her bed was already filling with presents and cards, more flowers and two helium filled balloons announcing [I]’it’s a girl[/I] floated around attached to the bed post. “Hi.” Max said softly, almost wishing he wasn’t there. Being happy in his present state of mind wasn’t something he felt like doing. Yet for his sister whom he cared for deeply he’d do it, this was her day after all. “Max.” Isabelle smiled, before her love filled eyes returned to her daughter. Stepping closer, Max took a look at his newborn niece. Although wrapped in the blanket, a shock of dark brown hair was clearly visible, small rosy cheeks, a perfect tiny nose and deep pink rosebud lips completed her face. As Isabelle gently stroked her cheek, the little tot opened her eyes for a few moments, giving Max a view of her crystal blue eyes. Boy was she gonna be a stunner when she got older if her present looks and parents were anything to go by, he thought silently. God help Alex when his baby daughter was old enough to date guys! “She’s beautiful sis.” Max commented warmly, kissing his sister’s cheek. “So, what are you going to call her?” He queried. “Well …..” Isabelle said, glancing at Alex to ensure his approval. “We were thinking about Amber Jayne.” “Amber Jayne Whitman, I think that’s a beautiful name honey.” Diane announced, as Philip smiled to back up the confirmation. While everyone continued to coo and ahh over dozing Amber, Max slipped silently into the background, watching Liz’s bright, beaming smile. He wondered absently if she’d smile like that again when he told her about the call from Tom Bergstrom. If only there was a way to protect her from the pain, he wished, but it was futile. There was no way to shield Liz, or Rebecca or even their unborn baby. They all had to know what would happen, and he could feel it in his bones that this was going to go all the way to court. Either Tom Bergstrom was a fully dedicated father, which Max doubted he was, or there was some other reasoning behind his sudden reappearance into his little daughter’s life. By the time they got home from the hospital, and had collected Rebecca from her friend Caitie’s house next door, Liz was more and more concerned about her husband. Max had been distant at the hospital, even with the polite chitchat he had exchanged with his family. Oh he asked the right questions to Isabelle, but it was as if they were almost rehearsed, and he clearly wasn’t listening intently to the answers. Something told her that if she asked Max was his little niece was called, or even how much she weighed or what time she was born he wouldn’t have a clue. Something was bothering him, but Liz couldn’t put her finger on it. The call earlier to his office had been a clear indication that he was having a rough day. But he’d had tough days before, and never once brought it home to affect his family and friends. Max always firmly believed in leaving his problems at the office. Whatever it was, this time it was obviously playing heavily on his mind. And Liz was determined to get to the bottom of it. After the take away Chinese meal they had brought home had been finished, Liz took Rebecca up for a bath before tucking her into bed. Pulling her bedroom door closed slightly, Liz took a breath before heading downstairs. They were finally alone, and it was time to find out just what was bothering her normally calm and cool husband. “You want to tell me what up?” She queried, claiming a seat next to Max on their leather sofa. “Huh?” He queried absently, the tumbler glass with a small amount of whiskey paused in mid flight, as if he couldn’t decide whether to take a sip or not. “What is it Max? You’ve been on another planet ever since you stepped into the hospital. Are you worried about something? Is it the baby?” “What? Oh no Liz I’m not worrying about the baby I know everything is fine with you.” He reassured her with a gentle pat on her knee before turning away again. Taking a breath, Max tried to keep a reign on his emotions. But he couldn’t look at her. Holding Liz’s gaze was too tough, too penetrating. It was as if she could see right into his very soul and extract all the secrets he held inside. No matter how hard he tried, he could paint a happy smile on his face but the worry in his eyes would still be more than present. Glowing too brightly like a beacon on a pitch-black evening at the dead of night. “Please Max, talk to me. I know you’ve had a rough day, and I know that I probably can’t do much to make it better. But let me try will you? Let me in to what’s going on in your brain. We haven’t kept secrets from each other in a very long time ….. please don’t let us start now.” “I really don’t think you want to know Liz. It’s a secret best left buried.” Max replied bluntly, turning to face her and finally holding eye contact. It was time to tell her. The look of dread in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. Whatever the problem was, be it work or personal, it was bad. Very bad. She’d never seen such a haunted look in his eyes before. Max was normally so strong, so vibrant, but whatever the problem was it had hit him hard. “Tell me.” She insisted, placing a gentle hand on his arm as she watched him tilt his head back and down the remainder of the amber liquid in the glass. As his Adams apple bobbed and swallowed, she could sense the apprehension of the moment. “I had a call today.” Max started, heaving in a deep breath. “From Tom Bergstrom.” “Bergstrom?” Liz queried. The sounding of Max’s voice was grave, as if she should know the name and its importance. It was, however, lost on her. Searching through her mind she could find no reference to a Tom Bergstrom, good, bad or indifferent. “Who is he?” Pouring another measure of Whiskey from the bottle beside him into his glass, Max took another swig before facing Liz. In a blink of an eye he knew he was about to bring her world crashing down. At that moment everything was perfect for them, Rebecca, the baby, their families, little Amber …… But with four words he would change that for Liz. And there was no way to protect his wife, he swore silently. He couldn’t do a damn thing to soften the blow or keep the news from her, no matter how hard he tried. “He’s Rebecca’s biological father.” Max finally announced, waiting for the words to hit Liz. “W …..wh …. What?” Liz stumbled quietly, her eyes growing large as she took in his news. “He called me today at the office just before I spoke to you.” “What did he want?” “Rebecca.” He simply replied. For a moment she sat there, blinking her eyes as she stared into space. Her happy smile from the hospital was now a thing of the past, her dancing eyes long since extinguished by his words. Instead the colour quickly drained from her face, drawing out her fear filled eyes even further. For a moment Max was grateful Liz was sitting down. For sure she would have passed out had she been standing. “Liz?” Max voiced softly, realising she had said nothing for a few moments. “He …… he can’t have her.” She finally responded, lifting her head to show tear filled eyes. Her voice was choked thickly with emotion, as if she’d had to battle hard to say the words. “She’s ours!” “Oh babe!” Max cried softly, putting down his glass before pulling Liz tightly into his arms. He’d hurt her with the news, the very thing he’d wanted to avoid and he hadn’t been able to. Gently smoothing his hand across her back, he absorbed her sobs into his chest and bit hard on his lip to keep control of his own emotions. Oh how he wanted to cry and wail that Rebecca was theirs too! “We can’t let him take her away.” Liz sniffed, finally lifting her head. “We won’t.” Max said firmly, as much to assure himself as Liz. “I’ll get on to my lawyer first thing in the morning to see where we stand and what we need to do. I’d hazard if Tom Bergstrom is serious then he’ll petition for Rebecca very soon.” “Max what if he takes her away from us?” “We can’t think about that right now Liz. We have to remain positive and believe we’ll win. We’re good people, and we’ve given Rebecca a wonderful house and plenty of love. From what Angie at the Orphanage said, her father has been out of the picture for a long time. No court will look favourably on that.” “But he’s her blood relative, we’re nobodies.” “No, we’re people who opened our house up and took Rebecca in when she had no one to care for her. Please Liz, we have to believe we can do this.” Max stressed. “And if the worst happens and he wins, then we’ll have to learn to live through that too.” Pulling her close once more, they sat in the near darkness of the room and held on to each other for dear life. Crushing hugs, whispered words attempting to soothe. But nothing could help or stop the fact Tom Bergstrom was threatening to rip the new family apart. The following morning, after Max had put the phone down to his lawyer, Ben McNab, there was a knock at his door. A court official served the petition papers with Tom Bergstrom’s intention to go to court to win back his daughter. And so the fight to keep Rebecca in her new family began.
PART 53
Just
a side note, I have very little or no knowledge of the justice system in
America. Therefore please excuse
any errors or faux pas where you believe ‘this wouldn’t happen like that in
real life’. Thank you! Climbing out of the car, Liz struggled to quell the queasy churning of her stomach. Instinctively, after smoothing down her navy suit, her hand fell to rest over her stomach, rubbing it rhythmically to quash the uneasy feeling. Her normal ritual of dry crackers and sips of orange juice to stem the morning sickness hadn’t worked this time. Instead she’d barely kept the small amount of food in her stomach long enough to dash to the bathroom. How much though of this morning’s raging bout of sickness was down to her pregnancy, she wasn’t entirely sure. The impending day and what would be held within it had to take at least a little of the blame for making her stomach feel like a washing machine on a spin cycle. Slipping his hand into his wife’s, Max squeezed it gently before throwing a smile her way. It was an attempt to help her relax and not worry so much, but all it did was make Max even more concerned about his wife. She looked pale and drawn this morning, as if she’d had very little sleep the night before. Something he could definitely substantiate, since he had felt her tossing and turning until the early hours of the morning. The fact Liz was struggling to keep even the smallest amount of food down concerned him further still. If only she’d listened to him, he thought silently. He’d done his best to persuade Liz to stay at home, to rest, relax and not worry about anything. He wanted her to look after the baby and leave the concern and worry to him. He was her husband after all and it was his job to protect her from hurt such as this. But Liz, being the stubborn woman he knew and loved, insisted in accompanying him along to the courthouse. They were married, a partnership, she’d argued as he’d helped her through the bout of morning sickness earlier by holding back her long silky hair, and two people who had made a loving, carrying environment for Rebecca since bringing her home from the Orphanage. And that was the Liz he knew and loved wholeheartedly. She wasn’t thinking about herself, or that of her own sickness, no all she cared about was Rebecca. And if someone, anyone, now wanted to come along and take her away from them, Liz sure as hell wanted to be around to fight tooth and nail to the very end to keep the little girl right were she belonged. At home with her new mother and father who loved her very much. “You ok?” He queried softly, concern filling his brown eyes. “I’ll be fine Max.” Liz assured him. “Just as soon as this horrible nightmare is over and Rebecca is ours for good.” The strength and determination in her voice, despite Liz’s gaunt completion and listless look in her eyes reminded Max what he loved most about her. That iron will and fiery determination to get what she wanted and never give up until that happened. “Ready?” Ben McNab, their lawyer asked, his voice strong and full of optimism. “As we’ll ever be.” Max responded, trying to sound equally confident, but failing somewhat. Walking up the stone steps to the courthouse, Liz dragged in a deep breath of fresh air. For a moment she felt like it was herself on trial for something, the way the breath of air felt like it could be her last. Then again, if Rebecca was taken away she wasn’t entirely sure if she’d breath again without her. Subconsciously Liz’s hand drifted to her stomach once more, rubbing measured circles in an attempt to remind herself there was someone else to think about in this scenario. Heck Max was already stressing about how it was affecting her, he didn’t need to worry about their baby too. The morning seemed to drag by for Liz, facing Tom Bergstrom for the first time proved a very arduous task. On the outside he seemed normal enough, smartly dressed in a slate grey suite and tie, hair cropped short behind his ears and shoes freshly polished. It was as if, to Liz, he was trying to project the model image of a helpless father who had lost his child and was trying to win her back. And that, of course, was exactly what he was trying to do. Although winning Rebecca back was one thing, being right in doing so, in ripping her away from her new family, was still under question in Liz’s eyes. And, as the morning wore on, Liz’s dislike for Rebecca’s biological father heightened. Tom’s lawyer was good, she deduced, knowing exactly the right questions to ask to instigate the fatherly reaction from him. Questions about how Rebecca had come about, and why he hadn’t been around to provide for the little girl. This gave Tom an inroad to explain how his daughter’s mother had shut him out, pushed him away and stopped him being the father her wanted to be. And by the time tears of emotion filled Tony Bergstrom’s eyes Liz felt fit to burst. One glance at the jury and it was obvious they were falling for his sob story, she on the other hand disbelieved every word he uttered. “Why would he have just left Becky? Why didn’t he fight to see her? Why did he just leave her mother to raise their daughter alone in a tiny flat with nothing, not even measly maintenance or child support payments?” Liz ranted as they sat in the small room near the judge’s chambers during recess. “That’s what I intend to find out.” Ben assured her, placing a calming hand on her shoulders. “But
that’s not good enough!” She cried, tears filling her eyes. “He’s fed the jury a pack of lies and they’ve just
sucked them in as the gospel truth. He’s
being painted as a model father who’s just been hard done by, but I know
it’s not true.” “No!” “Please sweetheart, getting upset won’t do you or the baby any good.” “I don’t care! Becky is worth getting angry over.” Liz blazed, tears cascading slowly down her face as her eyes shone out the anger that crashed through her body. Sucking in a deep breath, Max sunk to his knees in front of his wife and cupped her trembling hands in his. Bowing his head he took in a deep breath before slowly counting silently to five. All the while doing his best to keep a tight reign on his own emotions that were threatening to run rampant and scream and yell just as Liz was. But showing Liz he was equally as riled up and emotional as she was wouldn’t help the situation one bit. He had to remain strong for her, Liz had to know he was her rock to lean on no matter what. “Ok Liz, I know you’re angry and upset, but you need to relax. Le me do my job please. Let me get him up on the stand tomorrow and cross-examine him. Then I can pull holes in his flimsy defence. That’s why you’ve hired me, to do the work and to do the worrying.” Ben reminded her softly, his silver grey eyes showing all the concern and compassion he felt for the poor couple. “And you just look after yourself and that little one. Ok?” “Ok.” Liz finally responded much to Max’s relief. But the day dragged on and got little better. By the evening things were still looking very bleak for Max and Liz. Any fight for custody was bad, but for two all but strangers to the child to fight against a parent was going to be tough. “They’re going to take her away from us.” Liz said sadly as she laid bed that night. “Liz don’t say that.” “Why not Max, it’s the truth.” “No it’s not. No one is going to take Becky away.” “How do you know? How do you know he won’t win and then we’ll have nothing.” Liz said, trying her best to bite back the tears filling her eyes. Geez right now all she seemed to do was cry, what was wrong with her? Damn hormones! “I know it because I have to Liz. I have to believe Becky is staying right her with us because …… because if I don’t I’ll go mad.” He said firmly pulling Liz close and wrapping his arms around her naked shoulders. “I know it’s hard, but you have to believe it.” “I can’t Max, I’m so afraid.” She finally responded, tears cascading down her cheeks and splashing against his bare torso. “You have to be strong Liz, have to believe everything will turn out how we want it to. If you don’t do it for yourself do it for the baby. You’re putting too much stress on yourself and that isn’t good for anyone, let alone someone who is in the early stages of pregnancy.” “It’s so hard.” “I
know babe, and I wish there was a way I could make this all go away, but I
can’t. I can’t stop you
hurting, and I can sway the jury in our favour, but I can make you look after
yourself. You need to get some rest
and start eating more than the few bites you’ve been surviving on the last two
days.” “You
can’t do that Max!” Liz cried
softly. “I’ll go crazy staying
here while you’re in court.” Her abdomen was still flat; barely a hint of what was growing deep inside. The thought of a couple of months down the line and the changes that would take place in Liz’s body made him smile. All because of the child he’d helped create, the child he’d put inside her with his essence. He couldn’t wait to see her stomach rounded with their child, her breasts swelling further in preparation, and her skin glowing like most pregnant women did. In his mind he imagined how she would look carrying their child, how proud he would be to show her off even more to the work knowing it was his child inside. Just the mere thought stirred the feelings deep inside his body. A shiver of excitement ran down his spine as his body hardened in reaction to what it craved. The feel of Liz’s naked body encased in his strong arms heightened the feelings of desire, heat pooling deep in his stomach in anticipation. Oh it would be so easy to push her gently back against the billowing cream silk pillows and cover her body in a multitude of kisses. Then slowly sink deep inside her, to feel her muscles contract as he eased out before thrusting deep inside once more. To continue the age-old rhythm of making love, until they both reached what they craved and fell over the edge. But he wasn’t about to act on his primeval instincts no matter how strong they were. Liz had been though enough that day, sitting in court and enduring lie after lie spilling from Rebecca’s father’s mouth. Then to have hardly eaten a bite all day, coupled with the fact she’d tossed and turned the night before. No, the last thing she would want was him aching and needy for her. Oh she wouldn’t turn him away, she never did, but this was one night he’d hold on to that desire for the good of his wife. She needed a good night’s sleep and that was what he’d provide to the very best of his abilities. Holding her tightly encased in his arms and making her feel safe was all he’d do, nothing more, even if it caused him physical pain to deny his body’s needs in the process. The following morning Liz woke feeling more refresh and awake than she had in a long while. After a warm, invigorating shower she managed to keep down a small amount of breakfast. She would have skipped it altogether, however, if Max hadn’t been standing over her, watching her like a hawk at every nibble of dry toast she took to ensure it was ingested. Still, she knew he’d keep his word and hold her hostage in the house if she didn’t at least try. And staying away from the courthouse was definitely not an option. Part of her also knew, in her heart that Max was right to force her to slow down. A pang of guilt hit her hard as she took her black tailored single-breasted jacket from the closet. She did need to look after herself more now, there wasn’t just her to think about anymore. Her hand instinctively slipped to her midriff, for a moment thinking of the wonderful miracle growing deep inside her. This was her reason to slow down, to not get quite so worked up and relax a bit more. This was the reason she’d forced a little food and juice down her throat and willed her stomach to remain settled so the food could be absorbed. [I]Her baby. Their baby. [/I] The child they both had longed for desperately for so long. The one last thing that would make their lives complete. Oh having Becky was a godsend, and they loved her with all their hearts and wouldn’t give her up without a fierce fight. But nothing could compare to the joy of own flesh and blood. The experience of feeling their child growing daily inside her. The wonder of its first kick and the feel of it moving around. That was what Liz longed for more than anything else, to feel the life inside her. That was what would get her through this terrible ordeal, that and the thought she would let nobody take Becky away from her. That little girl was as much her daughter, her own blood, as if she’d carried and given birth to her herself. The same shiver of apprehension fizzled down her spine as they entered the courtroom that morning. The thought of having to face Tom Bergstrom once more filled her with much dread. Oh how she hated that man. He was Rebecca’s biological father, which was undisputed with DNA testing that had already been carried out. But it took a lot more to be a father than just creating the child. When she’d needed him most, when her mother had been cruelly taken away from her in the fire that had destroyed their home, Tom had left Rebecca alone to face the agony of the world. Nothing, no matter what he did or said, would change that or Liz’s feelings on him. Another morning full of arduous questions and cross-examination ensued before it was Max’s turn to take the stand and give account of why he felt Liz and he should be allowed to regain custody of Rebecca. Watching him on the stand, Liz felt renewed admiration for her husband. His face was well known in the business circle. Evans Consulting was rapidly becoming a very big player in the market even though it was a relatively small outfit in terms of staff. Such publicity from an adoption suit wasn’t necessarily a good thing for his company. All the while he was in court, Max was unavailable for consulting and that in turn meant turning away custom that would have been very productive. Coupled with that, he was blatantly displaying that he was a family man, keen to fight for what he believed was right. And, more importantly, fight for a little girl who wasn’t even his own flesh and blood. That on one hand told onlookers that he wasn’t a man to roll over when things got tough. He was prepared to stand up for what he believed in no matter what the cost. But on the other hand it showed his gentle, caring side. It showed he wasn’t single minded when it came to the pursuit of business, he had outside interests. Which in turn told everyone he wasn’t the hard as nails businessman he portrayed in boardrooms and power meetings, but he had a human side also. It was a toss of a coin as to if that was good or bad. Max answered all questions fired his way in a professional, businesslike manner, treating being on the stand very much like conducting a business negotiation. Showing just enough emotion to be loved, but not so much as to give away the upper hand. Ben had prepped him as to what to expect from the cross-examination, but Max wasn’t unduly worried. He had practically no skeletons in his closet, no arrests, no court writs or anything, heck not even a wayward parking ticket that could paint him as anything other than a model citizen of the state of California. Yet still they tried to slander him, tried to make out he was more interested in his work as was Liz. Tom’s lawyer pointed out he worked long, laborious hours, to which Max could do little else but agree. For he did, at times, working long into the night, even if it was often in his study at work. That came with the territory of owning your own business and striving for success. They were nights, however, that Liz was home with Rebecca taking good care of her, and it happened less and less nowadays that he was away from home in the evenings. He loved his family and the thought of coming home to Liz and Rebecca each night always chased him from the confinements of his office. Although Liz wasn’t required to take the stand, much to Max’s relief in her present state, her working commitments were still brought into question. Although she had slacked off hours at Amber Inn, she still put in a fair few, meaning Diane often collected Rebecca from school and looked after her for a couple of hours until one of them came for her. It was an arrangement that suited them all. Diane loved seeing the little girl who was all but her granddaughter, and Becky loved the older lady. Knowing Rebecca was in safe hands also stopped Liz from worrying about her while she was at work. And then Cali was brought into the picture. They couldn’t deny she was staying with them, and, when questioned about her behaviour, Max couldn’t deny Cali had been a handful at first. Even though he stated categorically for the record that Cali had turned over a new leaf and was much more responsible now, the fact she’d been somewhat of a tearaway didn’t bode well for any of them. By the end of the second day both Max and Liz felt even lower. Things were not going their way at all. The judge seemed to be looking on at them as if they had ‘bought’ Rebecca rather than opened their home to her through love. The fact Liz was pregnant also didn’t seem to be working in their favour; since it seemed to be viewed Rebecca had originally been taken in by them so they didn’t need to have the inconvenience their own baby. They had money and Max couldn’t deny they were comfortable with all they could provide for the little girl. But in normal circumstances that would work for them since they could prove they could provide for anything the little girl needed. Yet this time it seemed to work against them, harm their chances rather than help. For Tom Bergstrom had the most important thing on his side ……. he was blood relation to Becky. And so far in this case, that counted very favourably in his direction, no matter what private motives he might have.
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