<h4>Chapter 190: Chapter 190 : The Court’s Decision</h4>


    Ba.


    I paced back and forth, my eyes narrowed in thought, and adrenaline rushing through my veins. I ran my fingers through my hair and took several deep breaths, trying topose myself so that I could focus and not let stress take over everything.


    Today was the day.


    We were heading to court in an hour, and I was trying to gather my bearings. I hoped this would work out in favor of Alessandro. There was no way the court would allow Chad to gain rights over that child. Right? Otherwise, he wouldn’t be with me right now.


    However, James wasn’t here either.


    Though he assured me this wouldn’t be forever, I still felt my heart clench upon thinking about all of this. These kids needed a family, I wanted to give that to them. Not only that, but I loved James, I was sure, even through this mess.


    Putting a hand on my forehead, I moved into the kids’ room, poking my head through the door and fixing my eyes on Alessandro. Currently, he was awake and ying around with his toys. At the moment, he had a little stuffed wolf in his hand.


    He waved it at me and said, “Mama!” I smiled and walked over, sitting there and taking him into my arms. I held him close, and he cuddled into me, giving several soft giggles. When he pulled away, he showed me the toy.


    “Fuck!” he said, giggling. “Fuck!” I winced, but kept a grin on my face. That piece was used against me by the court, brought on by the Stepford wives. I was reminded of how much I really didn’t belong here. But where would we go?


    Back to Italy?


    The whole issue surrounding the mafia was more and more prevalent in my mind given what was brought up in court. James was still torn to pieces over the death of Tally. We’d be looking into the maw of the beast, practically, going to their territory.


    My thoughts were disrupted by Alessandro running into my arms again for more hugs and cuddles. I chuckled, dismissing those worried thoughts for now, and bounced the toddler around some more.


    Dahlia, who formerly had been asleep in her crib, began to stir. She woke up and sat up, fixing her dark eyes on me and giving an open and closed hand wave. I did the same wave back, proud of my daughter. She was growing up so fast.


    Her father, hopefully, would be right, that everything would work out. James was no doubt livid that he had to stay away from the kids for now. Alessandro would need to be with Dahlia. After all, I intended on having both of my children with me.


    A knock on the door caused me to lean over, kiss Alessandro on the cheek, and leave the room. I set up the gate, and reminded myself that the nursery was baby-and-toddler-proofed. La had spent the night somewhere else the night before, so she wasn’t here to watch them at the moment. She was a live in nanny, but we did encourage her to have her own life.


    Then, I went to the front door.


    Answering it, I gave a smile. “Hello, La,” I said. She returned the smile, one that didn’t meet her eyes. I wondered what was going on.


    “Hey, Ba,” she said. “How are the kids? Sorry–I forgot my key.”


    “They are in good spirits. Haven’t eaten breakfast yet. I think they miss their daddy, though,” I said, my voice dripping with sadness. La gave me a sympathetic look, nodding and cing a hand on my shoulder.


    “They do. I hope it goes well for you today,” she said, her voice soft but edged with something I couldn’t quite identify. I looked into her eyes, trying to figure it out but not being able to ce it. Finally, I broke my silence after a pause.


    “Are you doing alright?” I asked in a hushed tone, furrowing my brow.


    “Yeah, I’ve just got a lot on my mind,” she said. I didn’t want to pry, and needed to get ready to go, anyway. She hadn’t told me where she’d been the night before, and I hadn’t asked. I knew she’d made some friends among the other nannies. Maybe she’d been with one of them? I nodded, leaving her to care for the children at this point while I got ready to head to court.


    I didn’t need to do anythingplex to get ready but still gave myself plenty of time despite that. The stress was starting to give me a headache, but I told myself to take a few deep breaths and keep focused. Over and over, I told myself that everything would work out.


    Alessandro and Dahlia were happy children, and would be cared for by La. They would have a wonderful day, and that would be what counted. It was true, if the court had doubts about me, Alessandro wouldn’t be here right now. He’d be with Chad.


    The thought of that made my stomach twist but was a pointless one to dwell on. Logic said that I was right. They would deem Chad a horrible danger and unfit to raise Alessandro. As for James, though, that was where things got very shaky.


    I may need to say goodbye to him for good. I couldn’t bear to think about that. Or we could move elsewhere, like Italy, like he probably thought we were going to. I couldn’t stay here, that I knew. Not with the Stepford wives making it clear that I didn’t belong, anyway.


    Well, except for Antote. At least I had her on my side. But one wolf among a whole pack, that wouldn’t be enough. The situation with the swear words being brought up in court told me that much. There was a very real possibility that such a detail would make me lose Alessandro.


    Thankfully, he was here and safe. That’s something I needed to just keep telling myself as I got into proper clothing and ran a brush through my hair. When I stared at myself in the mirror, I definitely noticed dark circles under my eyes.


    How much sleep did I getst night? Five hours? Four? None? It had been so spotty, I didn’t know. Either way, regardless of how tired I was, I needed to keep my chin up and get going. I walked through the house, bid La goodbye, gave the kids their kisses, and headed out.


    On the drive to court, I put on some music, wanting to distract myself from worrying too much. Letting out a soft sigh, I watched people going about their day as I was stopped at a light, hoping my life could return to normal soon.


    That would be preferred. Could we aplish that either here or in Italy? I shook my head. The conversation Antote and I’d had yed in my head. We had talked about running a charity, and I began to brainstorm ces that would be viable to go.


    I could make a difference in the world and raise my kids where they would be safe. We had plenty of money, and while Italy was an option, it wasn’t the best one. I reached up and rubbed the side of my head while keeping one hand on the wheel.


    Refocusing, I pulled into a spot in the courthouse parking lot. I slowly joined everyone else inside. When we got into positions, I looked over at James. He looked just about as tired as I felt.


    His dark hair was sticking up in ces, as though he had just woken up and haphazardly ran ab through it. There were dark circles under his eyes, just like mine, but he held his head high with authority and confidence.


    When our eyes met, he gave me a reassuring smile, one that I returned. I didn’t know what to expect. I did know that he was a wonderful father and damn it, the court hopefully would see that too.


    The judge stood at the podium, looking through some paperwork and taking his sweet time. The Cartwrights were in positions with their typical uptight expressions, as if every single one of them had swallowed a bug and made it everyone else’s problem.


    Chad, in particr, had murder in his eyes. He kept stealing nces at me as the judge went through his papers and typical spiel. I didn’t give Chad the benefit of reacting at all, even if he frightened me somewhat.


    There was murmuring in the court as, finally, the judge raised his hand for order. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. A very tangible, visceral feeling settled on me as I was made aware of every nerve in my body.


    This was it.


    My family’s fate hung in the decision of the jury, and we were about to find out exactly what the future would hold for us.


    “The jury hase to its decision. Reba Woods and James Valentino are the best parents for Alessandro. Reba Woods has been granted full custody. Should she and James ever cease to see each other, as the grandfather, James will have visitation rights to be determined by the court at ater date.”


    The court erupted in chatter.


    I felt my heart sing, glow with fire and gold, as tears began to spill from my face. I was shuddering, sobbing with job, overwhelmed with sheer relief. When I lifted my face from my hands, my eyes locked with James.


    He had a huge grin stered on his face and was shedding several tears as well. His eyes were filled with love, and his posture had gone from tense topletely rxed. He had been right. It would all work out, he’d said, and here we were.


    Alessandro would get the wonderful life he deserved.


    “WHAT?!” Chad’s voice yelled out, dripping with frustration and hatred. “The kid should be MINE! MINE! He is MY kid by blood!”


    Technically speaking, he was James’s as well, given Tally was Alessandro’ste mother. That didn’t matter to Chad, though, as he added while pointing to me, “That WHORE has no right by DNA to MY kid!”


    “SILENCE!” Judge Hopper shouted, irritation spilling from that word like a raging river. “You will keep your temper, or be escorted out by security. Do I make myself clear, Chad Cartwright?” This silenced the raging man, for now.


    He could whine and scream all he wanted. At this point, we had won. Justice had won, rather, and Alessandro would not suffer whatever fate the Cartwrights had nned for him.


    The judge continued, saying, “Chad Cartwright has waived all of his rights. Period. There is no further debate.”


    Carter and Cecelia Cartwright were absolutely livid. No doubt, Carter was so used to getting what he wanted, whenever he wanted it. Now, the loss was ring him in the face. He wanted Alessandro, for what reason? I had no idea. I was just d my son wasn’t falling into his hands.


    Cecelia began barking out a series of angry cuss words, clenching her fist and looking as though she wanted to punch Chad. She refrained from doing so, at least, though I wouldn’t have been opposed if she decided to do so.


    Dismissing this, for now, I looked back over to James with a huge grin. We would leap over that hurdle of what to do next when we got there. For now, we could be happy.


    At least, that was my thought until I felt a very cold stare directed at me. I turned my head to stare Carter Cartwright down. He wore a tight-lipped scowl as he regarded me. Narrowing his eyes, he spoke through a clenched jaw.


    “This isn’t over.”