“She is their grandchild,” Amy shot back, but the fire in her words seemed to be fading.
“She’s my child!” I growled darkly.
“I think Jayla’s father would disagree,” Allen broke in suddenly with a smirk curling in the corner of his mouth.
We all sat in stunned silence for a few moments before Matthew found his composure. “What exactly does that mean?”
Amy looked sharply at Allen who simply shrugged and leaned back in his seat before she turned to address us.
She nodded. “We believe we have found Jayla’s father.”
“First of all, you better back this shit up with a blood test,” Matthew ordered, clearly angry with this new information. “And secondly, why does he not want custody himself?”
Amy cleared her throat, another mistake her on her part, letting her emotions once again show through. She was apprehensive. “He never wanted to be a part of Jayla’s life.”
Matthew laughed loudly. “Don’t bullshit me. What is it? He has another family? Cheated on his wife? Celebrity? Let’s be honest here.”
Amy squared her shoulders and began packing away her things. “We will organize our part of the DNA test and have it ready to be presented at court next week. Make sure you do your part or I’ll have your clients for obstruction.”
Mary’s eyes widened. “I thought we would be able to spend time with Jayla today.”
“Not happening,” I said sternly.
Amy sighed. “They have temporary custody,” she informed her client. “They aren’t obligated to give you time with her unless appointed by a judge. I don’t think Mister Stanford is feeling all that generous today.”
“Over my dead fucking body,” I answered.
She nodded and Mary sent me a dark glare across the table while her husband stood smugly.
The tension in the room was dark. I didn’t like it, it made me feel sick to my stomach. I could tell that Op could feel it too, his body tensed beside me like he was expecting some kind of fight. The three of us sat silently as they filed out of the room. I waited until the door clicked into place before I turned my attention to Matthew.
“What the fuck just happened?”
He scrubbed his hand through his hair in pure frustration. “They’ve just thrown a spanner, the size of the fucking state of Texas, in the works.”
“Can they do that?” Optimus asked gruffly.
I clenched my fists, sweat building at the back of my neck.
“I’ll do what I can,” Matthew replied. “But I think it’s time you guys did some digging.”
“You feel it, too?”
He nodded, his face serious and urgent. “We can’t let her go with them.”
“Trust me, she won’t be.”