*
*
Faith was discharged from the hospital three days later.
It was simply difficult to comply with the doctor's orders to get sufficient rest, not with Sterling's threats constantly replaying in her head.
Her heart managed to leap to her throat each time she recalled his exact words about her not seeing Maya again.
He had sounded so confident that she would lose her rights to Maya.
It upset and sickened her to think about the deceptive measures he might do to ensure she lost her daughter.
She had to be prepared, but his actions like most times were unpredictable. She didn't have a clue what he might do next and it made her nerves squeeze in frustration.
She would appear in court in two days after having complied with everything related to the drug testing requirements as was ordered by the judiciary.
She had never done drugs in her entire life, the tests result would definitely turn out negative.
Her lawyer, Mr. Sullivan had guaranteed her that once the evidence provided confirmed that she was drug-free, the court would order the children protecting service to release the child, and then she could then file for damages if she wanted to.
But what if Sterling was able to falsify the results as he had done before?
She despised the fact that he probably possessed such power.
The doorbell suddenly rang, snapping Faith from her dazed state.
She stared at the door for a brief moment, it couldn't be Julian.
He had had to return home earlier today because their mother was extremely worried.
She had not even explained anything to her mother, where would she even start?
The doorbell sounded again and this time, Faith stood up.
Perhaps it was the hotel's room service?
She gently tugged the door open, it was indeed one of the hotel's staff.
"Hello, are you Miss Faith Jameson?" He asked
"Yes, I am. Is there a problem?" Faith inquired after a brief moment of hesitation.
"There is a mail for you ma'am."
Faith's brows drew together in confusion as she stared at the extended envelope.
She wasn't expecting any mail, but her name was boldly written on the large white envelope.
"Thank you." She accepted it and proceeded to close the door behind her.
She walked to the sofa and carefully opened the letter. Reading through the first line, everything within her turned to ice.
Her heart jumped to her throat as her face slowly turned to chalk.
If she wasn't already settling on the sofa, she might have collapsed.
This couldn't be happening!
She stared at the court order, her alarmed gaze reading through each line over and over again.
Her biggest fear had come through in the worse of ways.
He wanted full custody of Maya!
Faith flung the papers away as anger and dread pumped through her veins and settled in her stomach.
She was yet to recover Maya back from the agency, and he was already knocking her with the shock of another lawsuit!
He wanted the full rights to her baby, wasn't there any last bit of compassion left in him?
It seemed her situation would only get worse and worse.
*
*
Faith knocked twice before entering the office. Her eyes almost immediately located Mr. Sullivan Floyd where he sat behind his desk.
He was the best lawyer she had Julian had been able to get their fingers on in a short space of time.
"Welcome, please take a seat" He wore a small welcoming smile.
Faith had already tried half as much to explain her new situation to him over the phone. She had been in such a panicked state and had instantly driven here as fast as she had been able to.
"There is absolutely no court that will completely sever a newborn from her mother, It is extremely rare even though it might happen on special circumstances, for example, if the mother turns out to be abusive."
Faith tucked her hair behind her ears, the slight crease on her forehead didn't disappear even though Mr. Sullivan was assuring her that the chances of Sterling winning full custody of Maya were very slim.
"It might interest you to know that most cases of custody rights usually favor the mother, and from what I gathered, The judge handling your case is a woman, there is a high chance that she will sympathize more with you and your situation. That's another advantage you have over there."
Faith met Mr. Sullivan's gaze and her nervousness dissipated a bit. Everything about him was calm and reassuring.
Faith looked down when his fingers slowly reached to grab hers in a comforting way.
"There are also some tips that could maybe help."
Anything that would benefit her situation, she was extremely eager to know.
"I think if you can successfully manage to convince everyone that your ex-husband is a runaway father who abandoned you and your child, there will be a greater chance of success__" He started and everything within Faith fought against the idea.
"B_but he did not exactly abandon us, I told you that he didn't know I was pregnant when we uh_seperated."
Faith watched the small smile that spread across her lawyer's face.
"I know you probably don't want to do it, but think about it, the court rarely favors parents who left behind their family. The truth doesn't exactly matter in situations like this, all you need to do is to prove that he doesn't exactly qualify to be a father."
Faith stared at him in disbelief, he wanted her to lie against Sterling?
"As a man, I hate to say this, but making yourself appear to be his victim would gather everyone's sympathy"
"But__" I can't do that, was what Faith wanted to say. She had been the one who started it all wrong by not telling Sterling she was pregnant for fear that he would use the information to force her to remain with him.
"You want to win don't you? I'm telling you this is the surest way to get your daughter back once and for all!"
Of course, she wanted Maya back. She was willing to go to any extent for it.
"There are no buts, you need to be able to convince them why you deserve to be your daughter's parent and he does not!"
Faith gulped down the lump in her throat. The sensations continued to strike her chest and she tried to shrug it off.
Why should she feel guilty for what she was about to do?
He was not the only one who was allowed to play dirty.
Perhaps this was the only way she might be able to beat him at his own game
She was just a frustrated mother fighting for her rights and that of her child.
She would ensure to perform a good show.