Family Portrait (Fam Series #1)

174 - The Silvagni Family

Ashleigh -

'ANOTHER WEEK? ANOTHER WEEK OF INVESTIGATIONS?!' Kyle loudly whines, as he stands up and slams his chair, ready to leave.

'I don't understand. I get that Nick Daicos and Maeve Young aren't here, but they can still be sentenced for their other crimes. This is just a shit excuse' Josh Dunkley says, as he shakes his head in disgust too.

'If we're depending on Nick to put the basketcases away, we might be waiting forever' I say, as I swing my bag over my shoulder.

Adeline catches my eye as she thanks Keira, taking a stack of papers from her and running to the back of the court, calling out 'STEPHEN!'

'What's she up to now?' Lisa asks, sounding frustrated as Keira runs after the drug addict.

'Adeline, wait. Remember what I said to you? If the Silvagni family sign these papers, it's going to cause a massive legal headache for you' she warns. Adeline's the sort that can't be told, so obviously she's not going to listen to her anyway.

'I'm not signing these. I'm not ruining another man's life, and when Olivia finds out?' Jo asks angrily, as she pushes the papers back to Adeline. Stephen rolls his eyes.

'I'm not working for you anymore. I can't just have Charlie in the office to see her family like that, and how else is she supposed to see you guys? This is a new Adeline and I'm not hiding anything any longer like I used to. If you guys sign these papers, I can fix the father on her birth certificate to her real father. It's not fair that this is still continuing' Adeline explains.

'Sorry, fix the what on her what?' Olivia asks, as she walks back in from her bathroom break. Zac Fisher coos over his nephew as Emily and Bella get ready to leave.

'If we sign these Adeline, we'll get into trouble. You know that, right?' Stephen asks, as Charlie lets go of his three children with Adeline and they run towards their mother, screaming her name.

'STEPHEN!' Charlie Hannah (Charlie Junior) yells, as she recognises her mother's former boss. Can't believe how old she's getting too.

'Hey Ad. Good to see you've cleaned yourself up' Charlie says, as he walks over to them, putting a hand on his ex wife's back. She shrugs it off.

'Stephen, please' Adeline says, looking up at him with big eyes. He sighs as he looks at his furious wife, trapped in an awkward situation again.

'What can I do to get this idea out of your head? What if I reinstated your position at the club?' He asks.

'I've been offered a position at Collingwood under your recommendation, and it's better pay' she says, laughing, and tapping the papers again.

'For god sake dad, just do it. You know how much it forever annoyed Jack to play the hiding game' Ben says loudly, as he and his brother play wrestle in a courtroom.

'What annoyed Jack? What's going on here? Stephen, what are those papers?' Olivia asks, looking worried.

'Olivia, please, stay out of it. This is already difficult enough' Stephen says, trying to block her from viewing the forms.

'How many times have you told me to stay out of something, and how many times have I ignored you?' She asks, as Zac pushes her out of the way.

'Wait, is that our daughter's name?' Charlie asks, as he catches the name Charlie Hannah Curnow written on the paperwork, with Adeline listed as the legal custodian parent.

'Charlie, fuck off. This doesn't concern you. Stephen, hurry up and sign it, we don't have all day' Adeline says.

'Why's he signing something regarding our daughter?' Charlie asks, sounding worried. He throws a look back at Madeline, who shrugs.