(Ivann's POV)
The next morning was hard. It was mostly quiet, except for Anthony talking about what he was going to do with his friends at school. Sean and I decided it would be best if they went to school, though we didn't really want to let them out of our sights.
Neither of the three of us had it in us to tell Anthony the bad news. We all forced smiles and laughs as he told us about his friends and what they were going to do that day at school, all while knowing that this could be one of the last days we could all be together.
"C'mon Ky, hurry up and eat or we'll be late for the bus," Anthony said as Kyle pushed his breakfast around his plate.
"Don't worry, we're going to drive you two to school today," Sean told him.
"Really?!" Anthony asked excitedly, as he looked over at us.
"Yeah," I answered, with a nod and a painful smile, but I just couldn't force the same excitement he had.
We dropped Kyle and Anthony off at school and headed straight to Rachel's office. She unlocked the doors for us. She came in to work early, before anyone else was there, just to meet with us about what was going on. We all were silent as we walked through the dimly lit building, back to her office.
She was the one to break the silence between us. "I'm just going to start off by telling you what I know and we can figure out what kind of strategy we can come up with from there," she said with a heavy sigh. Sean and I both nodded in agreement. "Okay," she began. "Apparently, the pup's parents had some big names saved up their sleeves, just for this kind of situation. They used those names to lessen their stay behind bars. They are out on parole and under the condition of house arrest. They will be staying with the pup's father's sister," she informed us. "And that's where the pups come in. Their aunt has filed for custody of them. She wants to have temporary guardianship over the pups until a time when the pups parents are suitable to take back over their care."
"Can we fight it? Can we fight for custody of the pups?"
"Yes. I was getting to that," she answered. "I'm not a lawyer, but I know there are some things we can use against them to help with your case," she told us. "Ivann, you don't have a record and Sean, yours has been clean for nearly fourteen years, but as you stated before, most of those charges were dropped, so that's good," she pointed out. "As we already know, it's not the same for the pups parents' records and their aunt. Though hers is cleaner, she has some recent charges on hers," she said. "Plus, I know how the kind of people they squealed on work and, even if they aren't under their parent's custody, just being under the same roof as them would put the pups in danger."
I squeezed Sean's hand. The pups getting hurt was my worst fear. "So... What do you think our chances of winning are?" I asked, nervously.
She let out another heavy sigh. "I don't want to get your hopes up."
"How long before all this starts?" Sean asked.
"Well, their aunt has already filed a motion for custody of the pups - that's why I'm talking to you now. So, it would be best if you file yourselves, soon or today even," she said. "She still has to pass a home inspection and see a psychologist, to see if she's stable enough to take them in. So, depending on how long that takes, it will give us some time to build up your case."
"Should we get a lawyer or something?" I asked.
"Sadly, in most of these cases, I'd tell people not to because the courts usually side with placing the cubs back with their parents or relatives," she admitted, looking down and shaking her head. "But not this time." She looked up at us. "Get the best one you two can afford."
