He Saved Me

Chp 5

After consoling Mia, Michael managed to put her to sleep. She was dehydrated and evidently exhausted. She needed her rest. He had one of the nurses stay in her room, so she's not frightened when she wakes up to no one. Meanwhile, Michael went around to all the other patients he was planning on meeting today. He gave out the presents and spent some time with all those children. He was beaming with joy.
Eventually the time came to speak to the lawyers and Mia's social worker. As much as he was dreading this, he was also very eager to get this over with. He made Mia a promise and he intended to keep it. He truly did want to save her from this unfortunate family life that she comes from. The hospital administrator notified Michael that his lawyers and the social worker have arrived, and waiting for him in a conference room in the hospital. Michael followed him there. Once he stepped into the conference room, he realized that this was going to be a A LOT harder than he thought.

Michael's POV
I walked in and noticed several unfamiliar faces. I was only expecting my 3 lawyers and the social worker. But then I saw a man and a woman whose faces looked familiar. Then it hit me. They're Mia's parents. I introduced myself and took a seat. There was an awkward silence before Mia's father spoke up.
"You're not taking my daughter anywhere!" he screamed with rage. I didn't really know what to say. I didn't know if I should remain calm or curse her parents out for being such terrible parents. I took a deep breath and looked at him in the eye.
"Do you really think you're treating Mia right? Honestly? Man to man, father to father. Can you truly say you're treating that little girl right?" I said trying to stifle my tears.
"What I do with my daughter is none of your business! I never touched that girl. But they want to charge me with abuse!" he bellowed while pointing to the social worker.
"Sir, just because you never physically abused your daughter doesn't mean that you didn't participate in the abuse. You were fully aware of what you're wife was doing. Yet, you chose to turn a blind eye. You're basically an accomplice. Under my authority, I will not allow Mia to go back under your care and that's final. You should be glad I'm even allowing you to keep your son," the social worker pointed out.
I looked at the social worker confused. "Hold on, they have another child?? And you're letting him stay in that abusive household?" I questioned.
"Mr. Jackson I have to follow a criteria when it comes to my cases. And I've come to the conclusion that their son is safe there. I won't be pulling him out of the house," she said.
"Fine if that's how you want to run this. But I know for a fact that Mia is not safe there. I'm not allowing her to go back there." I said.
"Alright superstar, what are you going to do different? Since you're parent of the year, how will you do a better job than us? Because believe me, that girl is a trip," snarked Mia's mother.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her. "I will be a real parent. Give her love and motivation to be a good citizen in this world. More than anything, I will make sure she's happy," I said with a smirk.
"Yeah that's cute and shit, till the girl drives you insane and has her little temper tantrums. The brat is about to be 11 years old and still throws tantrums like shes 3," she said.
"Well children learn what they see," I said condescendingly. I knew what she was trying to do. She thinks I will change my mind if she paints Mia as a brat. Children that don't receive proper care or love will obviously act out. It's bound to happen. During the back and forth between Mia's mother and I, I noticed that her father was awfully quiet. His face looked soft and worried. I felt like I can get through to him.
I looked directly at her father and said, "I know you love her. I can tell." He flinched a little. He looked down. "But if you choose your marriage over your daughter, time and time again, you know she's better off with me. I can care for her, love her, provide her with everything she could ever possibly need or want," I said with a hand to my heart.
In the few short moments I spent with Mia, I knew that I was meant to save her. I was meant to be here. I felt a special connection with her that I didn't feel with the other children. Maybe it was the all too familiar feeling of abuse and neglect. All I knew was that I was meant to be her father. I knew it in my core. After much discussion, Mia's parents agreed to sign off their parental rights over Mia to me. After several invasive questions from the social worker about my finance and living conditions, I was now officially Mia's father. I was elated.
Once all the documents were signed, I shook hands with my lawyers and the social worker. Before I stepped out of the room, Mia's mother looked at me with pure hatred and said, "Don't bring her back when she becomes too much to handle." I simply rolled my eyes and left the conference room. I never have to deal with these people again. I looked at my watch and realized I need to head out soon if I want to make it to Paris's show. I headed towards my little girl's room to welcome her into her new life.

To be continued