JANUARY: COURT DAY
LANI'S POV
"In our defense your honor....LaMelo and Kehlani have been here for Damien since he was first admitted into the adoption program." Lucinda, our lawyer spoke for me and my husband.
The Judge didn't say anything. He sat quietly and read through the paperwork.
"Ms. Sawl....speak." He looked at the Cooper's lawyer.
"Although my clients haven't been there since the beginning, they take amazing care of Damien. They can give him love that the Ball family cannot."
"And how is that?"
"They do not travel separately. LaMelo has basketball games, and Kehlani has announced tour for next month....they will not be spending as much time with Damien as they are now."
"Objection your honor!" Lucinda asked for permission to interject.
"Denied." The judge didn't even look our way.
I was beyond nervous. My heart was racing. The Cooper's had points we couldn't defend.
"The Ball Family household is also not safe."
My eyes went wide, and Melo placed his hand on my thigh.
"As you can see in document C for yourself." Their lawyer handed out papers to the judge, Lucinda, me, and LaMelo.
"A couple months ago....Mrs. Ball reportedly kidnapped Damien."
"And what was the motive?"
"Leylah was removing Damien from a toxic relationship between the parents."
This lady was making the situation sound worse than it was.
"How long did she have the child?"
"Approximately 15 hours and 36 minutes."
I didn't know Leylah was recording how long I took Damien.
"She had him from 5 in the morning, til 8 at night."
The judge was quiet, and he looked at the papers carefully.
"Thank you Ms. Sawl."
The lawyer nodded, and took a seat next to the white couple she's defending.
"I would now like to hear from Ms. Lucinda"
Our lawyer stood up, and straightened out her shirt.
"Your honor....disregarding the minor setback that Kehlani had done on October 10, it was documented that Mrs. Ball also had a seizure that night once Damien was returned back to the agency."
"What was the cause of it?" He took his glasses off.
Lucinda handed out hospital records to everyone.
"A brain tumor....it was pressing on the frontal lobe causing her decision making, and rational ideas to be altered. She also lost a main part of brain function and had to attend therapy before she could lay eyes on Damien in the flesh."
He continued to read the records and we waited for a response.
"And what's different now?"
"Mrs. Ball had the tumor removed, and gave birth to her 7 month old baby through a C-section all in one night."
His eyebrows arched, and I saw the respect in his eyes.
"The baby was also born with an Intraventricular hemorrhage.....meaning, there was bleeding in her brain. She was contained in the NICU for almost a month an a half before she could be taken home."
