Chapter 2 - The Standoff
The flashing red and blue lights illuminated the rusted playground of the church mission. Two police cruisers and a white CPS van pulled into the lot, blocking my SUV.
Jessica crossed her arms, looking triumphant. “Take the babies, officers. The mother is unhinged.”
Two officers stepped out, hands resting on their belts, followed by a stern-looking social worker with a clipboard. “David Sterling? Sarah Sterling? We have a court order to remove the children from the premises.”
Sarah backed up against the chain-link fence, hyperventilating. She looked like a trapped animal. “David, please,” she begged, her voice breaking. “Please don't let them take my babies. I'll do anything. I'll disappear. Just don't let her have them.”
Hearing her beg me—the man who had ruined her life—shattered whatever was left of my heart.
I stepped forward, pulling my phone from my pocket. “Officers, hold on. That court order is based on forged medical documents and perjury.”
“Sir, we don’t try cases in the parking lot,” the officer said sternly. “Step aside.”
“I’m not stepping aside,” I said, dialing a number on speakerphone. “Marcus, are you there?”
“I’m here, boss,” my private investigator’s gravelly voice rang out. “I’m patching through Judge Harker right now.”
Jessica’s smug smile faltered. “What are you doing?”
“Mr. Sterling?” an older, authoritative voice crackled through the phone. “This is Judge Harker of the State Supreme Court. Put me on speaker for the officers.”
The cops stopped in their tracks. They recognized the name of the highest-ranking judge in the county.
“Officers,” the judge’s voice boomed over the phone. “The emergency custody order filed by Jessica Lawson is hereby stayed, pending a federal investigation into wire fraud and judicial bribery. You are to stand down immediately. If Miss Lawson attempts to approach the children, you are to arrest her for violating a direct judicial stay.”
Jessica’s jaw dropped. The color completely drained from her face.
“This is a trick!” she shrieked, turning to her lawyers. “Do something!”
But her expensive corporate litigators were already backing away. They knew when a sinking ship was going down.
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“Let’s go, Sarah,” I said softly, turning my back on Jessica. I gently guided my trembling ex-wife and my two beautiful children into the back of my SUV.
As I drove away, I looked in the rearview mirror. Jessica was screaming at the police, completely unhinged. The war had just begun.
