Chapter 48 - Court Hearing(3)

Leona Knight's lawyer was a woman who had previously presented her cases to this judge.She had won an average of 9 out of 10 cases with this judge as well.Though she had heard of the shark's reputation of never having lost a case,she was confident that she could break his record.After all he had majored in Corporate law with a minor in family law.She,on the other hand was an experienced family lawyer and aware of how this judge worked.

Lawyer Zheng got up from her seat and presented her opening statement in a clear and high voice."Respected Honor,Today I represent my plaintiff Ms Leona Knight.She lost her right to love her child two years ago after she left the country following a shattering divorce.Mr Ryu Long was granted the custody of the child citing abandonment.But Ma'm,the reason for this abandonment was the person who got the benefits.His emotional unavailability towards his then grieving wife and subsequent abandonment led Ms Knight to suffer clinical depression and mental breakdown.To preserve her mental health,she returned to her childhood home and underwent therapy.We have attached her medical certificates and other relevant documents.Your honor a child needs parents who are emotionally as well as physically available.With Mr Long's emotional absence ,Ms Knight is worried about her son.She does not want her son to suffer the same way she has.Also Ms Knight is set to marry Mr Pei who is a respected man and will be a great role model to a young boy.I request this court to give full custody of the child to his mother and not keep the child away from a mother's love.We are willing to provide all evidence to support our claims.Thank you."

Judge Baek heard the address and then without a comment turned towards the other table.

Taking this as his cue,Neil got up from his chair and started speaking in his low and husky voice,"Your Honor,I represent my client Mr Ryu Long in this court.The child in question today is called Ru Long.The plaintiffs claim that he is suffering from emotional neglect but is it really on behalf of his father?Lawyer Zheng and Ms Knight have already declared Mr Long as an emotionally unavailable man.But let me invite this court's attention to a small fact.More than a decade ago,18 year old Ryu Long had been decided a fit guardian for another little boy who was then 6 years old.That boy was his youngest brother who is currently serving the nation within it's huge army.Ru Long is a well settled child who does not remember or miss his mother.His father has single handedly raised him for the past 2 years with a lot of love and care.We are also willing to furnish many testimonials regarding the emotional well being of master Ru.We hope that Your Honor would give us a chance to prove our sincerety.Thank you,your honor."

Neil finished his address andbsat down.From what he had observed In previous case studies,Judge Baek would now call for a 30 minutes recess and then listen to the court discussions after that.

But this time Judge Baek changed her course of normal actions..She directly questioned Leona Knight,"Ms Knight,did you try to meet Ru before you applied for his custody?"

Leona Knight put on an aggrieved expression and answered in a low voice,"Yes,your honor."

"And how long have you been engaged to Mr Pei?"

"About a year now,Ma'm"

"Hmm..."She then turned her beady stare towards Ryu Long and asked,"Mr Ryu Long,how long has Ru known the woman he addresses as 'mother'? and how are you related to her?"

The question shocked Attorney Zheng because she had no previous knowledge of such a person existing.This would make things difficult.Their biggest positive point was that they could provide the child with a complete family..if Ryu Long could do the same then they would be at par

"Your honor,Ru has known my fiance,Ms Alicia Lu for over a year now."

"And when did he start calling her mother?"

"When we told him of our engagement,Ms Lu also proposed to Ru asking him if he would like to be her son.He was happy to call her that."

At his reply,the judge asked a bit sternly,"And did you not think that his ready acceptance might be because of his need for his mother or for your approval?"

"I would have thought that to be the case,your honor if the woman was someone else.But with Alicia Lu,she was already his mother in his heart.May I approach your honor's table and show her something on my cell phone?"

"Just what was his brother upto?"Neil wondered.Asking the judge by being so bold was like asking for a stern warning.

But Ryu's speech and confidence had made the judge curious.

Ryu took out his phone and going ahead handed it to the bailiff who then passed it to the judge.Judge Baek took the phone and was amazed to see the picture of a painting.

"Your Honor,this painting was done by my brother even before I had met Ms Lu.I think this would answer your questions perfectly."

Judge Baek answered with a curt,"hmm" and then declared that court was going for recess for the next hour.