166 - Mary Katherine
*If you pursue this, Miss Smith, we will meet you with the full force of this law office. Tully, Birch and O’Malley have offices in twenty-seven states, lawyers that are licensed to practice in three Canadian provinces, four Mexican states, and countless other international countries. Are you prepared for that type of scrutiny? For your entire life to be laid open for the world to see. And what a life you have lived. – Mary Katherine*
When Darkness arrived home, Camille had him go up to her office and she told him everything that she had learned that day. They called Celt and he assured them that they were good. He had passed the Louisiana bar and was now certified to practice law there.
“I’m flying down tomorrow,” he told them. “Mary Katherine has a meeting with Dominique in the morning.”
Camille tried to hold back her laugh but could not. It slipped out and Darkness looked at her in surprise. Celt started laughing from the other end of the line.
“I’m sorry, you don’t know Mary Katherine,” Camille smiled at her husband. “Think of the absolute most prim and proper woman. Polite and kind almost to the point that it is sickening. Soft spoken and never raises her voice. She is the Stepford wife of the law firm.”
“I like that,” Celt snickered. “I’m telling her that you called her the Stepford wife of the law firm.”
“Considering I called her Lawyer Barbie the last time I saw her, she would probably like that.”
Celt laughed loudly at that, “Damn, you got balls bigger than me.”
“Okay,” Darkness cut in. “I’m picturing a meek and submissive woman.”
“Good,” Camille smiled.
“Now give her fangs like a leopard, the sharks ability to sense blood, the single-minded drive of a hungry teenager and the absolute, total, don’t give a flying fuck attitude of a ninety-year-old woman who has been there, done that, and threw away the T-shirt that proved it. I love my sister, but I also have a very healthy fear of her.”
“Let me guess,” Camille grinned at the man on the phone screen, “she already has her fangs sunk into Dominique Smith.”
“Right on the carotid artery,” he nodded. A look of confusion crossed his face, “Hang on.” Pulling his keyboard closer to him, he typed out something and then started laughing. “She’s got flags set for any court filings in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mass, to notify her of anything with any of your family members names or William and Dominique Smith.”
Darkness’ body tensed next to Camille, and she reached over to grab his hand.
“Earlier today, William Daniel Smith filed a petition to dissolve his marriage to Dominique Butler Smith.” He skimmed through the documents that his sister sent him, “Apparently, they do not qualify for a no-fault divorce, don’t ask me why, I’ll have to look it up. He lists faults for divorce as general indignities.”
“What are general indignities?” Darkness asked.
“Willful disobedience, refusal to move on after their daughter’s death, emotional abuse, refusal to perform wifely duties, and holy fuck, adultery. There’s pictures! Fuck me, that man is vicious, he filed for divorce with pictures proving her infidelity.”
Camille and Darkness looked at each other in shock. Celt’s narrative about the woman and her affair partner continued in the background. Darkness tugged on Camille’s hand, and she moved into his lap.
“I can’t look away and these images will forever be seared into my brain,” Celt declared. “She’s actually quite flexible for a woman her age.”
Darkness held his wife as they both tried to understand what this might mean for them and their children. Several times he started to speak, only to find that words were failing him. Curling into his chest, she wrapped her arms around him, providing a silent comfort.
“Holy shit! The bastard submitted 57 pictures. Forget the old adage about a woman scorned, you should fear this man.”
She gave a small chuckle and started to make a comment. The tablet for the security system that sat on her desk flickered to life as the front cameras picked up movement in the driveway. Her eyes widened in surprise as she reached for the tablet and Darkness looked over to see what she saw.
“Celt,” Camille said as she grabbed her phone, and they both stood up and moved towards the door. “He’s here.”
“I know that Darkness is there,” Celt laughed. “We were talking earlier. Remember the whole football conversation?”
“Not me, you idiot,” Darkness growled as they quickly made their way down to the first floor. “William Smith, Keisha’s dad.”
“What the fuck?” the lawyer demanded, switching from amused friend to angered legal advisor. “What does he want?”
“Don’t know,” they both replied as they neared the bottom floor.
“Keep me on the phone, I want to know –“
“Why the hell do you think I have the fucking phone?” she asked as they reached the bottom floor and went straight for the front door.
“Have you turned on the recording feature for the alarm system?” Celt asked from the phone.
“Shit,” Camille thrust her phone at her husband before turning her attention to the tablet on her hand. She quickly turned on the recording function of the alarm system and muted the tablet.
“Keep me on the line,” Celt demanded.
“No fuck,” Darkness growled as Camille asked, “Why do you think you’re still here?”
With a nod from his wife, Darkness opened the front door and found a startled William Smith as he was reaching for the doorbell.
“I’m sorry,” the older man said with a tight smile. “If you guys were leaving, I can come back.”
“We came down here because of you,” Camille admitted.
“How…” William cleared his throat. “How did you know that I was here?”
Darkness pointed to the camera system on the front porch.
“Oh,” he seemed startled and then gave an amused laugh. “I came to tell you that Dominique has decided that she’s going to get custody of Monique.”
“Considering that we have legally binding documents that say we are her adoptive parents,” Camille said as she slipped her hand into Darkness’ free hand, “that’s going to be rather difficult to do.”
“I know,” the older man agreed with a sigh. “I tried to tell her, but she sees it as a chance to have her daughter back.”
“My daughter is not her mother,” Darkness declared coldly with an emphasis on the words my daughter.
“I’m aware of this too,” he agreed with the younger man.
“Do you know that we are still having to teach that girl how to be a child?” Camille demanded. “She was so parentified that she still thinks it is her responsibility to take care of not only her brothers, but us. There is no way that I will allow that woman back in her life for more than just a few days at a time.”
He nodded in agreement, “I warned her.” Shaking his head, he gave another sigh, “I told her that if she pursued it, I'd make her regret it. I filed for divorce.”
“Our attorney just told us,” Darkness admitted.
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