ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

When Philip hung up, he frowned. "It seems CPS has made four home visits and has an open case against Patricia."

Anderson stood beside Philip. "When were they going to contact me? I'll pay them a visit on my way home. Be sure to let Isaiah know."


TODAY'S POST:

Chapter 14 part 3

Later that afternoon, Anderson entered the penthouse unnoticed. He went directly to his den, sat behind his desk, and stared at a photo of Emily. I have to get my child away from Patricia at all costs.

Philip stood at the door. "I didn't know you were back."

"I've only been here a few minutes." Anderson glanced at his watch. "Maybe ten at the most."

"Is everybody happy with how things went in DC?"

"I think so. At least no major complaints."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I spoke with Doreen Rollins; the polices' CPS contact. I wanted to understand why I wasn't notified that my daughter's living conditions weren't satisfactory."

"What were their reasons?"

"A pile of political red-tape."

"Then you're going to really enjoy this." Anderson's stare told him he'd better continue. "I got a call from a Mr. Harry Pitts, Patricia's landlord. She owes three months back rent. A total of six thousand dollars. When he was ready to evict her, she told him you were good for the money."

"Contact Mr. Pitts and tell him, I refuse to pay that bitch's bills and he needs to evict her ass. Or better yet, give me the satisfaction of doing it." Anderson picked up his phone. "What's his number?"

After giving Anderson the number, Philip left to make phone calls.

Anderson relayed his message to Mr. Pitts in terms he would understand. Then he placed a call to Isaiah and urged him to rush the custody hearing.

It wasn't long before Philip returned. "Emily's close to wanting her dad's attention. Are you almost finished in here?"

"Pretty much. Isaiah's contacting Patricia's lawyer, and then he'll call back. I've asked him to move forward with the custody case. I see no reason to stall. We have more than enough evidence to prove that Patricia is an unfit mother."

"Are you going to allow her visitation?"

"My initial response is 'no way'." Anderson ran his fingers through his short hair. "But Emily'll want to see her mom."

"How will Emily feel if she's supposed to see Patricia and she's a no-show?" Philip sat in front of the desk.

"I thought about that, too. What if I add a clause that says something like three no-shows during a six month period causes Patricia to void her visitation rights? I think that would work."

"I'd add something like, two consecutive no-shows voids her rights." Philip laughed. "Are you requesting child support?"

"I should just out of spite. I'm going to forgo alimony."

"The court didn't order it anyway. You just did it."

"I didn't want Emily to suffer, but it didn't help." Anderson tapped the desk a few times. "Patricia only took care of Patricia."

"I don't understand why she wanted a child to start with. In today's world birth control is easy to use."

"Perception. With Patricia it's all about perception. In a perfect world, you get married and start a family. All she wanted to do was party. She expected a nanny to raise Emily. I guess, she never expected me to get fed up with her nonsense and file for divorce. That wasn't part of her perfect world. When it came to Emily," Anderson paused, "it would have looked bad for her to lose custody. So she begged, and I stupidly allowed it. I thought she would get her act together and become a mother. I was wrong. I'll never fall for a trophy wife again."

Philip glanced at his ringing phone. "Sorry, it's Isaiah."

Anderson waited until Philip finished. "Well, what did he say?"

"It wasn't about Patricia. I'd ask him to check on Maxwell Gaines."

"Who's that?"

"Remember my call to California?" After Anderson nodded, Philip continued, "The lawyer they used has some health issues. He recommended Gaines. I had Isaiah check his references. He's good. It sounds as if Kuznetsov may have met his match."

"Good. Set up an appointment for this week, tomorrow, if possible. I plan on working from home so any time is good."

Emily ran into the room. "Daddy, are you done with your work? Can you play with me?"

"Sure can. What would you like to do?"









*Please remember this is only part of a much longer chapter. I divide my chapters into three or four parts for ease of reviewing.*


Characters so far:

Shana Kohlberg -- a 25 year old high school English literature teacher -- she's trying to get her family's painting back

Anderson Sharp -- often called Drew -- 31 years old -- works part-time on Wall Street -- a billionaire from Texas oil wells

Dmitry Bezrukov -- one of three Russian men in black suits

Jeff Burk -- takes care of Anderson's cars and important security details.

Helen -- Anderson's cook

Jane -- Anderson's housekeeper

Philip -- Anderson's butler -- close friend and confident

Kyle -- Anderson's dog walker

Axel -- Anderson's lead German shepherd

Thor -- Anderson's second German shepherd

Romeo -- Anderson's third German shepherd

Aaron Kohlberg -- Shana's older brother

Ivan Kuznetsov -- formally Ivan Morozov, I accidently chose a real person, so I have changed it present day owner of the painting.

Patricia -- Anderson's ex-wife

Emily -- Anderson's five year old daughter

Isaiah Glassberg -- Anderson divorce/custody attorney.

Jeremy -- Jane's second-cousin twice removed, NYC undercover cop.

Hannah -- Shana's cousin, the same age. Married within the past year and just had a baby

Joshua Colton -- Art Museum's curator

Benjamin Kohlberg -- Shana's father

Maxwell Gaines -- Lawyer hired to get painting back