by Andres Mann
Her answer, as usual, was brief and devastating.” I took a DNA test for Morgan and it confirmed what I thought: Morgan is Amir’s child.”
Jake looked pensive and did not respond. Tess finally asked him if he was disappointed at her bearing another man’s child. “We both knew that this would be a possibility, but it does not matter. In Iraq I told you that baby is also part of you; that’s enough for me. I love you both.”
Chapter 41
Surprise
Amir al-Saadi had been trying to contact Tess ever since they had their last conversation in Iraq but had not been successful until the announcement of her wedding hit the New York Times. Then she disappeared, which in a sense she did by going to live on a farm. This blackout was lifted when Tess and Jake rented an apartment in Manhattan after the child’s birth. One of Amir’s agents found out their address and phone number and passed on the information to him.
Amir called Tess and asked to meet. She would have preferred to stay away from him until she could find a proper way to break the news of the baby’s birth. Recognizing that she could no longer delay, she reluctantly agreed to see Amir al-Saadi. They hadn’t seen each other for a year. They arranged to meet at her apartment in New York.
Amir was ecstatic with joy. It had been a long time since he met Tess and was looking forward to seeing her again. He had been brooding over the separation and was anxious to be with his beloved again. He still hoped to persuade her to stay with him.
The driver opened the door of the car and dropped Amir off in front of the apartment building on 57th Street. He had an enormous bouquet of flowers in his hand.
He entered the elevator and rang the bell on the door. Tess opened the door; she had the baby in her arms.
Amir froze. Tess had not told him that she had a child. In his mind, he was instantly outraged. She had allowed herself to be impregnated by another man. It could not be!
Tess welcomed him with a radiant smile, kissing the baby on the cheek.
“Hi, Amir; meet Morgan, my son.”
Amir tried to get over his shock and forced himself to be civil. “Good morning, Tess.” He did not smile.
Amir looked at Tess and the baby. She was still beautiful and radiant, holding the baby in her arms, nuzzling him. The child was obviously happy, laughing and touching his mother’s face. Amir froze, still trying to deal with an unwanted surprise.
Tess put the baby down on a sofa and put pillows on both sides. Amir got out of himself and made an effort to take a close look at the baby. He was a spitting image of Aara at four months: huge black eyes, creamy skin and absolutely gorgeous.
He looked at Tess, still speechless.
“Yes, Amir, he is your son.”
Amir fell to his knees in front of the baby. For the first time since he was a child, tears of happiness formed on his face. There he was; his true son borne to him by his beloved. He looked at her. “May I?”
She assented by nodding her head, and he picked up the baby into his arms. He was holding his son, the blood of his blood. “He is wonderful, Tess; a masterpiece — my son. I am truly grateful to you.”
Tess pressed a button on the phone. Shortly afterward, the baby’s nanny appeared. Tess took the child from Amir’s arms and turned him over to the nanny, who took him away.
Amir was still trying to calm his emotions. “Tess, why didn’t you tell me before about the baby?”
“Because I didn’t know if he was yours, Amir. He could have been Jake’s.
“I will make arrangements to bring you and the child to one of my houses. Also, I will give him a more appropriate name.”
“Amir, I am not going with you, and I am keeping the baby.”
“Tess, you know that I worship you, now more than ever. You have provided me with a male heir, my first born and I will honor you for that. We will marry and we will live anywhere you want. Just tell me what you want and it will be done.”
“Amir, you are not listening. I am not leaving Jake, and the baby stays with us.”
“The child is mine! He belongs to me! He is of my blood; his proper place is with his people.”
“It’s not going to happen, Amir. Morgan is my child. I have nurtured him ever since he was growing in my womb; I gave birth to him and he is mine!”
“The child belongs to my house. He will be raised in a manner befitting the heir to a great dynasty, and you must come with me. With Aara, you will have two children to take care of for me. It’s unthinkable to do otherwise.”
“Amir, no; I have granted you access to a child that we conceived on a night of passion. I feel that it is appropriate to let you know of his existence because he is part of us. But we are not going with you.”
Amir could not believe that the two people he now treasured above anything else in the world would not be with him. His anger erupted. “Tess, I will not be denied. I may have to give you up, but the child is mine. I will use all means at my disposal to take him and bring him to my home where he belongs. He is mine, mine, mine!”
“Amir, grow up; you are delusional. We are no longer on your turf. This is a nation of laws and you will not be able to have your way here. Perhaps I made a mistake to let you know that we have made a child together. I can see that you are upset, but not more that I was when you told me that Aara was your daughter. You said that after I grew to love her, breaking my heart when I had to leave her behind.”
“Yes, and you broke her heart and mine when you left us. She still asks if you are coming back. Now it seems you are getting your revenge by withholding my son from me.”
“I don’t need revenge. I just want to go on with my life. We both learned much from our time together and we created a beautiful baby. For once, just accept that things are no longer going to turn out the way you want them. Get out of yourself and admit that this time you will not win.”
“When we last talked in Iraq, you said that you still wanted me.”
“Yes I did Amir, but things have changed. I will always remember our experience together, but I no longer need to do it again. I am fulfilled here. I have a man that loves me deeply without needing to impose your kind of demands on me.”
“You told me that at the very least, we would be lovers.”
“I changed my mind; it’s a woman’s prerogative.”
“The child is mine, Tess and so are you. I will stop at nothing to get you both back.”
“Amir, please leave now.”
“I am not done, Tess. I will have my son and you as well.”
Chapter 42
Reflection
At dinner, Tess told Jake what had transpired.
Jake was clearly annoyed. “Tess, perhaps we should have talked about this before deciding unilaterally to meet with Amir and tell him that he has a son. In his culture, having a male heir is a big deal. You might have been better off not saying anything, let alone showing Morgan to him. It does not surprise me at all that he went ballistic.”
“I didn’t feel right withholding the news of Morgan’s birth from him. In any case, he had now experienced the same shock I suffered when he lied to me about Aara. Now he knows what it feels like to want a child you can’t have.”
“Congratulations; you have your revenge. Unfortunately, now we have a powerful man that is hell bent on getting his son away from you. With his resources, he can unleash a platoon of expensive lawyers on us. Are you ready for this?”
“I am Morgan’s mother; he cannot take him away from me.”
“It depends. He can allege that you are not a good mother, that you deceived him, that you kept the fact of his birth secret and so on. Tess, we might have a real problem, all because you couldn’t resist your compulsion to always tell the truth, no matter what. This is a time when moral certitude could result in disaster.”
Jake, I did what I think was right. If Amir makes trouble, we will deal with it. In any case, I don’t think he has a chance to get what he wants.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure Tess; money talks.”
Amir broke the news to his sister Fadime who was in New York on a shopping trip. He met her for dinner at a fancy restaurant. Fadime had never seen him so agitated.
“This will not stand, Fadime. I have been betrayed and humiliated. I can’t possibly allow her to take my son.”
“Amir, she gave birth to him, remember? I can’t see how she would willingly turn him over to you.”
“I will hire the best lawyers in America, and they will make her life miserable until she turns over the child to me where he belongs.”
“You don’t know women as well as you think, Amir. Don’t forget that she is tough and made a living by killing people from a helicopter gunship. Fighting against her will not be easy, especially since you still have your hands full in Iraq.”
“I will find a way to get my son!” Amir stormed out of the restaurant.
Fadime stayed behind to finish her lunch. She didn’t get a chance to express once more her disappointment over his destroying the videos she had made of his lovemaking with Tess. She complained every time she saw him; in fact it didn’t matter; she never disclosed to him that she had made a copy, now stored in a safe place.
***
Jake and Tess retired to the bedroom and went to bed. Jake started to touch and kiss her. Normally, they liked to play, but this time, Tess just wanted for him to move on top of her. Jake kissed her and nuzzled her breasts. Tess opened her mouth to allow his tongue to explore her. She spread her legs and Jake felt the moistness, ready to accept him. He inserted his tip into her delicious, warm center, but Tess stopped him.
“Jake, I want something from you.”
“Yes, my love.”
“I want you to give me your baby.”
Jake corrected her, “Our baby.” He smiled and lovingly submerged into her.
Chapter 43
Let Others Do Your Bidding
After a meeting with his high-priced lawyers in New York, General Amir al-Saadi flew back to Iraq. He spent the first few days with his staff reviewing the training of the troops and planned military exercises.
After work, he summoned his long-term agent Kemal, whom he had recently promoted to Colonel.
“Kemal, there is something I need to get done. This will require extreme discretion and I will hold you responsible to make sure that the operation is successful.”
“You know that you can always rely on me to do you bidding, General.”
“I want you to select men that are experienced in making things look like an accident. They must be willing to sacrifice their life if necessary. Also, they must speak English and know how to operate in the United States.”
“There are many men that we could tap for such a job, General. The economic conditions today have driven some to desperation. We may be able to get what we want in exchange for money and a guarantee that their families would be taken care of.”
“Kemal, it is not we that will engineer such an operation. I don’t even want you to get directly involved. You need to work through intermediaries to recruit the proper people. I don’t wish to implicate either of us.”
“Of course General.”
“Very well, work on this and come back with a plan.”
***
Amir’s lawyers in New York did not waste any time. They filed suit against Tess Turner, with Amir seeking sole custody of baby Morgan. The allegations stated that both parties had conceived the child during a consensual relationship. Tess has concealed her pregnancy from him, and it was only after Amir’s insisted on making contact with her that Tess disclosed the birth of his son. Thrown into the bucket were allegations of Tess being “unfit” to raise their child, unable to care for him properly and subjecting him to domestic violence, abuse, and neglect.
Tess and her husband Jake Vickers had a conference with their lawyers, Jackson Davis, Esquire and his team. Davis laid out how he saw the case. He started out by pointing out that anyone seeking to win sole custody of a child faces a high burden of proof. There is a principle called the “better parent” that the courts consider when awarding sole custody. Most judges are reluctant to keep either parent from having regular access to their child. The assumption is that taking care of a child is a task that should involve both parents.
Because of this, any parent seeking sole custody must be able to demonstrate that he or she can raise the child properly, with or without the assistance of the other parent.
Considerations relevant to a sole custody petition include the physical well-being of the child with evidence of the parent’s ability to manage a healthy lifestyle for the child.
Another consideration is the psychological well-being of the child, particularly making sure that the other parent is allowed liberal visitations with the child. Judges tend to favor parents who openly support the child’s ongoing relationship with the other parent.
The Better Parent Standard says that a court of law will probably choose the better parent for the child in question.
The courts also favor communication between parents, even if one of them wins a child custody battle; there is a preference for both parents to try to get along. Ultimately, the court determines who will win the child custody battle based on the child’s best interests.
The lawyer also advised that if Amir is not granted primary custody during a child custody battle, he is likely to be entitled to generous visitation rights.
Tess asked, “Many of the allegations are lies, pure and simple. How do they expect to prove abuse and neglect?”
Davis shrugged his shoulders. “All they have to do is allege unsavory actions in an attempt to smear the image of the parent currently having custody. We would have to disprove all of the allegations, one by one. It can be done, of course, but it would lead to protracted and expensive proceedings.”
One of the lawyers asked if it would be acceptable to work out joint custody with Amir. Tess shook her head. “You are dealing with a man who is used to circumvent the law to suit his ends. Furthermore, he lives overseas. He could take the baby during a visitation and force us to battle him in foreign courts. This man can be maniacal when he wants something. I can’t risk that.”
Jackson Davis concluded the meeting. “All right, we have our marching orders.”
Back in the car, Tess was visibly upset. “You were right, Jake. I should have kept my damn mouth shut with Amir.”
To her true delight, Tess was now pregnant with Jake’s child, a girl.
Chapter 44
A New Enterprise
Tess looked stunning, the stage lights shining on her gorgeous blonde hair. Her athletic body was enveloped by a long, body-hugging gown that made her look like a queen. She was playing Beethoven’s Appassionata sonata on a Steinway concert grand piano. The theater audience was mesmerized. Her fingers kept flying over the keyboard, rapidly reaching the conclusion of one of greatest and most technically challenging piano sonatas. She hammered the keys, charging through the tempestuous music, creating a near-perpetual motion that climaxed with a faster coda introducing a new theme which in turn led into an extended final cadence. The end of the music suggested tragedy.
The passionate and skillful performance stunned the audience. After the last note, they seemed to catch their breath for a minute then stood up, loudly clapping their hands in a tremendous ovation. Cries of “Brava!” were repeated until Tess had to return to the stage and take another bow. A little girl presented her with a bouquet of roses.
As a good member of the community, Tess had agreed to play at a benefits concert attended by a fancy crowd of bejeweled women accompanied by tuxedoed men. The patrons felt noble and generous when they donated to such events, usually not expecting much excitement from the efforts of local volunteer talent. Tess’s incredible performance was a delightful surprise and the donors felt that this time their investment was worthwhile.
After the concert, Tess and Jake escaped to their favorite restaurant in the little town of Sleepy Hollow and had a light me
al. “Tess, when I hear you play the piano like that, I can hardly believe that you chose a military career instead of studying at the Conservatory. You could have been a world-class pianist.”
Tess shook her head. “I like to play the piano, but I don’t like to do so in front of an audience. When you play classical music in public, there is always a pedantic critic that follows each note you play with a score in his hands. You must still perform extremely difficult pieces and be perfect every time.”
Jake had an eidetic memory and knew every note of the Beethoven sonata. “Tess, your performance was flawless. The audience went wild. I believe that you missed your calling.”
“I only like to play for you and the people I love, and I want to keep it that way.” When Tess made up her mind, it was almost impossible for her to change.
They relaxed and talked about the pleasure of living in such a pleasant and gracious environment, but also recognized that it wasn’t enough to keep them interested full time. They realized that a bucolic full-time existence would not work long term. They were financially secure, but they were too driven, too dynamic to retire from the real world. They started to think about what they could do to capitalize on their mutual strengths.
They talked about doing good things to help people and save the world. They examined business opportunities leveraging Jake’s financial resources; they also looked at the chaotic state of the world: terrorism, wars, regional conflicts, ethnic cleansing, corrupt governments and an increasingly assertive Russia. Its leaders were determined to erase the humiliation of the collapse of the Soviet Union. President Vladimir Putin had started to use the might of his motherland against rebellious Chechens and former Balkan states that had acquired independence from Russia. He was also planning to slice off a portion of Ukrainian territory. He just could not accept that Ukraine, perhaps the most important part of historical Russia, was now independent.