Loving Quinn Novel by North Rose

(Quinn)

I woke up this morning feeling relaxed. Considering where I am now, it surprised me at how calm I was all until Annora and I arrived at the courthouse. Once I park the car, all the anger I felt last night comes rushing back at me.

All day yesterday I was too busy going over reports from all our department managers. It was enough to keep my mind off the DNA test and what it will mean if Logan is mine. Late last

night, the anger I feel for Dionne kept me awake for longer than I wanted.

The day I met her, there was no way to know about the hell she would put me through later.

If I had known, I would have run in the opposite direction. Far away from anything to do with Dionne Masters.

“Hey, relax.” Annora says.

At the sound of her soft voice, I glance over at her. We have been sitting in the car for the

last ten minutes. After I parked the car, I just couldn’t get out. My mind hazed over as all

that anger came to the surface. Annie is my anchor. My calm.

I reach out for her hand. The second her soft skin is against mine, I feel better. Her hazel

eyes draw me in to their depths. I take a few deep breaths then lean toward to touch my forehead to hers. We sit like this for a few more minutes before we pull apart.

“I am so torn, Annie. Part of me wants him to be mine so I can take him away from her and give him a better life than what he has had so far. One full of love from two parents. Yet, I know if he is mine, we will never get rid of Dionne. She will use him to force herself into our

lives,”

“If it turns out he is Ethan’s, do you think he will treat Logan better?”

“He better. That little boy is innocent. Ethan should know better, but he let her poison his

mind. That poison turned to hatred for me.”

“Well, there is only one way to find out the truth. We get in there, show her we are united, then wait for the judge to read those results.” Annora says.

give her a nod, then cup her face in my hands to give her a kiss. We get out of the car, then alk hand in hand to the courthouse. Aaron is waiting for us on the stairs of the courthouse as we approach. Seeing my best friend here boots my confidence.

He gives my shoulder a squeeze when I reach him, then he pulls Annora in for a brief hug. Together, the three of us walk inside. When we reach the courtroom, I take a deep breath,

then open the door.

Vincent is already seated at the defendant’s table with his assistant. There are two seats left for me and Annora, so we make our way to them, Aaron takes a seat on the bench behind us.

No one from Dionne’s side is here yet, which doesn’t surprise me at all.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Why would she be early or on time when she thinks she has me right where she wants me? I stopped being her plaything long ago. No matter what way the cards fall today, the outcome

will not be in her favor.

On one hand, if I am proven to be Logan’s father, Vincent has papers in his bag to present to the judge to petition for full custody. That will start a war with Dionne and Ethan. He and I are already in a war of his making, so that will just add more fuel to the fire.

Then there is the other outcome. They proyed Ethan to be Logan’s father. I want to see his reaction to knowing how he has been treating his own son. Will it shock him to know he was lied to by his wife? Will he show remorse?

Part of me will feel satisfied if he falls apart after learning that the child she has let him believe is mine turns out to be his. I want to watch all his anger turned on her rather than me. To have all that rage bottled up inside of him finally directed at the one responsible for all of this will be worth watching.

However, that makes me pray he takes it better that I think he will. I pray that this will be the eye-opening experience he needs to break the hold she has over him.

“Ah, there you are. You ready for this?” Vincent asks.

I pull Annora’s seat out for her, then take mine once she is seated. I give Vincent a nod, then glance behind me when I hear the courtroom door open. It is Dionne’s lawyer, Alfred Miller. Alone. He looks angry as he walks up to the plaintiff’s table with his briefcase.

I glance at Vincent. He is smiling like he knows something I don’t know. I give him a

questi

look, but before he can answer me, the courtroom doors open again, causing me

to glance over my shoulder to see who it is. This time it is Evan McAllister.

He gives me a nod as he walks in. What surprises me is where he sits. Evan walks up to the row being where I am sitting, then takes a seat next to Aaron.

“This is unexpected.” I tell him.

sighs, then rubs a hand down his face.

“I asked Ethan how long he was going to let Dionne play him for a fool. We had a big fight about Logan and this d**n lawsuit.”

He glances over his shoulder, then sighs.

“My brother is so far gone than I am at my wits end. I hope that the results of the DNA test will open his eyes. However, at this point, I am not sure there is anything that will get him to see how horrible Dionne is.”

His words echo some thoughts I had about his brother already. I feel for Ev. His brother is stuck in Dionne’s web of lies and manipulation. Willingly. There may be nothing that can break her hold on him.

A few minutes later, the sound of the courtroom doors being opened causes me to glance over my shoulder. Dionne and Ethan have arrived. They make quite a pair when looking at them. He is dressed in a charcoal grey suit with no tie. She chose a rather conservative white pants suit. Very modest for her. White is rarely her choice of colors for her wardrobe.

Her eyes meet mine as she walks down between the rows of seats. I feel dirty instantly when her gaze turns heated as she assesses me. However, the second Annora’s hand lands on my shoulder, Dionne’s eyes narrow to slits.

The way her chin raises, and she squares her shoulders, makes me want to laugh. I almost laugh out load when she moves to walk away. However, Ethan spots Evan sitting behind me, and his cool demeanor changes instantly. He yanks Dionne back to him, then stops at the end of the bench Evan is sitting on.

“What the f**k are you doing, Evan? They are the enemy. Why?”

“This is not the time or place for this, Ethan.”

“How could you side with the man who left Dionne alone while she was pregnant with his kid? He abandoned her. He beat her during his episodes. Why are you defending this monster?”

Ethan’s face turns red in his anger. I can’t help the surprise that runs through me as he mentions her telling him I beat her. I never raised a hand to her. Yes, she pushed my buttons, made me angry enough sometimes that I might have thought about it, but I would beat her. How could she tell that kind of lie?

“Quinn has never hit a woman in his life.” Annora says.

Ethan turns to face her when she speaks up for me. Disgust turns his features hard. I push to my feet, prepared to step between them if necessary. I don’t like the way he is looking at her.

“How would you know? You have only been in his life for how long now? A few months? Does it bother you that you are just one of many in the long list of his wh**s?”

Guess someone has been doing more than just sabotaging my company. How long has he been keeping tabs on me? I left New York over two years ago now. Has he been stalking me just like his wife has been?

“My client’s personal life is not in question here today and if I were you, Mr. McAllister, I would watch what I said unless I wanted to get sued for slander.” Vincent says as he too stands up.

Ethan’s face turns a nasty shade a red. A vein in his neck stands out in his rage. Just when I think he is going to take a step forward, a security guard steps in front of him. Between the guard and Dionne, they escort him to the plaintiff’s table.

I don’t miss the smirk on her face as she looks at me once more before sitting down in her seat. That b**h enjoyed that scene. Talk about a narcist.

“I am sorry,” Evan says.

“Don’t be. You are not the one who acted like a fool.” I tell him.

“No, but I should have put a stop to this **t sooner. There was more I could have done to get her claws out of him, but I didn’t. My own life was imploding, so I turned a blind eye to my brother’s life. Thankfully, the prenup they signed is ironclad.”

Vincent perks up at the mention of a prenup.

“Was cheating a deal break in this prenup?”

Evan nods his head. The smile Vincent gives him lets me know he knows something he hasn’t shared with me yet. Now I really want to find out what he is hiding,

However, before I can ask, the side door opens, and they escort the judge into the room.

“All rise,” the guard calls out.

We all stand until the judge takes his seat.

Chapter 7!

“We are here to go over the case of Dionne Masters versus Quinn Grayson in the matter of child abandonment. However, it was brought to the court’s attention that there is a question of paternity to be addressed first. I have the results of the DNA tests right here. I will read them first before we get to the child abandonment issue.”

The judge opens a manila envelope, but before he can pull the results out, Vincent stands

up.

“Your honor, I have evidence that proves the plaintiff already knows the results and has known since the child was born.”

What the f**k?

“Objection, your honor. This is not possible.” Miller says as he stands.

“Approach the bench, both of you.” The judge demands.

When did Vincent find this out? Why didn’t he tell me? If this is true, then what is Dionne’s goal in all this? She has to know that there is no way I am going to be hers again. I have learned several things over the last few months about my relationship with her.

One glaringly obvious thing is that she never really knew me if she thought I would take her back after I saw her again. If she seriously thought that I would forgive and forget what she did, then she never knew me at all. I feel like I dodge a bullet meant to trap me.

Was the baby she aborted even mine? Until now I have never questioned it. Back then, there was no reason for me to even think that. Now, I have serious doubts. That makes me even angrier than I was the day I answered that call from the clinic.

I mourned the loss of that child for two years.

“Quinn, are you ok?” Annora asks.

“I just had a thought that makes me sick to my stomach.”

I glance at her, then grab her hand. She laces our fingers together, then rubs her thumb over the back of my hand in the way she knows calms me. I lean close to her to whisper in her car. After I tell her what I thought about, her head jerks up as she looks at me in complete

shock.

The way her eyes nar

then motions her!

, I can tell she followed my thought process. She squeezes my hand Loward the where the judge and the two lawyers are. Vincent and Miller turn from the bench to walk back to their seats.

Vincent has a smirk on his face while Miller’s eyes are full of anger and his skin is pink. Is he embarrassed? If what Vincent uncovered it true, it would embarrass me that I took Dionne as a client.

“Considering this fresh evidence, I am dismissing this case. I am also going to hold Ms. Masters in contempt if court for wasting the court’s time, resources and bringing a false lawsuit against the defendant. The district attorney will be in touch with you about possible charges filed against you.”

Ethan shoots up out of his seat. “What are the DNA results? Is Greyson that little b**d’s father?”

“Sit down, Mr. McAllister, or you will join your wife in a cell.”

“The evidence the defense presents are a DNA test dated back to the day after Logan Masters was born and an affidavit from a nurse on duty in the maternity ward that day stating she did the test on Ms. Masters’ request. The results on it are the same as the results of the recent test. Ethan McAllister is the father, not Quinn Greyson.”

“That is a LIE!” Ethan screams

The judge bangs his gavel, then motions for the guards to take Dionne into custody. Her face is pale when she looks at Ethan. Her eyes are wide as she allows the guards to escort her

away.

Chaos erupts as Ethan flips the table over, then rushes Dionne. He has his hands wrapped

around her throat before the two guards can stop him. Two more guards rush from the back

of the courtroom to pull him off her.

Ethan is quickly handcuffed, then pinned to the ground. His m**d voice screams Dionne’s name as they take her from the room. He is then pulled up off the floor and led out of the room with Evan following them.

“Mr. Greyson, I am sorry that the court has wasted your time today. This case is dismissed, and court is adjourned”

We all rise as the judge stands and leaves the room.

“Mac sent the papers to my office this morning. I had a hunch, and he investigated it for me. 1 would have told you, but it seemed fitting to play it out this way.”

Vincent says when I glance over at him

“Thank you for this. What happens next?”

“Well, we can discuss that on Monday. For now, go home and celebrate your win. I will see you two at the party tonight.”

I take Annie’s hand, then lead her from the courtroom. As I exit the building and feel the sun on my face, I can’t help but feel like this isn’t the last time I will see Dionne Masters. She has already proven that she won’t quit until she gets what she wants.

I just need to figure out what that is.