My attorney wasted no time in approaching my ex husband with a small stack of stapled together papers in his hand. "I'd like the record to reflect that I'm handing the witness a copy of a stipulation," he said before placing the packet onto Steven's podium. "I'm just going to page through this. Does this document look familiar to you?"

My ex husband glanced down at the paperwork. "Yes, it looks familiar."

"Did you read through this document?"

"I did."

"On Paragraph six there it reads Parenting Time."

My ex flipped to the correct page and placed his finger on the text.

"Now, referring to the last page of this document is a signature page. It's dated July 17th of 2017. Is that correct?"

"Yes sir."

"And is this your signature?"

"Yes sir," Steven repeated.

"So, on the 17th of July, in the year 2017, you agreed to have parenting time to the following. That you will have reasonable and liberal rights to parenting time with the parties' minor children to include telephonic, electronic and letter correspondence. Do you remember that?"

"Yes, sir."

"And it was your intention, when you affixed your signature to the last page of this, to be bound by this contract?"

"When I did sign it, I was under duress."

Mr. Wade blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"I said when I signed it I was under duress. So during that time it would be, yes."

"Where did you sign it?" My attorney asked, his unblinking eyes hovering on my ex husband.

"In your legal office."

"How did you get there?"

"I drove there."

"And explain to the court how you were under duress when you signed this? Was it someone that was in the law firm?"

"No."

"So, you were under duress when you signed this by people we couldn't see?"

"It was via text message," Steven replied, his face visibly sweating. "It was via the other treatment that I've been receiving from my in-laws and also from my wife."

Then why do you still want to be married to me? I silently scoffed from my seat.

"The parties recognize it is in the minor child's best interest to have a meaningful relationship with both parents. Was it your intent to be bound by that?"
"At that time it was," Steven said with some hesitancy in his voice.

"You don't want that now?" my attorney pressed in.

"I still do want it, but it needs to be-"

"All right, just checking," Mr. Wade cut him off. "Under this agreement was a full and final settlement of your entire divorce when you signed it, wasn't it?"

"I think..." my ex husband's voice trailed off. "I don't know the answer."

"Was there something else that had happened before you got divorced?"

"I don't know the answer."

Mr. Wade stared at my ex husband dead in the eyes. "Do you want to review your affidavit? This is going to take a long time if we use that response over and over. Your affidavit reflects behavior and treatments that you are alleging. My question revolves singularly around the question that the behavior, the intimidation that you are alleging, the duress that you are alleging, didn't happen after the you signed this, did it? It happened before?

"It happened, and still continued after. It was happening both before and afterwards. I was still being intimidated afterwards, and I'm still being intimidated. I mean, it's still occurring."

"But, you are not continually supplementing your affidavit, are you?"

"No, sir."

"Okay, I have no further questions," Mr. Wade finished, then looked up at the judge before taking his seat next to me.

"Do you have any?" Mr. Yeager asked Kelsey Banks.

"Just briefly on the stipulation," she replied, then directed her attention towards Steven. "Did you have an attorney representing you?"

"No ma'am. Jordan Wade, he wasn't representing me, but he was helping me with legal advice free of charge, and that's about how I received my stuff."

Wow, he's lying about my attorney now.

Mr. Wade stiffened up next to me. I could tell he wasn't going to let my ex husband get away with slandering him.

"Did you receive any advice from any other attorneys in the community before signing?" Ms. Banks continued on.

"No, ma'am."

"And the signing of the stipulation was under duress because of the threats you were getting from the Rose family, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Since signing that stipulation and getting out of the Roses' vicinity, did you reach out to attorneys?"
"Yes, ma'am."

"And was there some documentation to rescind that stipulation filed with the court?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Was that granted by the court?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And that is why we're here today, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I have no further questions, your honor."

My attorney immediately spoke up. "Just something that troubled me a bit, your honor, about the witness claiming that I was giving him legal advice. I'd like to clarify that."

"You certainly can," the judge said.

Mr. Wade stood up and took a few steps towards Steven.

"Were you ever in my office without your wife?"

"I was there early before."

"You realize where my office is?"
"Yes. I also was, oh," Steven stalled. "Do you mean like, I'm confused by the question. I'm sorry. When I think office, I mean, like, your whole entire office, because you own it all, I think-"

Mr. Wade cut him off. "So, you are saying that you came and sat in the waiting room, is that what you are saying?"

"Yes, I also was there without her, yeah-"

"Did I ever talk to you while you were in the waiting room other than to ask you to come back once your wife got there?"

"No..." Steven visibly shook.

"Were you and I ever alone in the office without your wife?"

"No... No sir."

"Did you sign a retainer agreement with my law firm?"

"No, sir."
"Did your wife sign a retainer with my law firm?"

"I never saw it, so I don't know the answer."

"Did I tell you that I represented only your wife?"
"Yes sir, you did," Steven replied meekly.

"Thank you. I have no further questions."

The judge looked down at Steven, who was still sitting in the stand. "You may have a seat," he said before swiveling his head towards my attorney. "Mr. Wade, any other witnesses?"

"I would call my client, Cheyanne Daniels, your honor."

My heart beat quickened. It was time for me to answer questions and be put in the spotlight. I knew Steven had made a fool of himself several times already, but he had also told so many lies that I wasn't sure I'd be able to untangle them all.

"If you come forward here," Mr. Yeager said to me. "I'll have you raise your right hand before taking the stand."

I swore the oath, then approached the stand and sat down in the seat.

Here we go...