“Ms. Mangram, you’re here today after losing your son to a violent crime. You say the defendant, Ms. Schools, is claiming your deceased son is her child’s father, which you say is impossible. Yeah.”

Judge Lake turned to the young woman across the aisle. “Ms. Schools, you say you have no doubt that Mr. Mangram fathered your child, and today you will prove it to his family.”

“Ms. Mangram, how did you find out about Ms. Schools’ pregnancy?”

Venus Mangram took a slow breath. “Oh, well, it was on June 23rd. We were at the hospital. My son, he was shot. She came up to me and she said, ‘Miss Venus, my name is Amber, and I’m pregnant with Dominic’s baby.’ So I looked at her and I said, ‘Yeah, baby, you pregnant, all right. But I don’t know if it’s Dominic’s baby.’ And I turned around and I just left. I didn’t want to hear that. Anybody coming and telling me that they pregnant, I didn’t want to hear it. No time. I just didn’t want it.”

“So, Ms. Schools, is that how it happened?”

Amber Schools shook her head. “No, it’s not. I actually wrote her on Facebook and told her, ‘Hey, Miss Venus, my name is Amber. I’m actually downstairs. I don’t know if Dominic told you or not, but I’m actually three months pregnant with his baby.’ I was like, ‘I’m downstairs in the hospital, just to let him know that I’m here because I didn’t know what was going on. I was just informed that he was shot.’ So I’m like, I’m downstairs just to let him know that I’m here and I’m praying for him. I didn’t get a response. So I actually get on the elevator and I go upstairs, and I see him hooked up to all these tubes and machines and stuff. So I’m just standing there looking, and I had told, I was like, ‘Hey, Miss Venus, I’m Amber. I’m the one who wrote you on Facebook.’”

“So she was like, ‘Yeah, I got your message.’ So I’m sitting right there and I’m just crying. I see him hooked up to all this stuff, and I’m pregnant, so I’m very emotional at the time. So I’m crying. I sit down right beside him, beside his bed, and she’s rubbing on my back. ‘Everything’s gonna be okay. Don’t worry.’”

Venus shook her head firmly. “No, ma’am. No, ma’am. No, ma’am. That did not happen. I’m sorry. No. I don’t remember none of that.”

“Now, the Facebook thing came after Dominique was already gone, right? But she died, and I wrote you back.”

“You did not write me back,” Amber said. “Because when I came in the room, you said, ‘I got your message.’ How could you write somebody back?”

Judge Lake held up a hand. “Hold on. I want to understand. You said you didn’t get that.”

“Of course you’re not checking Facebook,” Venus said. “No, ma’am. Not Venus. Somebody coming and telling me that they pregnant by my baby? No. I wouldn’t. At that time, I did not care. Do you hear me? Do you understand me? I did not care.”

“I understand you,” Judge Lake said softly. “Yes, I do.”

Venus continued. “My son told me several times that there is about three or four girls who say they pregnant by him. I knew about two of the girls, but I never met Amber. And after the day in the hospital, you never got a chance to ask him about Ms. Schools.”

“No. No.”

“So let’s fast forward to when baby Dominique was born. You have the baby. During that time, do you keep in touch with Ms. Mangram and her family?”

Amber nodded. “I kept them updated with everything. My baby shower, you sent me love for the message off Facebook, with prayers and stuff, telling me she loved me. She was coming to the hospital to see me and my baby. And she came and saw my baby for about a couple minutes.”

Venus’s voice was sharp. “She couldn’t have stayed there. Like the second day I had my daughter, she came to the hospital and looked at it. I went to the hospital. She looked just like his baby picture. Looked just like his baby picture.”

“No, sir,” Amber said. “No, she do not.”

“But I went there, then I held the baby, and I took her hat off to look at her hair, and I said no to myself.”

“So you never told her,” Judge Lake said. “You didn’t ever tell her you were gonna sit there and stay. You’re gonna tell somebody else, ‘Oh, this is not a Mangram.’”

“All my babies come out with a head full of hair,” Venus said. “A baby has two parents. Yes. And that’s his father. All Mangram babies have a head full of hair when they were born. Every last one of them.”

Judge Lake turned to Amber. “You know, Ms. Mangram, I apologize. But I honestly did not want the baby to be his baby.”

“Why is that?” Judge Lake asked.

“Not because I did not need no more reminders of my baby. I did not need it. I don’t want it. And that’s all that it is.”

Judge Lake nodded slowly. “I know this is emotional, and I know this is difficult. And it’s interesting to me, Ms. Mangram, as I hear you testify, the pain of losing your son is so great you don’t want a reminder. You don’t want that all the time because it just reminds you that he’s no longer here. And I know sometimes it’s hard to just say what your truth is, and I appreciate your honesty. Those of us that have had to deal with very painful losses in our life—and I have had to do that—I know what you’re saying, because you find a compartment for that pain, and you want to try to leave it there so you can function.”

Venus nodded. “That’s it. And go on.”

“Every time I turn around, I can’t stand it. Even when people talk about him on Facebook, that’s why I hardly go to his page. Because I know that he’s a loving person. I know that he was, and how everybody miss him. But don’t nobody miss him more than I do. And I just don’t want to be reminded of them. I love them, but I just don’t want to be reminded, because I’m just so tired of crying. I wake up in the night screaming, hollering, crying. Because I just—oh God, my baby’s gone.”

Judge Lake’s voice was gentle. “I understand. And I hear you.”

“And now we’re in court today because there is a beautiful little girl. And she’s named after your son. Dominique Samaya.”

“She’s a very pretty baby,” Venus admitted.

“Her husband even tell me I can name the baby,” Amber said. “Ant-Man, like I was going to name my baby that regard. But he gave me the honesty. Give them the last name. You know, I was more close with the father. He came to me with open arms. And in the beginning, I did want to be accepted by the mother, you know. But he did so much to me—words, verbally. It was—”

Judge Lake held up a hand. “Ms. Schools, I have to say this. I don’t think you were trying to do anything malicious. I just think unfortunately this mother at that time could not process it all.”

Judge Lake turned to the gallery. “Now, her husband—Dominique’s father—I’d like to hear from him. He came to court today. Jerome, can you please escort Mr. Mangram into the courtroom?”

The bailiff brought a man to the witness stand.

“Thank you for joining us, Mr. Mangram. We are here discussing the paternity of baby Dominique, and Ms. Schools has testified that you were able to engage her and speak to her and even gave your permission for her to name the child after Dominique. Is that true?”

Mr. Mangram nodded. “Yes.”

“And why did you do that, sir?”

“My son told me that she was pregnant. He didn’t just tell me that she was pregnant. She was right there when he told.”

“When was that? Because he ain’t never brought her over to the house. She never got out of the car.”

“You’ve never heard of this day?”

Myself, I’m not here to argue. I meant Amber, and I accepted what my son told—”

Judge Lake’s voice softened. “I know it’s difficult, sir. Take your time.”

“Yeah, it is. It’s just a fight, you know what I’m saying, between them. And it’s like I don’t want to be in the middle of it. However it goes, I would still like to be around.”

Judge Lake turned back to Venus. “Your husband seems to think there is a possibility that this could be your son’s child. After you hear his testimony, do you feel differently?”

“I just feel in my heart that she is not a Mangram. We took the DNA test, and it came back negative.”

“Wait, when did you do a DNA test?”

“This party back in April. When it came back, but it was only because he had a blood transfusion.”

Judge Lake leaned forward. “And the blood transfusion can actually alter the DNA. That’s more than one person’s blood. What you’re saying is they took DNA from the deceased Dominique’s body?”

“Yes. But this was right after the next day. The shooting and everything that happened, and in their attempt to save him, they had given him multiple transfusions.”

“How many?”

“They just said massive. But it’s a whole lot.”

Amber spoke up. “And Ms. Schools, you are presenting evidence that shows that the blood was drawn the day after he passed away, yes. You’re also presenting evidence that says that there are several things that can validate or affect—”

She paused. “I’m telling her, ‘Miss Venus, my name is Venus. I’m sitting in a car crying because I’m like, this is not right.’ And I told her that day, ‘This is not right.’ She’s like, ‘Everything’s gonna be okay.’ So I’m sitting in the car crying to myself like, something’s wrong. And I look at the paper and I see the dates. So I do my research before I even tell anybody that this is what I found out. And it come back, yes, again. A blood transfusion can affect a paternity test.”

“So I tell Miss Venus. I screenshot it to her and everything. So in the beginning, she was like, ‘Well, okay, if it’s true, I want to do it again.’ So I’m like, okay. And then a couple days or a couple weeks later, she come back, ‘Oh, I talked to scientists. My mother or whoever works at a hospital, they telling me—’”

Judge Lake raised an eyebrow. “But you know, I’m sitting up here and I’m thinking, you was living with your boyfriend and messing with Dominique at the same time. Wait a minute now. So, Ms. Schools, were you living with another man while you were with—”

“No. We stopped talking. He moved out. He wasn’t even staying with us at the time. That’s when I started talking to her son. And her son knew him. So he was like, ‘Well, that’s not right. That’s not how you’re supposed to be treated.’”

“So before any of—if we even start having sex, we was friends before anything. And just so happened it became more than what it was. He accepted that. He already knew that. And I told him the whole time. He was the first one I told when I was pregnant. I told both of them I was pregnant, actually.”

“You told Dominique and the boyfriend?”

“I told him. And he was like, ‘Well, I want a DNA test.’ I even when I was pregnant, I volunteered to do a DNA test when I was pregnant. But Dominique—I mean, my doctor told me that they had to stick a needle in my stomach and my sack to actually get the fluid around the baby, and I could have a miscarriage. So she was like, ‘That’s not the best option. Wait till you actually have the baby.’ So that’s what I did. But unfortunately, he wasn’t here.”

Judge Lake nodded. “Well, I’ll tell you this: this is exactly why we sit here every day, because the stories change and they differ. But DNA is absolute. And so we have had you all undergo independent testing through this courtroom. Yes. And there will be no question as to what the results are when we hand them down.”

She looked at the family. “All right, we are going to go to the results. But before we do, Mr. Mangram, I have to ask you if you’d like to stand with your wife. Feel free. I know this is going to be very emotional news either way.”

She took the envelope. “These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. To be clear, because the blood card of the deceased was in question, we performed a DNA test with the surviving grandparents. With that being said, the results determine if there is a viable relationship between the child, Dominique Samaya Mangram, and the grandparents, Andre and Venus Mangram. The results read as follows: In the case of Mangram versus Schools, when it comes to eighteen-month-old Dominique Samaya Mangram, she is not related to Andre and Venus Mangram.”

The courtroom erupted. Amber buried her face in her hands. Venus sat frozen.

“I knew it,” Amber whispered. “I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.”

The bailiff called the next case.

“Ms. Austin, this is your third time here in our courtroom with Mr. Wallace and Ms. Roberts. Previously, you were here because Mr. Wallace questioned the paternity of your other child. But now you find yourself in the same situation today. You say you need to prove to Mr. Wallace that he is the father of your nine-month-old son, Ronell, so that he can begin to step up and be a father.”

Judge Lake turned to the young man. “Mr. Wallace, you claim you have multiple reasons to doubt when it comes to whether or not you are the biological father of this child and hope today is your last visit to this courtroom.”

The screen behind her flickered to life. “Let’s take a look at what happened the last time you all were here.”

Video played. Mr. Wallace’s voice echoed through the courtroom: “I love my kids dearly, but I shouldn’t—you just don’t love their mom. Their mother.”

Judge Lake’s voice from the past: “When it comes to Baby Danielle Wallace, Mr. Wallace, you are the father. He is an innocent baby.”

Mr. Wallace’s voice again: “I never had anybody to show me how to treat a woman or to be a man. I just need help.”

The screen went dark. Judge Lake turned back to the present. “So last time, you were standing on the defending side with Ronell, Mr. Wallace. So now, Mr. Wallace, you’re back with Ms. Roberts. Yes, ma’am. But you’re still going back and forth between the two women because she’s pregnant now, and the baby could potentially be yours.”

“Let me just say something,” Judge Lake continued. “Because last time I talked to you on the phone, you know, I called you one day. You had your kids. You sounded so happy. You sounded like you were on the right track. You said you had your kids and you all were having a great day. And I have been talking about you non-stop since then. When people ask me some of the cases that mean the most to me, you’re one of the people. And so I have to say, before I even start today, I’m so mad you all back up in here.”

She turned to Ms. Austin. “So, Ms. Austin, I have to ask you: what has happened since the last time you all were here?”

“Since the last time we was here, everything started out okay. But we all know that wasn’t gonna last long. Ryan Wallace still bouncing back from me and Kendra Lynn. I had enrolled in school, but I never did go because I had got pregnant once again with Ronell. And she got pregnant with her baby with her son. And as you can see, now, once again, I’m pregnant again with my third baby.”

Judge Lake’s eyes narrowed. “First of all, I don’t know if it’s because you’re nervous, Ms. Austin—which look, I wouldn’t blame you if you were—but it’s not funny. I keep seeing a smirk on your face.”

“I just said that I’m back here again.”

“You’re disgusted with yourself that you’re back here.”

“Yeah. For the same reason.”

Judge Lake studied her face. “I can see behind your eyes the hurt.”

“The baby could potentially be yours, yes. And the child that we are dealing with in terms of the paternity results today is a second child you had by Mr. Wallace named Ronell. Nine months old, yeah. But you’re pregnant again. Yes.”

“So let me understand this. Obviously, Mr. Wallace has been going back and forth between you two women, and you two women are still falling for it. Why is there a doubt, then, Mr. Wallace, as to whether or not her child is your child? If you’ve been having babies with both of these women back and forth all this time—”

Mr. Wallace straightened. “Because she’s very promiscuous. When we was together, I had installed, um, it was like spyware on her phone. That would duplicate her text messages and call log and send a copy to my email. And again, for about the fifth, sixth time, I caught her texting different men.”

“Well, where your proof at? You saying that didn’t happen. Where your proof at? I never saw it.”

“And you believe she’s sleeping with these men?”

“Yes.”

Judge Lake turned to Ms. Austin. “Ms. Austin, were you sleeping with these men? No lie detector, please. Right now.”

“I’m not. You just can’t be involved with all these different—”

“Without doing—”

“I’m not.”

“You just cause you lay down with everybody who you talk to—”

Judge Lake slammed her hand on the bench. “Mr. Wallace, we spoke last time about speaking to women respectfully in the courtroom. You can express yourself, but do it respectfully.”

“So you believe she was sleeping around.”

“If I’m doubting, why you keep on sleeping with me? Why? Why? Why? Why?”

“Easy access.”

“Why you say that about—”

“All right, yeah. Just because I know that you with her—she’s so loud. I don’t have nothing to do with that.”

Judge Lake sighed. “You know we’re here because yet another child is in the world and we’re unsure if you are their biological father. Ronell, nine months old. Before we had to take a recess, we were dealing with the issues as it relates to the doubts surrounding the paternity. You were outlining that you felt like Ms. Austin was sleeping around.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“If you’re talking to other people, why are you pregnant then? Right after you pregnant, of course I’m gonna add doubts about the child.”

Judge Lake turned to Ms. Austin. “Ms. Austin, are you admitting that you also had a relationship with somebody else during the time?”

“No. I wouldn’t even call it a relationship. It was just someone else you were seeing. Yeah, talking to. Okay. Because I was hurt by trying to get back at Rangel for the things that he has done to me.”

“And so, at the end of the day, you all can see now that two wrongs never make a right. They make more wrong. Right? Because you were wrong for going back and forth between the two women, and then you were wrong for being pregnant and talking to other men and expecting him to then believe your child is his child automatically.”

Mr. Wallace nodded. “I still—”

“And look, I don’t want things getting out of hand. And I know this is an emotional thing to talk about. Ms. Austin and Mr. Wallace, I don’t understand how you two fell apart, because like she said, she tried to get back at me for the things that I—the mistakes I made. And he moved with Kendra Lynn just out of the blue.”

“He woke up and said, ‘Ms. Roberts, go with her.’”

“So what happened?”

“You being promiscuous. And I’m not gonna tolerate that.”

Judge Lake shook her head. “So basically, Mr. Wallace, you can sleep around, but your women can’t. Mr. Wallace, I see right now not much has changed since the last time we were here. I was hoping that it would. Another thing that hasn’t changed: there’s another child whose paternity is in question, and you are a possible father, but you have doubt.”

“You feel like the baby has a resemblance to you or your family? Are you concerned about that?”

“I feel like we have certain features, but you can’t just base it all off looks. They have the same chin.”

Judge Lake examined the photos. “Let me see that. Is that evidence you’d like to present? Okay, walk me through what these pieces of evidence are.”

“The first piece is a chin. You see that chin. Look at their feet.”

“So you say their feet are alike.”

“Yeah.”

“But they don’t change your mind. No, ma’am. It’s just like you go to a police lineup. They put you in there with six other men who look just like you, and you got picked out of it. So you feel like these similarities are not compelling enough.”

“No. You can’t just go off looks. I’m going off her actions. You couldn’t forgive her. You all couldn’t work through this. Instead, you just went to stay with Ms. Roberts and abandoned me and my children.”

“That’s false. The apartment that I have now is because I moved in because of—”

“That’s false, dude. It’s because he said he didn’t want to stay with the kids anymore. He wanted us to be back on family, and I did what I had to do to move into the apartment.”

Ms. Austin’s voice cracked. “Your Honor, I do everything for him. I stood by his side when he would have his apartment. He went through a lot, and I was there by his dad. Never left. Never left. And I could have left. I could have walked away from family life. He’s gonna walk away, but I didn’t. I stood there. I stood there. Cuz he left me. He keeps leaving me. Every day he leaves me. Like, what more could I do?”

“That’s because you always have other men.”

Mr. Wallace shook his head. “No, no, no. Mr. Wallace, do you hear her?”

“She could sit here and put on a show.”

“No, that’s not a show. Everybody wouldn’t have this problem. Everyone knows that he sits in my house—”

Judge Lake held up her hand. “Ms. Austin, for the life of me, I don’t—I love this young man because I’ve invested so much time in him, but I don’t know why y’all want to be with him so bad.”

She turned back to Ms. Austin. “While you’re with Mr. Wallace, you’re trying to have this relationship. You got one child together—maybe three. I’m trying to understand the extent of you feeling like he left you. You say he’s always leaving you.”

“Yes. Every time I look up, he’s picking a reason to leave.”

“Explain that to me.”

“Like not too long ago, he left the house. He leaves my house and goes and spends the night out at Kendra’s house with his stuff still being at my house until I took it to his mom’s house. And that’s where his stuff been at ever since. He just came out to my house not too long ago—like three days ago—because him and Kendra had a fight.”

Judge Lake looked at her for a long moment. “When you just broke down a moment ago, I really felt for you, because I see a young woman here that desperately is trying to have a relationship with somebody that doesn’t want me. I don’t even know if he doesn’t—”

She turned to Mr. Wallace. “It’s not that he don’t want you or he don’t want Ms. Roberts. Mr. Wallace hasn’t grown enough where he can be in a position to want anybody or to truly commit to anybody. And I think ultimately, he’s got to grow into the man that he needs to become if that’s ever going to happen. But you two women continuing to fight and argue and get into altercations—you’re pregnant, for goodness’ sake.”

She looked at Ms. Austin. “Are you hoping that it’s determined today that Mr. Wallace is Ronell’s father? Is that what you’re hoping?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

“Mr. Wallace, what are you hoping for today?”

He crossed his arms. “I’m just agitated.”

“You feel agitated. Yes. Tell me.”

“Because of the bull crap performance she put on.”

Judge Lake’s voice was sharp. “Look, well, I need you to—don’t walk out. Don’t walk out again. You can stand up here. Don’t repeat the same mistake as last time. Stand up here. Closure. Mr. Wallace, stand up.”

The bailiff moved toward him. He stopped.

“Mr. Wallace, I’m glad you came back. What I was trying to tell you before you left is I don’t want you to make the same mistake again. When you were just speaking to me and you said you’re taking her side—I’m not gonna let you leave here thinking I’m taking anybody’s side. I’m asking the questions that need to be asked. Now we’re going to get you these results, because you came here because you wanted to know. Right? Are you Ronell’s father? I have that for you, and I’m going to give you those answers.”

She reached for the envelope. “And then I’m going to get you all some help. All right. The results. Let’s take a seat for a second. Sit down. Go ahead and stand up.”

“These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of Austin versus Wallace, pertaining to nine-month-old Ronell Wallace, it has been determined by this court that Mr. Wallace, you are Ronell’s father.”

Ms. Austin burst into tears. Mr. Wallace stood frozen.

Judge Lake looked at the screen. “I want to get you all some help. I have joining me today via Skype a gentleman by the name of Mr. Wright. He’s a social worker in Chicago, your hometown base right there. Thank you so much for joining us today. Can you tell us a little bit about what you do?”

Mr. Wright’s voice came through the speakers. “I have a number of social services. I have a number of resources that I want to wrap these young people in. But are they willing to accept my help?”

Judge Lake looked at both of them. “Good questions. Yes, sir. Yes. Yes.”

The audience applauded.

“Ms. Wolf, you say that your month-long relationship with Mr. Shelton left you with beautiful twins who he is now denying for dubious reasons. You intend to prove Mr. Shelton fathered both boys, Luke and Levi. Is that correct?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Judge Lake turned to the man across the aisle. “Mr. Shelton, you say Ms. Wolf is a promiscuous party animal who has absolutely no idea who fathered her twins. You believe you are just one of several men who were involved with Ms. Wolf, and you claim there is no way you fathered her children. Is that correct?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“So, Ms. Wolf, what do you mean he’s denying your children for dubious reasons?”

“He is the father. They look just like him. His friends told me that they looked like him. The conception date was matched up to when we were together during our relationship. I was with two other people afterwards, but both of them have been excluded. They’re out of the picture. So he is the father. Look at them. Look at him.”

Judge Lake turned to Mr. Shelton. “So, Mr. Shelton, you disagree.”

“Yes, Your Honor. Whenever I was with her, she was very promiscuous. She was always disappearing. She was very untrustworthy. I didn’t know what was going on half the time. We were together for a month and messed around a lot, and she just was never there really. And then she just disappeared one day.”

“Disappeared? Okay. So take me back. I want to understand the nature of this relationship. How did you even meet?”

“Oh, we met on Plenty of Fish. It was an internet dating site. We started talking for a little while, and then we just started hitting it off. We started seeing each other every day. It was really good for the first month. And then, like I said, one day she just disappeared.”

“She was gone. So in one month, you disappeared, Ms. Wolf.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“So he’s right. You just disappeared. Yes. Why?”

“Um, we were both partying at the time. I wanted a new lifestyle for my kids. They deserved better. So I just thought the best thing to do was cut everything off. This was before I found out I was pregnant and everything.”

Judge Lake leaned forward. “And why are you emotional? What are you feeling?”

“I just want my kids to know their dad. I mean, my oldest one, his dad passed away, so he’ll never get to know him. And I just feel like it’s important that he gets to know them.”

“So how did you see the relationship with Mr. Shelton? You said it was just a month. And like he said, it was really good. We hit it off. We were going to church together. I thought we were both turning our lives around, doing good. But it wasn’t that way. There was trust issues. There was other issues that I didn’t want to deal with with him. And so I just ghosted him, I guess you could say.”

“So you ghosted him. Yes. And how soon after that did you find out you were pregnant?”

“I didn’t find out I was pregnant until May. And I got pregnant in March. And when you found out, did you tell Mr. Shelton, or did you just continue to—”

“I was living with my current boyfriend at the time. He was pretty much gonna be there for them. He had no problem. He was there for my oldest son as well. I didn’t bother trying to look for him because I wasn’t sure myself. But the more and more I dug into it, when the conception date was and everything, he’s the father.”

“So earlier in the testimony, you said there were two other men you were sleeping with.”

“That’s correct.”

“So why have you excluded them?”

“One was a black guy, so they’re obviously not black. And the other one I used protection with, and I don’t believe there was a way that I could get pregnant with him.”

Judge Lake’s eyebrows rose. “People come in all colors. All people have blonde hair and blue eyes. That’s why I turned around and looked and said, ‘Well, let’s really see.’ Because there are plenty of black people that have blonde hair and blue eyes.”

She turned to Mr. Shelton. “So, Mr. Shelton, how did you find out about the pregnancy?”

“I just got a message from her one day on Facebook. Being the kind-hearted guy I was, I said, ‘Okay, we can hang out. I can see you.’ She was wondering how I was doing. She came over to the house. She was pregnant at this time. Pretty sure it was like nine months, Your Honor, or it was about to pop, pretty much.”

“I feel like my kids were already born before he met them or knew about the pregnancy, because I was waiting until they were born to see what they would look like. Because I wasn’t sure, and I was nervous.”

“So you feel like he never even mentioned them? You never even got in contact with him until after the children were born.”

“That’s correct.”

“So take me to the birth. What happened when Luke and Levi were born? Obviously, Mr. Shelton wasn’t there.”

“No, he was not.”

“Who was? Ralph was there with me. My current boyfriend.”

“Mr. Dukwa participated in the baby’s birth?”

“Yes, he did.”

“And she also told me that Ralph could possibly be one of the fathers also.”

“She did, ma’am. Yes, later on, Your Honor.”

“That’s not true. I was already pregnant. I thought he knew I was already pregnant. I thought we had already discussed this. He’s acting like, ‘No, Luke is mine.’ So that’s why we’re here today, to prove that Jerry is the father of both of them.”

“So now you’re saying your current boyfriend believes that he is the father? Yes, of your twins?”

“Because I do joke and be like, ‘Huh, he’s just like you. That’s your kid, you know.’ But just messing around with him, because he has been there since day one of their birth. But he thinks he’s the biological father. Yes.”

Judge Lake turned to the bailiff. “You know what? I want to hear from Mr. Dukwa. Jerome, will you please escort him into the courtroom?”

Ralph Dukwa walked to the stand.

“Mr. Dukwa, thank you for joining us today. We are listening to testimony relating to Luke and Levi’s paternity. We’d like to know what your relationship is to Ms. Wolf.”

“I’ve known her since 2008, on and off. And we were together at the time of conception, having unprotected sex.”

“So what did Ms. Wolf tell you about the paternity of these two children? Did she say you’re the father?”

“That I could possibly be the father.”

“She pointed—she told you that. Yes. She just testified that she was joking with you.”

“I never told him he was a biological father. Ever. It’s been a joking around. He’s been there since they were born, so he is their dad.”

Mr. Dukwa shook his head. “She was partying, and she was not clear of the time and dates of when that happened. No.”

“Why are you crying? Why are you so upset?”

“You’re wrong. It’s not the truth. You know she was partying with a lot of different kind of people.”

Judge Lake turned to Ms. Wolf. “Why are you so upset, Ms. Wolf? Can you tell the court, what are you feeling?”

“I’m just like—”

Judge Lake held up a hand. “Okay, let’s take a breath.”

“So, Mr. Dukwa, you say for certain you know you were sexually active with Ms. Wolf during the window of time when the twins would have been conceived. Yes. You remember that. Yes. Can you take me back to what happened?”

“She would pop into my life in and out. Come over to the house, and we would have sex, and she’d leave. And so when she told you she was pregnant, you immediately said they could be mine.”

“Possibly. Yeah. Yes. I could be the father. I took an Ancestry DNA—our DNA Ancestry—and they came back that we have European DNA descent. And blonde hair, blue eyes does run in my family. So they could be mine.”

“Do you believe you’re the father?”

“I think I am the father. Yes. I could be possibly of Luke, yes. But not both. Not Levi. Possibly, but not Levi.”

“So Ms. Wolf has said you’ve been taking care of the twins like they’re your own. They’re twenty-two months old. You’ve been pretty much their father figure and the person they have come to rely on to be a father in their lives.”

“They need somebody. Those little creatures, they need parents. I was born in a family with parents, a mother and father. And they need that. They deserve that.”

Judge Lake turned to Mr. Shelton. “Mr. Shelton, I want to ask you: when was the first time you met the twins and you saw them?”

“After the last time I saw her when she was pregnant, later on about another nine months to a year or whatever, she messaged me on Facebook. She asked how I was doing, and she came over and we were hanging out. And she said one of the boys could be mine.”

“I never said that. They were sleeping in the back of the car, and she pointed to one of them and said that one of them could be mine.”

“I believe I just said that he looked exactly like this one. Exactly. Looks exactly like him.”

“They’re twins. So the suggestion is that two men fathered one set of fraternal twins. Yes. With possible—and it is not impossible. We already know that is very possible. It has happened. Science has already let us know that.”

“So what kind of relationship have you developed, Mr. Shelton, with the twins? Can you tell the court?”

“I’ve only met the twins one time, Your Honor. I haven’t had a chance to be in their life at all. I’ve been wondering about them. It keeps me up at night. That’s why we’re here.”

“I would love for him to be a part of their life. I hadn’t reached out to him at all. I was trying to file for child support against him, but I would love for him to be there.”

“You are—the last time I talked to her, she was supposed to bring the kids over and we were supposed to hang out. But instead, I gave her my address, and then two days later, I got child support papers in the mail.”

“So you gave her the address for visitation, and then you got served.”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Well, if I’m the dad, I’d like to know.”

“And that brings tears to your eyes, just to think that it could be your children. And you have absolutely no knowledge of their daily activities.”

“I have no idea what goes on in their daily lives. I don’t even know what their favorite color is. I don’t even know what they eat every day, Your Honor. I’ve asked her so we could see if we can come hang out, so we could come to an agreement, so we could do the paternity test. But it never came. We never—”

“We don’t need to hang out. The thing is, you need to be there for your kids if that’s what the—we need to go get the DNA test, like we are doing here.”

Judge Lake reached for the envelope. “All right, I’m ready for the results. And we have enough of them.”

“These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. Just so we’re clear: because we are dealing with fraternal twins, and we know that fraternal twins could potentially have two different fathers, we had to test each child against each gentleman.”

“First results relate to Mr. Dukwa. In the case of Wolf versus Shelton, when it comes to twenty-two-month-old Levi Wolf, it has been determined by this court that Mr. Dukwa, you are not the father. You are not Levi’s biological father.”

“The next result will be for Luke. And you say specifically it was Luke was the child that she said could be yours. Yes, that is correct. In the case of Wolf versus Shelton, when it comes to twenty-two-month-old Luke Wolf, it has been determined by this court that Mr. Dukwa, you are not the father.”

“So, Mr. Shelton, now that I’ve read the results from Mr. Dukwa and he is not the biological father of either twin, does this change your feelings about the possibility of you being their father?”

“No, Your Honor. If I’m their father, I’m gonna do what I have to do. I’m going to take care of both of them if they’re both mine.”

“Jerome, let’s have the envelopes for Mr. Shelton.”

“In the case of Wolf versus Shelton, when it comes to twenty-two-month-old Luke Wolf, it has been determined by this court that Mr. Shelton, you are not the father.”

The courtroom stirred.

“All right, surprising to me, Your Honor. Ms. Wolf, you said Levi was Mr. Shelton’s child. Here are the results. In the case of Wolf versus Shelton, when it comes to twenty-two-month-old Levi Wolf, it has been determined by this court that Mr. Shelton, you are not the father.”

Judge Lake looked at the young woman. “Neither Mr. Shelton nor Mr. Dukwa are the father of either twin. Ms. Wolf, do you know who is?”

Ms. Wolf shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t know how to find them. We were in Oklahoma.”

“How about the guy you say that you were with and you used the condom? Is that the person you’re thinking about?”

“The stakes are so high because the children need their father. They need to know. Mr. Shelton’s been thanked for coming. You’ve gotten child support papers. Yes, Your Honor. It’s important that you now move swiftly in your home court. Yes, Your Honor. But I’m just so sad for the children.”

“Me too.”

Judge Lake turned to Mr. Dukwa. “Mr. Dukwa, do you still plan to be in the children’s life?”

He nodded. “I do. I will be there, no matter what. Even if I do have to help her find this person, whoever it is.”

Judge Lake smiled gently. “I want to say that is honorable. And we talk about science here all the time, but love is the greatest thing of all.”