Before she could answer, Olivia’s small voice came from behind me.
“We already belong to Mama.”
The room went still. My children stood under the Christmas lights, tiny and brave. Marcus covered his face. Ashley cried silently. No amount of money could return the years they had spent wondering why they were not enough, but it could build something safer. It could make sure Marcus never mistook my silence for surrender again.
As we left, Marcus followed us to the door.
“I want to see them. I know I don’t deserve it, but I want to try.”
“Then tell that to the judge.”
Ashley appeared behind him, without her ring.
“I’ll be at the hearing tomorrow.”
Later that night, after my children fell asleep together under blankets in our living room, my phone buzzed at 2:13 a.m. An unknown number sent a birth certificate. Not one of my children’s. Another girl. Born three years before Caleb. Mother: Ashley Monroe. Father: Marcus Reynolds.
