“I had this custom-made in my shop. I asked the jeweler to engrave ‘O & C’ on the flat silver backing of that sapphire. It’s one of a kind. I bought it for Claire.”

A collective gasp rippled through our families. My mother covered her mouth. Damon’s mother slumped back against the kitchen counter, looking physically ill.

“Owen, please,” Claire sobbed, reaching a hand toward him. “He manipulated me! Damon told me his marriage was over. He said he was only staying because she was pregnant, that he’d leave her as soon as the baby was born!”

Damon whipped around, his face twisting with genuine rage. “Shut your mouth, Claire! You threw yourself at me! You created this fantasy in your head!”

“You told me you loved me!” Claire screamed, the elegant godmother facade completely shattered. “You told me we had a future! You signed the lease for our apartment!”

“And he forged my signature to do it,” I added calmly, pointing to the documents in Damon’s box. “Eighteen thousand, five hundred dollars stolen from my maternity fund for the deposit, and my name illegally bound as the guarantor.”