Patrick moved closer and slammed his palm flat on the granite counter so hard the catalog jumped.

“Take the fifty thousand and walk away quietly, Serena, or I’ll make sure you never get custody.”

I picked up the silver pen he’d laid beside the contract.

I put it down on the far end of the counter, well out of his reach.

Then I took hold of the contract’s edge with both hands and pushed the deceptive agreement back across the polished wooden table unsigned.

Arthur slid a gold-embossed legal folder across the scarred wooden table in the legal aid archive room.