Christine deflated onto the sofa, eyes darting between the certificates and her cowering son.

I pulled my pre-packed suitcase from the bedroom.

“The mortgage is in my name. The down payment was mine. The files are uploaded to a secure cloud server. I’m moving out, and my attorney will be in touch about the divorce.”

“Alex… please,” Tom begged from the wall, voice cracking. “Can’t we just start over?”

I looked at the man who had promised to protect me, now hiding behind his mother’s skirt.

“You didn’t want a partner, Tom. You wanted a punching bag. I’m just the bag that hits back.”