He sent letters from prison. I sent every one of them back unopened.

On the twins’ second birthday, I sat beneath an oak tree while Liam slept against my shoulder and Chloe chased bubbles across the lawn. Grandfather lowered himself down beside me and watched her laugh.

“Do you regret hiding who you were?” he asked.

I looked toward the hospital windows glowing beyond the garden. “No,” I said. “It taught me who everyone else was.”

My phone buzzed with confirmation that the final restitution payment had reached Brooks House. Dominic’s stolen fortune would now keep frightened mothers close to their babies.

I tucked the phone away and kissed Liam’s hair.

For years, Dominic believed power meant taking everything from someone weaker than himself. He learned too late that real power was staying calm, protecting what mattered, and deciding exactly where the consequences came down.