“He still isn’t your blood!”

“And thank God he isn’t a drop of yours.”

She came apart then, screaming that Ashley was a gold-digger and the baby was a tool to steal my money. I let her say all of it, every word landing on the recorder.

When the officers finally walked them out, I felt no victory — only exhaustion.

Chapter 8 — The Other Thing

I drove back to the hotel before noon. Ashley sat by the window watching Samuel sleep. “Is it over?”

“The legal part is just starting. But they’ll never come near us again.” I told her what had happened at the notary’s office, and when I mentioned the forged document, she put a trembling hand on her belly.