“I want the legal custody order signed today,” I said.

“I want the birth certificate corrected to my name, and I want her to leave us alone.”

Judge Vance looked at me for three long seconds, then dipped his fountain pen into the black inkwell.

He pressed the steel nib to the parchment and signed his full name in three broad strokes.

“Custody of Lily Mercer is restored immediately to her mother, Megan Mercer,” the judge said, striking the wooden block once with his gavel.

The sharp crack echoed off the high plaster walls, and Arthur let out a long, quiet breath.