Courtney leaned close to my face.

“Don’t fool yourself, Shelby,” she sneered.

“You’re only alive because he still feels guilty.

But a woman with no children, no family, and no womb is no match for me.”

When she left, I pulled out the documents my lawyer had prepared months earlier, based on a bad feeling I’d never wanted to believe.

I signed them with a trembling hand and left them lying on the bed.