Elaine peeked into the diaper bag and smirked. “Cheap things. We’ll replace them—if the baby looks like Daniel.”

Something inside me shifted.

Not pain.

Not shock.

Clarity.

Daniel kissed the baby’s forehead like it was a performance, then turned to leave.

At the door, he paused. “Don’t call too much. We’re celebrating.”

The door shut.

I sat there—stitched, bleeding, exhausted—my son asleep against my chest.

I cried for three minutes.

Then I picked up my phone.

There were two contacts Daniel didn’t even know existed.

My lawyer.

And my father’s private office.

I called the lawyer first.

“Claire? Is the baby here?” Martin answered immediately.

“Yes,” I said softly. “And Daniel just walked out on us.”

There was a pause.

Then his tone changed. “Do you want to proceed?”

I looked at my son’s tiny fingers wrapped around mine.

“Yes,” I said. “Lock everything down.”

While Daniel and his family were laughing at a hotpot restaurant, posting photos with captions like “Family first. Blessed day,” my signature had already set things in motion.