He began writing down every mistake he believed Sofia was making, preparing to fire her at the end of the trial.
But something happened before he could follow through with that decision.
One afternoon, while watching the cameras from his office, Daniel suddenly froze in place.
Aiden lifted his hand with clear intention and reached toward a toy placed nearby.
He grabbed it and held it firmly, not as a reflex but as a deliberate action.
Daniel leaned closer to the screen, his heart pounding as disbelief filled his chest.
“Is that real?” he whispered quietly to himself, unable to look away.
Then Mason turned his head toward his brother and smiled, and it was not random or accidental.
It was a real smile filled with awareness and connection that Daniel had never seen before.
For the first time in years, something stirred inside Daniel that he thought had been lost forever.
Hope returned, fragile but undeniable, and it changed everything in that moment.
Soon after, Sofia had to leave for a few days because her mother had fallen seriously ill.
Daniel remained alone with the boys, and this time there were no shortcuts or distance to shield him from reality.