Jacob looked at Ellie, pleading without words.
Then, with teeth clenched and lips barely moving, she spat it out. “I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t real. It was the kind of sorry you say when your ego has a knife to its throat.
I hovered the pen over the signature line.
Jacob’s eyes lit up. Ellie exhaled like she’d just won.
And then I stood up without signing.
“Actually,” I said, “never mind.”
Their faces froze.
“I thought I could do it. But I know that if I help you now, you’ll just forget this ever happened.”
“Wait,” Jacob started, rising.
I raised my good hand. “Jacob, you told me to stay away. You chose your side. Now I’m choosing mine.”
Ellie lunged forward. “We’re pregnant!”
“And?” I asked calmly.
“You’re going to let your grandchild grow up homeless?”
“You’re the one who threw the first punch,” I said. “Literally. And now you want me to forget everything because it’s convenient.”
Jacob’s jaw clenched. “Please, Mom. We need this. Just this once.”
“No,” I replied. “I needed you once, too. The night you said nothing.”
I grabbed the folder, walked to the fireplace, and dropped it into the flames.
Ellie screamed.
Jacob didn’t move. He just stared into the fire like a man realizing something was truly gone.