I stared at her, the blood completely rushing out of my face. “You’re insane. They are my sisters. I legally adopted them three years ago when the state declared you officially missing. You have no rights.”
Eleanor’s eyes narrowed into slits, the fake warmth completely vanishing from her face. “I have the best lawyers money can buy, Leo. And what do you have? A high school diploma and a bank account that cries every time the rent is due? If we go to court, I will drag your name through the mud. I’ll show the judge your grueling work hours, this tiny apartment, and accuse you of keeping them in substandard conditions. You will lose.”
She took a step closer, her heels clicking aggressively on the worn linoleum. “But I’m willing to be generous. If you sign over full custody quietly and let me take them to Europe next week, I will write you a check for five hundred thousand dollars. You can finally go to college. You can get your little surgeon dream back. Just give me the girls, and you can have your life back.”… NEXT BELOW ..
