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Addy spoke into my sweater, her voice muffled.“Tammy said you don’t want us anymore and that you don’t give us the right food.”

That little troll.If she thought I would let this happen without fighting back, she had another think coming.

“Well, Tammy lied.And it’s not nice to lie.Because I never want you to live anywhere else but with me.I love you.You’re my girls.”

Since it was public knowledge now that I wasn’t Addy’s biological mom, I might as well get my gloves on and fight for my girls with everything I had.I did have the best divorce lawyer on my side, after all.

Once the girls had calmed down and there were no more tears, I couldn’t feel my butt anymore.I was also getting angrier.And I realized I needed Vance.And despite how he’d left yesterday, he had promised to help Malena should I ever need a lawyer again.

“How about some hot chocolate?And then you can watch some cartoons if you want.”

After getting the girls settled, I went into the bathroom and closed the door.Vance’s secretary picked up quickly.“Vance Moore’s office, Keith speaking.”

“Hey, Keith.It’s Mae Porter, calling for Vance.”

“Hi, Ms.Porter.Vance is in a meeting at the moment, but I’ll send him a message to call you as soon as he can.”

“Okay, thank you.”

We hung up, and I closed the toilet seat to sit down.What if he didn’t want to talk to me?

Peeling my still-numb butt off the toilet seat ten minutes later, I joined the girls on the couch.I should call Malena and Keely.They’d know what to do.But if Vance was as hurt as I thought he was over not knowing about Addy, I was scared to find out what Keely and Malena might think once they found out.

I was an idiot for never telling anyone.I’d made it into a big secret when in reality it wasn’t.The mess I was currently in was on me.I should have pushed Cockalorum harder on the adoption.There were a lot of what-ifs and regrets to unpack.Not that it would get me anywhere, since what was done was done.

Cue the panic.Which meant I came up with a hypothetical plan to leave the country and live somewhere on a beach where nobody could find us.I would homeschool the girls.And we’d catch our own food.

I’d gotten to the part where I realized I’d have to look up how to build a hut when my phone rang, interrupting my research.

It was impossible to steady my erratic pulse, and when I saw it was Vance calling, a momentary panic gripped me.Half in anticipation, half in dread, I answered.

“Keith told me you tried to reach me.Why didn’t you call my cell?”

I gripped the phone tighter and went back to the bathroom.The truth was, I hadn’t been sure if such a familiarity would have been welcome.“I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“You are the one person who can disturb me any time.Next time, don’t call the office, call me directly.And if I can answer, I will.If I can’t, I’ll send you a message.”

“Okay.”

He sucked in air, and I braced for what came next.“Malena and I worked out a strategy.I can’t represent you, but I can still make sure she wins.But there is a chance this might not work,ipo.”

A small sob escaped before I pushed it back down.“I don’t know if I can survive without them.”

“I’ll do everything I can.The fact that you have full custody now and can prove he’s an absent father will help us a lot.”

“There’s something else.”

The ominous silence on the phone told me I’d better keep talking before he jumped to conclusions.“It’s not something I forgot to mention.I’ve only just found out.”

“Tell me.”

I recounted my conversation with Cockalorum and then Addy and Elana.Vance didn’t say a word.Not even when I stopped talking.“Vance?Are you still there?”

“I hate that you and the girls have to go through this.”His voice sounded pained, and I fought back the tears again.“But this might be what tips everything in our favor.Let me think about how to use this, and then I’ll have a chat with Malena.”

“Thank you.I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’d be fine.But I hope you never realize it, because I have no intention of letting you go.”