When I opened the door, Vanessa stood there—like a ghost I thought I’d buried.
She looked polished, expensive, and utterly empty inside.
She shoved past me, wrinkling her nose at our humble, fabric-filled apartment.
“You’re still the same loser,” she announced loudly. “A real man should’ve built an empire by now.”
Lily and Grace froze at their sewing machines. They couldn’t see her, but they heard everything.
“Who’s that?” Grace whispered.
I swallowed. “Your… mother.”
The room plunged into silence.
Vanessa switched to fake sweetness. “Girls! Look at you, all grown up.”
“We can’t look,” Lily replied bluntly. “We’re blind. Remember? That’s why you left.”
Vanessa flinched, then smiled tightly. “I brought something for you.”
She revealed two designer gowns and a thick envelope full of cash.
“Why now?” I asked.
“I want my daughters back,” she said smoothly. “But there’s one condition.”
Lily’s voice trembled. “What condition?”
“You must choose ME over your father,” she said. “Publicly say he failed you. Sign this contract. Then everything is yours.”
My fists curled.
I read the document aloud. It required them to denounce me as an inadequate father.
Grace’s voice turned cold. “That’s disgusting.”