“Anyway, like I said, I want to come back in. And with everything going public tonight, this might be the perfect moment. People love redemption arcs. I can play the father who comes home. Courts eat that up. But I want to do this the clean way. You and I work something out. A shared custody deal. Financial cooperation. That kind of thing.”
I gripped the phone until my knuckles hurt.
“You’re not coming near my daughter.”
He scoffed.
“You don’t get to decide that anymore. Not now that the whole world knows she exists and her dad wants to be a part of her life.”
My voice shook.
“You’ve never been her father.”
He answered softly, with a smile I could hear even without seeing it.
“The law might disagree.”
I hung up. The second my thumb touched the screen, my knees felt weak. I braced myself against the wall, trying to steady my breath.
James was suddenly at my side.
“Cara, what happened? Who was that?”
I whispered, “Connor. And our parents have been sending him pictures of Lily. For years.”