I was stunned. I hadn’t even known he’d died. Now she wanted to take the life I had struggled to hold onto.When I refused, she threatened me—said she had connections, could get child services involved. I didn’t sleep that night. But the next morning, I sat down with my lawyer.
He confirmed the truth: Mark had erased us from all his legal records. But he hadn’t left behind wealth—only debt. Lawsuits, unpaid loans, failed business ventures. The only thing safe was the house—in my name .So I came up with a plan. I met Vanessa at a café and handed her documents transferring everything Mark had left behind to her.
She signed without reading. “About time,” she said, smiling like she’d won. Then I told her.She wasn’t getting assets—she was getting liabilities. She’d just inherited all his debts, bankruptcies, and lawsuits. Her face fell. She screamed that I’d tricked her. I didn’t raise my voice. “You wanted what he left behind. Now you have it,” I said.
I walked away without looking back. At home, Oliver was waiting. His smile erased the weight of the past two years. I hugged him close and knew—we were safe, we were free, and no one would ever take that from us again.