Inside was paperwork from an attorney.
Custody paperwork.
Cold legal phrases jumped off the page:
“Petition for legal guardianship.”
“Best interests of the minors.”
My hands went numb while reading it.
She wasn’t back because she loved them.
She wasn’t back because she missed them.
Lorraine wanted full custody.
“I Need Them”
The next time she showed up, I confronted her before the girls got home from school.
She walked into the apartment without asking and sat on the couch like she still lived there.
I held the paperwork toward her with shaking hands.
“What’s this?”
She barely reacted.
“It’s time I did what’s best for them,” she said calmly. “You’ve done enough.”
“What’s best for them?” I could barely speak. “You left them. I raised them. I gave up everything for them!”
She rolled her eyes.
“Don’t be dramatic. They’re fine. You managed. But I have opportunities now. Connections. They deserve more than this life.”
Then she said the sentence that broke something inside me forever.
“I need them.”
Not “I love them.”
Not “I miss them.”
Just:
“I need them.”
Like they were objects she had left behind and suddenly wanted back.
I stared at her.
“You need them? For what?”
She adjusted her expensive coat, clearly bored by the conversation.
“You wouldn’t understand. I’m building a new life, Nathan. People want to see the comeback story. The mother who beat the odds and reunited with her daughters. It’s inspiring. Sympathetic.”
I blinked at her in disbelief.
“So this isn’t about them. It’s about your image.”
“Call it whatever you want,” she replied while standing up. “You can’t give them what I can.”
Then the front door opened.
The twins had come home.
The Moment Everything Changed
Both girls stopped the second they walked into the room.
