Caroline looked down at the paper.

Her eyes traced the lines of legalese, her brilliant mind working behind her quiet face.

“And you’re sure Rebecca wanted to leave me?” she asked again.

“I am positive, sweetheart,” Thomas said.

“She didn’t have the strength for it.”

“She told me herself that she couldn’t raise a child who was… different.”

He used the word “different” with a practiced, gentle tone.

But I saw the slight flinch in Caroline’s shoulders.

“I see,” Caroline said.

She picked up her phone with her right hand, turning it over.

The screen remained dark, but she tapped the side button twice.

“What is that?” Thomas asked, nodding toward the device.

“Just checking the time,” Caroline lied smoothly.

She set it back down, closer to his side of the table.

“So, if Rebecca came back now, you would tell her the same thing?” Caroline asked.

“I would,” Thomas said.

“But she won’t come back. She doesn’t care.”

“She hasn’t thought about us in sixteen years.”

He picked up his coffee cup and took a long drink.

“We are the only family that matters now, Caroline.”