:.


    <b>58 </b>


    Frank’s roar still echoed in the small living room as silence descended. Jade watched him with mild interest, noting how the veins in his neck stood out like cords. His face had turned an rming shade of red, but there was something in his eyes she’d rarely seen before–determination.


    “You. Frank pointed at Archer Sullivan, his finger trembling slightly. “The child is mine. I found her, I raised her, and I don’t want anything from you or your family.”


    Archer looked taken aback by the sudden disy of backbone. “Mr. Morgan, I understand your attachment, but legally-


    “I don’t care about legally.” Frank’s voice was quieter now but no less firm. “Jade is my daughter in every way that matters. These past eighteen years, I’ve been the one who checked her temperature when she was sick. I taught her to ride a bike. I helped her with homework until she got too smart for me to keep up.”


    Frank reached for the divorce papers on the coffee table and pulled a pen from his pocket. “I’m signing these,” he said, scribbling his signature across the bottom line. “This house? You can have it, Linda. I’ll be out tonight.”


    Linda’s mouth fell open. “You… what? Just like that?”


    “Just like that,” Frank confirmed, capping the pen with a decisive click.


    He turned back to Archer. “I don’t need your money. If Jade wants to go with you, to learn about her biological family, that’s her choice. Take her.”


    Then his eyes hardened, and he stepped closer to Archer. “But if you or anyone in your family ever hurts her, ever makes her feel unwee or less than what she is, I swear to God, I will find you. I may not be rich or powerful, but I’m her father, and I will never stop fighting for her. Do you understand me?”


    Archer stared at Frank for a long moment before nodding slowly. “I understand perfectly, Mr. Morgan.”


    Linda gave a short, bitterugh. “Listen to you! Acting all tough now. Where was this backbone all these years when I needed it? You’ve been a doormat our entire marriage, and now you’re suddenly Mr. Decisive?”


    Frank didn’t even look at her. Sign the papers, Linda.”


    “And why should I let you off the hook so easily? Linda crossed her arms. “Why aren’t you asking for money from these rich people? Fifty thousand isn’t nearly enough. We raised their precious heir for eighteen years. We deserve millions!


    Jade stepped forward, her patience wearing thin. ‘You deserve nothing.”


    ‘You ungrateful little-”


    It seems you’re not going to sign,” Jade interrupted coolly. “That’s fine. I anticipated that. The police will be very


    interested in that case. Going to prison or getting divorced–either way, you’re out of our lives.”


    <b>58 </b>


    “Wait!” Linda grabbed the papers, her hands shaking. “Fine. You want a divorce? I’ll give you a divorce.” She scrawled her signature with such force she nearly tore the paper.


    “You’re both dead to me,” she spat, throwing the pen across the room. “All these years I’ve sacrificed, and this is how you repay me? Frank, you were nothing when I met you. Nothing! I made you a family. I gave you children!”


    “My life was supposed to be better than this,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I wasn’t supposed to end up in this shithole, married to a loser, raising someone else’s kid.”


    Jade picked up the signed divorce papers and folded them carefully, tucking them into her bag. “You made your choices, Linda. Every single day, you chose cruelty over kindness. You chose bitterness over gratitude. Don’t me others for the life you built.”


    She turned to Frank and handed him a business card. “This is Chris Jensen’s number. If she tries to cause trouble for you after this, call him. He’ll handle everything.”


    Frank took the card, his fingers brushing against hers. For a moment, Jade saw the weight of years lift from his shoulders. “Thank you, Jade.”


    She nodded once, then faced Archer Sullivan. “As for you, Mr. Sullivan. I appreciate your… concern. But I have no interest in bing part of your family drama. Please don’t interfere with my life again.”


    She walked to the door, pausing only to look back at Frank. He seemed to have aged a decade in just these few minutes, his shoulders slumped, his eyes tired.


    Jade pulled out her phone as she left the house, sending a quick text to Felix Huxley. She needed him to arrange housing for Frank.


    Max’s urgent knocking echoed through Jade’s apartment that evening. When Ethan opened the door, Max nearly fell into the room, breathing hard as if he’d run all the way there.


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