A man with hard eyes and a crooked smile stood at my door. “It’s me. Your father. I’m here to claim half of everything you own.”

I froze—this was the man who’d vanished twenty-five years ago, leaving me to foster care nightmares. He spoke as if I should be grateful,

claiming he’d “let me go” so I could be “adopted by a rich family.” I laughed bitterly. “You abandoned me. You didn’t give me a future—you gave me scars.”

Before he could answer, my husband Daniel appeared, holding our toddler’s toy. His voice was calm but cutting. “She wasn’t adopted by a rich family.

She was dumped into foster care. We met there, fought our way out, and built this life from nothing. You don’t get to rewrite history—or take a dime.”

The man’s arrogance faded. Daniel stepped forward. “She owes you nothing. Get off my property.” Shoulders slumped, he left.

When the door closed, I collapsed into Daniel’s arms. He kissed my hair. “You built this life. We built it. And no one—especially him—will take that away.”