"You're all misunderstanding," he started.
"Am I?" I asked quietly. "Why don't you explain it then?"
"And now I'd like to know why."
Something moved across his face, and I watched the performance fall away.
"You really want to know?" he said finally. "Fine. Our marriage died years ago. The treatments, the disappointments... All of it. It broke us. I still wanted my child. I just didn't want to raise it in a broken marriage."
"So you decided to steal it instead," I said.
Claire moved away from him. "I would never have helped you if I'd known the truth."
Ethan's mother stood. "How could you, Ethan?"
I watched the performance fall away.
Ethan shook his head. "It was the simplest way. I gathered enough proof to show I'd been taking an active interest in the baby. It's enough to build a strong case for sole custody. We were going to have a fresh start, just me and my kid."
