Thirty-three #2
“One time payment, and it’ll have everything you asked for,” she says. “Willow is willing to give up her parental rights. She wants no part in decisions, no involvement in Amelia’s life beyond what you allow. It’s all on your terms.”
I go still, the words hitting like a blow. No rights. No say. No claim. I would have paid three times that if she’d demanded it. Anything for my little girl.
“That’s…good news?” My voice sounds unsure, even to me.
“It’s great news,” Colleen insists, her tone firm. “It gives you complete control. Exactly what we’ve been pushing for.”
I rub a hand over my jaw, torn between relief and something heavier I don’t want to name. Still, there’s no hesitation in my answer. “Draw up the papers. Get her to sign.”
“Consider it done,” Colleen says. Then, after a beat, her voice softens. “There’s something else. Willow had already heard from Judge Lee. She told her she wasn’t going to change the current arrangement, except that she’d need to be drug and alcohol free before she could see Amelia again.”
The air leaves my lungs in a rush. “She told her that?”
“Yes. Directly.”
I sit back hard in my chair, stunned. The judge had already closed the door. Willow knew it, and this—this money, this surrender, is her way out.
It should feel like triumph. Instead, it just feels like the ground shifting under my feet.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to clear the fog in my head. “So where does this leave us?”
“As soon as she signs the paperwork, you’ll need to wire the funds,” Colleen explains. “We’ll put everything in escrow to make sure it’s airtight. Once the court approves, it’s done. Final.”
I nod slowly, though she can’t see me. “Half a million. That’s the price for my daughter’s freedom?”
There’s a pause, then her voice softens. “Matteo, they started at three million. I talked them down. Half a million is a clean exit, and it gives you exactly what you wanted—full custody, no interference. In my view, it’s the best outcome you could hope for.”
I lean back in my chair, staring at the ceiling as the weight of it presses in. Willow walked away cheap. Or maybe she walked away because she never really wanted Amelia in the first place.
“Draw it up,” I say again, my voice low but steady. “Let me know the second it’s ready, and get me the account numbers, and I’ll have the money sent.”
“You’ll have the documents by the end of the day,” Colleen assures me. “We’ll move fast.”
“Good.” I end the call and drop the phone on my desk, but the knot in my chest doesn’t loosen.
I should feel relief. Instead, all I can think about is Amelia. And Ellory. And how much I need to make sure neither of them ever doubt where they belong.
The view outside my window is obstructed by the fog. Usually it bugs me, but not today. I close my office door before dialing her number. The second Ellory answers, I don’t waste time.
“Hey,” I say, my voice rougher than I mean for it to be. “I just got off the call with my lawyer. Willow’s agreed. She’s signing her rights away.”
There’s a sharp inhale on the other end. “Matteo…are you serious?”
“Yeah.” I sink into my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. “It’s done. It’s going to be the three of us now—Amelia, you, and me. No more shadows hanging over us.”
For a beat, there’s silence, and then I hear her breath hitch, like she’s trying not to cry.
“I wanted you to be the first to know,” I add softly. “Before I told anyone else. Because you’re part of this, Ellory. You’re part of us.”
Her voice softens on the other end. “I like the sound of that. You, me, Amelia… It feels right.”
“Yeah,” I murmur, rubbing the back of my neck, “it does.”
There’s a pause, but it’s not uncomfortable. Just her breathing, steady in my ear, grounding me. I close my eyes, letting it wash away the noise of the day.
“You sound tired,” she says gently.
“Long day.” My lips curve despite the heaviness in my chest. “But I’m better now. Talking to you always does that.”
She exhales, quiet, like she’s trying not to let me hear how much that means to her. “You know, you’re good at this. At making me believe things I shouldn’t.”
“Ellory…” My voice drops, rough with honesty. “There’s nothing I’ve ever believed in more than you.”
She doesn’t answer right away, and I imagine her tucking her hair behind her ear, biting her lip the way she does when she’s fighting emotion.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I admit, the words slipping out before I can stop them. “You’re the one constant in the middle of all this disaster. And I don’t say it enough, but I’m grateful. For you. For everything you’ve given me and Amelia.”
Her breath catches, and when she speaks her voice is softer, shakier. “You don’t have to thank me. You and Amelia—you’re…you’re everything I didn’t know I was missing.”
That hits me square in the chest. I lean back, staring at the ceiling, letting the truth settle between us.
“One day soon,” I say quietly, “I’m going to make this official. You, me, Amelia—our family. No doubts. No half-measures.”
She’s silent for a moment, then whispers, “I’ll hold you to that, Matteo.”
“I want you to.”
The line goes quiet again, but it’s the kind of quiet that hums with promise. And I feel like the ground under me is steady.