Daniel, Sara’s ex-fiancé, returns with a lawyer ten years later, requesting custody of their kid. Sara struggles to save her life with Adam, while Daniel’s abrupt return’s genuine purpose threatens everything.

When the doorbell rang yesterday, Adam was getting ready for school upstairs and I was finishing my coffee. I thought it was a neighbor or the mailman with a forgotten parcel.

However, opening the door made my heart lurch.

Daniel.

Daniel hadn’t crossed my mind in years. Maybe in flashes when Adam asked about his father or before bed when the past creeps up. This was not how I envisioned seeing him again.

He stood there, ten years older but unchanged. With him was another man. Straight, in a nice suit, with no hair out of place. He carried a folder and exuded lawyerhood.

“Why are you here?” I croaked. As my voice cracked, I refused to back down.

Daniel avoided small talk. He never did. “I’m here to take back my son.”

After my heart stopped, I forgot how to breathe. He believed he could waltz back into our lives and take Adam from me after a decade of radio silence? This couldn’t happen.

“You’re not taking him,” I whispered. “You have no right.”

Daniel’s lawyer cleared his throat and stepped forward with that smug, soulless smile only lawyers nail. His voice was frustratingly neutral as he handed me the folder. “Ma’am, you’ve been served.”

My hands shook as I grabbed papers. Legal jargon blurred, but I saw custody, contest, and court.

My knees sank. Adam and I had built a life for ten years after Daniel disappeared, but it was beginning to disintegrate.

Ten years ago

Daniel arrived in my life like a whirlwind with his three-year-old son Adam from his previous marriage.

Daniel was charming but broken, and I felt I could cure him. Love seemed enough for a while.

Adam was the highlight. That tiny guy with huge brown eyes and sparkling laughter was my sunshine. I felt natural becoming Adam’s stepmom as Daniel and I formed a life. It wasn’t ideal, but I felt at home.

Then one morning, my bed was vacant. I believed Daniel had gone for a run or coffee, but he wasn’t back after hours. I got voicemail and unread SMS.

I tried to ignore my panic, thinking it was a misunderstanding. I found the note.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

All it said. These chilly, hollow statements were without explanation or warning. I recall staring at the article in bewilderment as my heart broke down.

Adam was too young to comprehend what happened. He didn’t cry when I told him his dad died. He stared at me with big eyes and a low voice. “Daddy ordered him out. He promised to return a day.”

Days stretched into weeks, then months. Adam stopped inquiring for Daddy’s return. My pretense of knowing the answer ended.

After Daniel left, my nightmare began. Child Protective Services participated. Despite my love for Adam, being a stepmom didn’t grant me legal rights to him.

They didn’t care that I was his only mother and raised and comforted him. They said I wasn’t his mother.

I could not bear the thought of someone taking Adam from me and putting him in the system. I struggled like never before.

Sleepless evenings and interminable court dates followed. Every document was examined, and my parenting skills were questioned.

But I persisted. I couldn’t.

Finally, I won. Adam became mine in every sense after I legally adopted him. I swore to never lose him again.

Why was Daniel on my doorstep threatening to destroy it all after ten years?

Present day

Rage and terror blurred my vision as I examined the legal documents. Adam’s dad. Custody. Court. Every word in my head hit me like a gut punch.

“Mom?” Adam’s voice was weak. I didn’t notice him till he spoke.

I looked at him, heartbroken by his perplexity and anxiety. He’d heard everything.

“It’s nothing,” I lied, pretending to smile. “It’s going to be fine.”

It wasn’t right. Not even close.

I hired a lawyer the next day. I wouldn’t let Daniel take Adam easily. We learned the horrible truth as the case developed. Daniel’s return wasn’t to see his son. Love, guilt, and regret weren’t involved.

Daniel discovered that Adam’s mother’s grandfather had left a considerable inheritance.

He was here and immediately demanded custody. Daniel sought Adam’s money.

The knowledge crushed me as I reread the documents. It would hurt Adam, not simply Daniel’s selfishness. How could he comprehend? Why wouldn’t he be hurt that his father was battling for his bank account?

The court date came faster than expected. Judith, my keen lawyer, prepared me for the inquiries, charges, and the potential that Adam would testify.

But nothing could have prepared me for sitting across from Daniel, knowing he was trying to tear my world apart again.

The counsel for Daniel spoke first. He claimed Daniel, Adam’s biological father, had parenting rights.

He portrays Daniel as a man who committed a mistake but is eager to be Adam’s father.

Mistake? He left us… for a decade.

Judith delivered the harsh reality. Ten years have passed since Adam last saw Daniel. He hadn’t visited, written, or called.

Judith revealed the inheritance.

“The timing of Mr. Harris’s return is not a coincidence,” Judith stated calmly. The considerable inheritance Adam inherited from his birth mother’s family was discovered by Mr. Harris shortly before filing for custody. This is not a father reconnecting with his son. This man is greedy.”

That made Daniel’s face stiffen. He ignored me and Adam. He stared at the table as his lawyer furiously whispered.

The stern-looking judge in her fifties took it all in. She weighed the evidence, first looking at Daniel and me, then at Adam.

“Adam,” the judge remarked softly but firmly. “You’re thirteen, therefore you have a say. I want your reply.”

Adam shuffled anxiously in his seat. I felt terrible for him—he shouldn’t have to. He shouldn’t pick between his first mother and his abandoner.

Adam’s standing startled us all.

Sara has been my mom for ten years. “She raised me and has been there through everything,” Adam said, wobbly but stronger.

“I don’t know the fellow over there. Despite being my blood father, he hasn’t been my real father. I’d rather not live with him. I want to stay with my only carer. My mom is Sara.”

Court was silent.

The judge nodded in consideration, softening. “Thanks, Adam. Your choice is simple.”

The gavel fell. Adam stayed with me.

Daniel stood defeated after the verdict, a shadow of the guy I loved. We lost him again as he fled the courthouse without looking back.

Adam smiled at me outside. “I’m glad it’s over, Mom.”

“So am I,” I muttered, hugging him. Nothing makes me prouder of him.

Adam looked at me gravely as we descended the courthouse steps. “What do we do with the inheritance now?”

I smiled faintly. Adam, you own that money. Will never accept a penny. It’s for your future and choice.”

He glanced up at me with warm, confident eyes. “My future is with you, Mom.”