Max froze, his eyes wide with shock, completely unsure of what to do. For a second, he looked just like he did when he was little—terrified and guilty every time he messed up.
The door to a nearby apartment flew open, and Danny rushed out. He immediately crouched next to me, inspecting my wound, then shot a glare at Max, his voice cracking as he yelled through tears, “I told you Lauren was hurt! My dad did this! Why didn’t you believe me?!”
Max opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He stood there, dumbfounded. Tom, meanwhile, looked like he was stuck in disbelief. Then, as if snapping out of a trance, he rushed over to help me up.
“Let’s get you to the hospital,” he said, his voice shaking.
At the hospital, the nurse gave me a sharp look as she cleaned and dressed my wound. “You’re lucky this cut wasn’t deeper. If it had been, you could’ve lost your shoulder. How could you be so careless?”
I shrugged casually, ignoring her lecture. “What can I say? My husband and son didn’t believe me. They thought I was joking, so I didn’t hold back when it happened.”
Tom’s face turned bright red. Max just stared at the floor, silent.
When we got home, Max lingered by the door, nervously fidgeting. After what felt like forever, he muttered, “Mom, I…”
I pretended I didn’t hear him. Instead, I grabbed my suitcase and gently took Danny’s hand.
“Danny, how about I spend the night at your place? Is that okay?”
Danny’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yes! Grandma will set up a bed for you! And you can show me how to play with that toy car again—I still don’t get how it works!”
He pulled out the little toy car I’d given him.
Max’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw it. He lunged at Danny, grabbing his hand and glaring at the toy like it was a personal betrayal. Danny flinched, startled by the sudden aggression.
“What are you doing? Let go of him!”
I stepped between them, pushing Max back. His face flushed red, his eyebrows drawn in an angry line.
“That’s my car! Why does he have it?!” Max growled, his voice low and accusing.
“I thought you didn’t want it anymore,” I replied coolly. “You left it lying around, so I gave it to Danny.”
Max’s reaction stunned me. The car had been gathering dust for years, and I figured he’d outgrown it. I never imagined it still meant so much to him.
“Why would you do that? It’s mine! Give it back!”
Max tried to snatch the car again, but Danny held on tight, his small face set in a determined frown, more stubborn than I’d ever seen him.
“Enough!”
Using my uninjured arm, I pushed Max away and shielded Danny behind me.
Max stared at me like I’d slapped him. His face was a picture of disbelief—almost satisfying, really. It mirrored the look I used to get when he and Tom sided with Rachel instead of me.
“Do you even hear yourself?” I said coldly. “It’s a toy. You’re throwing a tantrum over nothing. Danny’s never been this selfish.”
Without waiting for a response, I took Danny’s hand and led him into his apartment, closing the door firmly behind us.
A few minutes later, I could hear muffled sobbing from the hallway.
The next morning, I showed up at Mr. Lewis’s new company.
The office was out in a more remote area, but the campus itself was state-of-the-art—fitness centers, childcare facilities, you name it. The funding was massive, and the research labs were top-tier, way beyond anything Tom and I had ever worked with.
After completing my onboarding, Mr. Lewis introduced me to the team. To my surprise, their main focus was developing robotic toys.
There were tiny cars, interactive dolls, and a whole bunch of other prototypes—not just for kids, but for adults, too.
It felt all too familiar. The whole setup was strikingly similar to the proposal I’d submitted years ago—the one that got shut down by the company.
And the person who led the charge against it back then? None other than Mr. Lewis himself.
