She took the microphone.
“Tonight, we celebrate love—”
I stepped forward.
“I’ll take it from here.”
She hesitated… then handed it over.
I pulled a small remote from my pocket.
“We’re not just here for a wedding,” I said. “We’re here for the truth.”
The screen behind us lit up.
Security footage.
Her voice filled the room.
“The house? The money? It should be ours… I don’t care what happens to those girls…”
Gasps echoed.
I let it play.
Then another clip.
“Stop crying, Maya… I’ll throw your notebooks away…”
The room went silent.
Jenna panicked.
“It’s out of context! James—”
“I heard everything,” I said.
“You used them. You lied to me.”
“You’re ruining my life!” she screamed.
“You were about to ruin theirs.”
Security stepped in.
Her father walked out.
No one defended her.
The fallout was immediate.
No one believed her excuses.
Days later, she showed up at the house screaming.
I didn’t open the door.
The police did.
I filed a restraining order the next morning.
A week later, the adoption was finalized.
Maya cried quietly as she signed.
Lily held her hand.
“We won’t be separated now,” she whispered.
That broke me.
I hadn’t realized how afraid they’d been.
That night, we made spaghetti.
Lily stirred the sauce.
Maya sang into a block of parmesan like it was a microphone.
After dinner, she asked, “Can we light a candle for Mom?”
We did.
We sat together in silence.
Then Lily leaned into me.
“We knew you’d choose us.”
I couldn’t speak.
I just held them.
And let the tears come.
Because for the first time since everything fell apart…
We weren’t just surviving.
We were safe.
We were a family.
And we were home.