He Protected My Baby’s Killer So I Left Him Chapter 16
Six months later, I flew back to New York to finalize the property settlement.
My parents wanted to come with me, but I told them no.
Some things had to be ended with my own two hands.
My lawyer arranged the meeting at the city’s property records office.
When I arrived, Matteo and the other three were all there.
We hadn’t seen each other in half a year.
They didn’t look much different.
And yet, they were strangers.
When Leo saw me, he instinctively took a step forward.
From inside his carrier, Toast let out a low meow.
Leo stopped.
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.”
I didn’t say anything else as I walked past them into the building.
The paperwork was handled quickly.
Matteo transferred back every dollar that was mine, plus a significant amount extra.
Right there in front of him, I sent the extra money back via Zelle.
“The agreement is enough.”
“That’s compensation.”
“I don’t need it.”
Matteo held the pen for a long time before finally signing the last document.
“Soleil, do you really have to draw the line so clearly?”
I looked up at him.
“If I don’t, are we supposed to just keep dragging this out?”
The color drained from his face as he signed his name.
When it was all done, the four of them followed me outside.
Leo spoke first.
“What happened with Toast was my fault.”
“At the time, I thought boarding him for a few days was no big deal.”
“It wasn’t until he stopped eating at the kennel that I realized—”
“You realized nothing,” I cut in.
“You didn’t even pay for more than three days.”
Leo’s lips moved, but no words came out.
Marco held out a bag.
Inside was the remade cloud lamp and an identical pair of baby socks.
“We couldn’t find the originals.”
“I had these remade from photos.”
I didn’t take them.
“Marco, when you threw those things away, you knew exactly what they were.”
“Not being able to find them later wasn’t an accident.”
“It was a consequence.”
His hand slowly fell to his side.
Nico stood at the back of the group.
“We all promised we’d come pick you up that day.”
“I should have remembered.”