“Daddy!” Grace screamed.
Grace screamed.
But I shoved him backward, sending him stumbling onto the lawn. “Get. Off. My. Property.”
“You RUINED me!” he screamed, his voice breaking with disbelief. “My career, my reputation — my life!”
“No,” I replied, looking him dead in the eye. “You ruined YOURSELF the second you tried to steal MY daughter.”
He pointed a shaking finger at Grace. “You’ll regret this!”
“You’ll regret this!”
“No,” I said, stepping onto the porch to block her from his view entirely. “But you will.”
He turned, stormed to his black, shiny car, and peeled out of the driveway, the sound of the tires squealing an appropriate end to his dramatic exit.
The moment the sound faded, Grace collapsed. She fell into my arms, clinging to me as sobs shook her body.
