I Caught Her Cheating on Camera

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I was working late when my smart home app pinged me.

Someone had opened the front door. Only Emily and I had registered fingerprints.

Emily was three months pregnant. Worried something had happened to her, I opened the live feed. I was about to call the police.

But what I saw stopped me cold.

She was naked from the waist up, her pregnant belly showing. She was on top of her childhood friend, moving up and down.

"Tristan, be gentle. I'm carrying your child."

My heart sank.

She had told me the baby was mine.

I pulled up every security video from the past few months. They had been having sex all over the house while I worked overtime.

I downloaded everything.

Tomorrow was our wedding anniversary. At the party, I would give them a gift they'd never forget.

Ethan's POV

Emily was three months pregnant. We were supposed to announce the baby at our first anniversary party.

The party was at our house.

She had picked the house herself. The day she got the keys, she told me this would be our home. Just the two of us. No one would ever take my place.

But before the party even started, Emily invited another man to sit at the head table.

Years ago, Tristan took a blow meant for Emily. His right hand was permanently injured. His arranged engagement fell apart because of it.

The Hayes family felt they owed him. They'd been carrying that debt for years. All the way to today.

Now Emily's unborn child already had someone trying to claim a place for him.

Emily's mother, Linda, spoke first.

"Ethan, Tristan isn't a stranger. If it weren't for him back then, Emily would be dead. When the child has birthdays in the future, surely he can at least sit at the family table?"

Another person piled on.

"You're about to be a father. Be more generous. Tristan doesn't want any title. He just wants to feel included."

I sat beside Emily, my fingers slowly tightening.

Tristan kept his head down, his voice soft.

"Forget it. Don't make things difficult for Ethan. The child is his and Emily's. What right do I have to interfere?"

The moment he said that, the table went even quieter.

Linda's eyes reddened.

"You're too understanding. That's why people keep taking advantage of you."

"Ethan wouldn't be that petty, would he?"

"Tristan's hand is ruined. What's wrong with letting him be close to the child?"

Every sentence was a blow to my face.

I'd been afraid of scenes like this since I was a child.

Even when something was clearly mine, as long as someone else cried harder, I had to give it up.

But Emily stood up.

She was wearing a formal dress, her belly not yet prominent, her voice steady.

"The child is Ethan's and mine. This house is Ethan's and mine. The Hayes family owes Tristan, and I'll repay that debt. If his right hand needs treatment, I'll pay for it. If he has no one to take care of him, I'll arrange for someone. But his name won't be written into the child's trust, and he won't have access to our house."

Everyone at the table froze.

Linda's face darkened.

"Emily, don't forget who he became like this for."

"I haven't forgotten."

Emily looked at Tristan.

"That's why I'll compensate him. But I won't use my husband to do it."

I looked up at her.

In that moment, I truly believed Emily still remembered what she had said.

The day our house was completed, she placed the keys in my palm.

"From now on," she said, "no outsiders. No relatives staying over. No one rearranging your things."

I had said, "Not even your savior?"

Emily had smiled and answered, "No one."

I believed her.

Before the party, Linda called Emily away to change her dress.

I went to the study alone.

In the study drawer was an anniversary ring with the date of our house's completion engraved on the inside.

I had planned to put the ring back on Emily's finger after we announced the baby.

But the computer was on.

A security footage backup file sat alone on the desktop, labeled with the date of the night I had been on a business trip.

The home security system had been installed after Emily got pregnant. It only recorded the door access and hallway.

I had never checked it before.

Now that backup file sat right in the center of the screen.

I clicked it open.

At one in the morning, Tristan used the access code to open our front door, as naturally as if he were coming home.

He walked straight toward the master bedroom.

A few minutes later, Emily appeared in the hallway.

She didn't call the housekeeper. She didn't stop him.

The master bedroom door opened, then closed.

The camera couldn't capture inside the room, but Tristan didn't come out all night.

Just before dawn, the master bedroom door finally opened.

Tristan came out first, with Emily following behind.

They stood at the end of the hallway talking.

Tristan laughed softly.

"After the child is born, surely he can't be the only one the kid calls 'Dad,' right?"

Emily's voice was tight.

"Don't make a scene tonight. Don't provoke Ethan at the party."

"You know better than anyone how this child came to be."

Emily didn't argue.

She only said, "Remember what you promised me."

Applause suddenly erupted from downstairs. The host was calling for us.

"Please welcome Mr. Hayes and Miss Emily to the stage. There's good news to announce tonight!"

I stared at the master bedroom door on the screen.

The anniversary ring in my hand dropped onto the desk with a soft clink.

Ethan's POV

By the time I came downstairs, the lights in the banquet hall were blindingly bright.

Emily was waiting for me at the side of the stage. Seeing my expression, she reached out to steady me.

"Ethan, are you feeling unwell?"

I looked at her belly, then at Tristan standing behind her.

Tristan was holding a glass of wine, also looking at me.

His face was clean, as if he hadn't entered the master bedroom last night at all.

The host invited us onto the stage.

Emily took my arm and faced the room full of friends and family, her voice gentle.

"Tonight, there's also some good news. I'm three months pregnant."

Applause immediately filled the room.

Linda smiled with red-rimmed eyes. The Hayes family applauded while urging me to say a few words.

Emily continued, "This child is the greatest gift of Ethan's and my marriage."

She spoke so calmly.

You'd never know about the security footage. Never guess about the words in the hallway. "You know better than anyone how this child came to be."

Tristan raised his glass with a smile.

"Emily, Ethan, congratulations."

Everyone was looking at me, waiting for me to say I was going to be a father.

Emily's fingers pressed lightly against my arm.

I took the microphone and only said, "Tonight is indeed very important."

I handed the microphone back.

The atmosphere stiffened for a moment.

Emily quickly smiled and covered for me.

"That's just how Ethan is. The happier he is, the less he can say."

The room laughed again.

No one knew my hands had already gone cold and stiff.

The party continued.

Family members gathered around Emily. Some asked who would accompany her to the next checkup, others said the nursery should be changed to the south-facing room, and some were already calculating who would wait at the hospital when the baby was born.

Emily answered everything smoothly.

I stood nearby, and with every sentence I heard, I thought of Tristan's words: "He can't be the only one the kid calls 'Dad.'"

I went to the terrace.

I had just stopped when Tristan came over with a glass of wine.

"Ethan, congratulations."

Tristan's voice was very low.

"But why didn't you bring out the anniversary ring tonight? I saw it in the study."

I turned to look at him.

Tristan smiled slightly, his gaze falling on Emily's belly inside the banquet hall.

"That ring is quite a pity. But what Emily should be wearing tonight might not be something you gave her."

He paused, his smile deepening.

"Something from the child's real father would be more appropriate."

My grip on the wine glass tightened sharply.

But Tristan stepped back.

"Don't be angry. There are too many people here tonight. If you make a scene, the one who'll be embarrassed is Emily, and the child. You wouldn't want the child to be called dirty before it's even born, would you?"

I set my wine glass down on the terrace edge.

The base struck the stone surface with a crisp sound.

After the party ended, Linda brought a trust document for the child to me.

"Ethan, sign this. It specifies which school the child will attend, where they'll live, which funds will be used for medical care. Everything's written out in advance so there's no confusion later."

I opened the document.

Tristan's name was written clearly in the "Long-term Care Participant" section.

I stared at those words and let out a short laugh.

Linda frowned. "What are you laughing at?"

I ignored her and looked at Emily instead.

"Did you know about this?"

Emily paused for a second.

That second was enough.

She said, "I knew, but this doesn't affect your status as the father."

I pushed the document in front of her.

"Status as the father?"

Emily's expression changed slightly.

The Hayes family immediately chimed in.

"Tristan was ruined back then for Emily's sake. Now, before the child is even born, you're already shutting him out. Isn't that inappropriate?"

Tristan sat to one side and said quietly, "Forget it. Emily, don't argue because of me. I shouldn't have asked for these things in the first place."

Linda's heart ached even more.

"Look how understanding he is."

Emily reached out to take my hand.

"Ethan, you can take your time reviewing the document. Tristan won't take anything away from you. He just needs to be accepted by this family."

I pulled my hand back.

I closed the document without signing.

"I'm tired."

With that, I turned and went upstairs.

I stopped at the master bedroom door.

This used to be the place where I felt most at ease.

Emily had refused to let relatives stay over, and she had refused to let the elders come in and redecorate.

She said the master bedroom belonged only to the two of us.

Now the door was closed, but all I could see was the image of Tristan walking out of it in the early morning.

Emily came after me, softening her voice.

"Ethan, you're being too sensitive tonight. Tristan won't affect us, and he won't affect the child calling you Dad."

Every sentence she spoke avoided the question of how the child came to be.

I asked, "Does Tristan come to our house often?"

Emily's eyes flickered.

"Occasionally."

She said, "His right hand isn't convenient. My mother worries he'll have an accident alone, so sometimes she has him come over for a meal or rest in the guest room for a while."

"The guest room?"

"Yes, just the guest room."

Emily immediately responded, "Don't make it sound so ugly."

I looked at her for a long time.

If it weren't for that security footage, I might have actually believed her.

I turned and entered the guest room.

The moment the door closed, I opened my phone and saved the security backup, the trust document, and the access log pages.

Outside the window, Tristan still hadn't left.

He stood at the gate, looking up at the second floor.

Through the darkness, he slowly raised his glass toward where I was.

Ethan's POV

The next morning, I didn't go to Emily to argue.

I sat in the study and pulled up the house access log.

Tristan had come more than once.

Emily said he only occasionally came for a meal and rested in the guest room for a while. But the times in the access log were all chosen for when I was on business trips, working overtime, or not coming home at night.

Several times, Tristan entered late at night and didn't leave until dawn.

The access permissions had been opened by Emily herself.

I stared at those lines of records and suddenly felt that Emily's act of covering for me at the main table last night was like an even louder slap in the face.

She wasn't unaware that Tristan had long since stepped into this home.

She just wanted to placate me in front of everyone first.

At noon, Emily came to the study.

She was holding a revised trust document, her tone very low.

"I had it revised. Tristan won't touch the child's money and won't make decisions for the child. He's just participating."

I didn't take it.

"Why does it have to include him?"

Emily pressed her lips together.

"Ethan, if it weren't for him back then, I might already be dead. His right hand still can't function normally, and his engagement fell through. He could have had a good life, but he became like this because of me."

"So?"

"I can't just give him money."

Emily's voice grew even lower.

"He's not a servant, and he's not a stranger. I have to make him feel that all these years of suffering weren't for nothing."

I looked at her.

"Then give him a Hayes family house, give him your shares, give him the car and staff under your name."

Emily's face went pale.

I pushed the document back.

"Don't use my child and my house to compensate him."

When Emily heard "my child," her eyes clearly stiffened.

She quickly suppressed it.

"Ethan, don't say that."

She reached out to touch me.

"I won't let you be wronged."

I looked down at that hand.

In last night's footage, it was this hand that had pushed open the master bedroom door.

I moved away.

Emily's expression finally darkened.

"Then take a few days to calm down."

She left with the document.

That evening, Tristan appeared outside the gate.

When the housekeeper came in to report, Emily was sitting in the living room.

She went downstairs and saw Tristan standing in the wind, his right hand hanging down, his face pale, yet he wouldn't step inside.

Tristan smiled first.

"I won't go in. I don't want Ethan to see me and think I'm stealing his home."

Emily immediately frowned.

"What are you doing standing outside? Come in first."

Tristan shook his head.

"Forget it. I won't come to the house anymore, and I won't bring up the child again. No one likes having an outsider in their home. I understand."

The word "outsider" had just fallen when I happened to reach the stairway.

Emily turned and saw me, her eyes first showing panic, then turning to reproach.

As if I had truly driven a pitiful man to stand outside the door.

I didn't speak, nor did I invite Tristan in.

Tristan laughed softly and turned to leave.

Emily took two steps after him, then stopped.

She turned back to look at me.

"Did you have to push him to this point?"

I stood on the stairs and asked calmly, "Did I close the door?"

Emily was blocked.

But after that night, calls from the Hayes family came one after another.

Some cursed me for being cold-blooded, some said Tristan was understanding enough already, and others said that before the child was even born, I had already made the household restless.

I didn't argue with any of them.

I just recorded all the calls and put them in the same folder.

The next day, the trust signing was still scheduled.

The Hayes family didn't cancel it, and they even called Tristan.

As soon as Tristan entered, he apologized to me first.

"Ethan, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put Emily in a difficult position, and I shouldn't have caused the child to be gossiped about before it's even born."

His words sounded like a concession.

Every word pinned me as the oppressor.

Linda immediately looked at me.

"Tristan has already said this much. You should at least give him some face."

Emily also looked at me.

"The document can be revised later, but don't make today too awkward for everyone."

I opened the document but didn't sign.

"The trust is suspended. We'll discuss it after the child is born."

The room instantly went cold.

Tristan lowered his head and laughed.

The next second, he clutched his right hand, his face going white.

Emily was the first to rush over and support him.

The Hayes family also gathered around.

No one looked at the trust document still sitting on the table.

I stood in place, watching Emily tightly support Tristan.

Tristan leaned on her and looked up at me.

In that gaze, there wasn't a trace of concession.

Ethan's POV

The trust signing ended just like that.

Tristan clutched his right hand while Emily helped him sit down and had the housekeeper bring medicine.

The Hayes family surrounded him, all asking about his injury with their mouths while their eyes stabbed at me.

Linda was barely containing her anger.

"Ethan, did you have to push him on a day like this? Don't you know who his hand was ruined for?"

Tristan immediately spoke.

"Don't blame him. I shouldn't have come."

The more lightly he spoke, the more the people in the room thought I was cruel.

Emily supported Tristan and looked up at me.

"Let's not talk about the trust today. Tristan's hand hurts so much. Are you going to continue?"

I looked at her protective posture and didn't argue anymore.

I gathered up the documents.

"That's it."

When Emily left with Tristan, she didn't look at me.

I returned to the study and reopened the access log.

Every time Tristan entered late at night, the source of the permission was crystal clear.

Emily had opened it.

I saved those pages of records, then placed last night's security backup beside them.

Not long after, there was a knock on the study door.

Emily pushed the door open. Seeing the access log on the computer screen, her face changed immediately.

I asked, "How many times has Tristan actually come to our house?"

Emily was silent for a few seconds.

"His right hand isn't convenient. Sometimes the pain is so bad he can't sleep. I just let him rest in the guest room."

I clicked on one particular night.

"This night, he entered at one in the morning and left at six."

Emily glanced at it and averted her eyes.

"That night he was in very bad condition. I took care of him until very late."

"What about the night in the master bedroom?"

Emily completely froze.

She didn't ask how I knew, and she didn't deny it.

She only lowered her voice.

"I'm pregnant now. I can't be stressed. Ethan, can we wait until after the child is born to discuss some things?"

I laughed.

"After the child is born, will Tristan be able to move in smoothly?"

"I never thought of letting him replace you!"

Emily was agitated.

"He was ruined for me back then. Now seeing me with a child, it's normal for his emotions to spiral."

"His emotions spiraled, so you gave him access to the master bedroom?"

Emily's eyes reddened instantly.

She seemed finally pushed to her limit, and her voice grew cold.

"You know exactly what I feel most guilty about. Why do you keep tearing it open again and again? I'm caught between you and Tristan. Can't you be understanding just once?"

I didn't respond.

I stood up and opened the study door.

"You should rest."

Emily stood at the door and looked at me for a long time.

For the first time, I didn't follow along with her guilt.

That night, Tristan suddenly moved out of the residence the Hayes family had arranged for him.

He didn't take much, only leaving behind a note.

It was very brief.

He said he didn't want to put Emily in a difficult position anymore, and he didn't want the child to be caught between adults before it was even born.

He wouldn't participate in the child's trust, wouldn't enter our house, and wouldn't disturb me anymore.

Linda saw the note soon after.

Her eyes immediately turned red.

"Tristan has suffered enough, and now even this bit of hope has been taken from him."

Emily's first reaction was to call Tristan.

No one answered.

A few minutes later, Tristan sent a location.

An old apartment.

That was the place where he had lived during rehabilitation after his accident.

Emily grabbed her coat and headed for the door.

I stood at the stairway.

"You're pregnant. Going out late at night isn't safe."

Emily paused, as if thinking I had finally relented.

I continued, "I'll have the driver take you. But Tristan's house access won't be restored."

The softening on Emily's face vanished instantly.

She left with anger.

An hour later, Tristan sent me a video.

In the video, Tristan sat in the living room with medicine beside his right hand.

He wasn't crying, only smiling bitterly.

"Emily, I didn't save you back then to be humiliated like this today."

Emily stood at the door, her chest feeling pressed.

Tristan looked up at her.

"Ethan can't tolerate me. I accept that. But after the child is born, will I have to ask his permission even to look at the baby once?"

Emily was silent for a long time.

Finally, she said, "I'll handle the access issue."

Tristan lowered his head.

"Don't fight with him because of me."

Emily didn't say anything more.

In the study, my computer displayed a notification.

Someone was requesting to restore Tristan's access.

Ethan's POV

When Emily returned home, she went straight to the study.

I was still sitting at the computer.

She said directly, "Restore Tristan's access."

I looked up at her.

Emily, as if afraid I'd misunderstand, immediately added, "Only to the guest room and first floor. He won't enter the master bedroom."

I looked at her.

"Do you think the problem is just whether he can enter the master bedroom?"

Emily's face tightened.

"His right hand isn't convenient. When the old injury flares up, he can't even hold a cup. The access is just a precaution. If something really happens, at least someone will see."

"Then have him stay at a hospital."

"Ethan Hayes!"

Emily's voice dropped.

"He became like this because of me. When he's at his most humiliated, I can't shut the door on him."

I suddenly laughed.

"Then who will shut the door for me, your husband?"

Emily was blocked by this statement.

Soon, her face went cold again.

"You're making this too dirty, and you're making me out to be too despicable."

I didn't say anything more.

Right in front of her, I clicked "reject."

A system notification popped up.

Emily glanced at it and turned to leave.

The next day at noon, Tristan's friend called.

Last night, Tristan's old injury had flared up. He had tried to get to the hospital by himself, fell halfway there, and was sent to emergency.

The caller didn't directly curse me, but every sentence revolved around that door I had closed.

"He used to live at the Hayes place where at least someone could look after him. Now living alone outside, in so much pain, he didn't even dare to trouble Emily."

By the time Emily and I got to the hospital, the Hayes family was already there.

Tristan lay in the hospital bed, his right hand re-immobilized. Seeing her, he smiled first.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. This has nothing to do with Ethan."

Linda's eyes immediately reddened.

"You're still speaking up for him? If he hadn't closed the access and forced you out, would you have ended up falling in the street alone in the middle of the night?"

Emily stood by the bed and didn't explain for me.

Everyone looked at me.

Linda struck first.

"Are you satisfied now? Tristan is lying here, and you've finally vented your anger?"

Tristan tried to sit up.

"Stop it. It really wasn't Ethan's fault."

As soon as he moved, his face went white.

Emily immediately pressed him back down.

"Don't move."

Tristan kept his head down. While she adjusted his blanket, he glanced at me.

That glance was light but precise.

Linda pointed at me.

"Apologize."

I didn't move.

Emily looked up at me, exhaustion filling her eyes.

"Tristan has already backed down this much. Even if you're uncomfortable, you shouldn't have pushed him to the point of getting hurt."

I asked, "Have you already decided this was my fault?"

Emily was silent for a few seconds.

"You closed the access. He also moved out because he couldn't get into the house."

I looked at her and said nothing more.

I turned and left the hospital room.

That same day, I had someone pull the surveillance footage from near the old apartment and the hospital.

The footage was quickly delivered to me.

When Tristan left his place, his steps were steady, and his right hand wasn't in uncontrollable pain.

After arriving near the hospital, he deliberately went to a stairwell. Where he fell avoided vital areas but was just enough to reopen the old injury.

I saved the video.

That evening, I returned home.

Emily was sitting in the living room waiting for me. Her first words were, "Tomorrow, go to the hospital and apologize to Tristan. And restore his access."

I placed the video on the table.

Seeing Tristan walk toward the stairs himself, Emily's expression shifted for a moment.

I said, "Whether this was an accident or not, see for yourself."

Emily was silent for a long time, but finally said, "Even if his emotions spiraled, it's related to your rejection these past few days. He's already been pushed to the point where he can only prove his pain this way. Are you really going to keep provoking him?"

I suddenly understood. Evidence was useless now.

Emily could see it.

She just wanted to blame every one of Tristan's breakdowns on me.

Emily softened her voice.

"I'll go with you tomorrow. The access doesn't have to be restored yet, but at least give him an explanation."

I looked at her for a long time.

Finally, I said, "Fine. I'll go tomorrow."

Emily thought I had finally relented.

I went upstairs to the study and sent a message to my lawyer.

Move up the departure arrangements by one day.

Ethan's POV

The next day, I went to the hospital.

Emily was already in the room.

Tristan was leaning against the headboard, his right hand immobilized.

Seeing me, he spoke first.

"Ethan, I'm sorry. Whether it's the access or the trust, I've made things difficult for Emily."

I didn't respond.

Emily looked at me, waiting for the apology I'd agreed to last night.

Seeing my silence, Tristan said quietly, "I won't enter the house anymore, and I won't get involved with the child. After the baby is born, I'll just look from a distance."

When he mentioned the child, his gaze fell on Emily's belly.

That look was too familiar. Like he was looking at something already his.

Emily saw it but didn't stop him.

I asked, "Whose child are you really looking at?"

The room went silent instantly.

Tristan lowered his head.

"I know I'm not qualified to mention the child. It's only natural for Ethan to mind."

Emily immediately frowned.

"Ethan Hayes, this is a hospital. Tristan just had an accident. Don't provoke him again."

I looked at her.

"Asking whose child it is counts as provoking him?"

Emily's face went white.

"Don't say things like that here. Family and doctors are outside. If someone overhears, it's bad for the child."

What she protected first was still appearances.

Tristan spoke at the right moment.

"Emily, maybe I should leave. I'll leave San Diego. After the child is born, I won't disturb you anymore."

Emily immediately turned to him.

"Don't say that again."

I stood where I was, watching her rush to keep Tristan.

That apology no longer needed to be said.

Soon, the Hayes family entered the room.

Hearing that Tristan wanted to leave, Linda was the first to object.

"Your right hand is like this, and you still want to live alone somewhere?"

Another person pushed the conversation straight to Emily.

"Doesn't the house have a guest room? Let Tristan stay for a few days. Once his injury stabilizes, we'll talk."

I looked at Emily.

Emily didn't immediately refuse.

She only said, "Ethan hasn't been in a good mood lately. If Tristan moves in, there might be conflict."

Linda sneered.

"As long as he doesn't make a fuss, what conflict could there be?"

Tristan shook his head.

"Stop it. I don't want to disturb Emily anymore."

But the more he said he didn't want to, the more others wanted it for him.

Emily finally looked at me.

"It's just the guest room. Tristan can stay a few days while he recovers, and I can make sure his hand is okay."

Just the guest room.

Those words were like old nails being driven into my heart again.

I remembered when I was young, every time relatives came to stay, my parents said the same thing.

Just let them have one room.

Just a few days.

Just be understanding.

I asked Emily, "Do you still remember why we originally didn't let anyone stay at our house?"

Emily froze.

Back then, when someone from the Hayes family wanted to stay over, she had personally stopped it.

She said our house wasn't a place for people to crash temporarily.

Now, she had trampled those words herself.

Emily was silent for a long time, then her voice lowered.

"The situation is different. Tristan isn't like other people. He's suffered because of me."

I asked, "So?""A guest room, an access card, a spot on the child's trust. After this, will there be even more 'just this'?"

Emily's eyes reddened.

"Why do you insist on seeing everything as someone taking from you? I'm pregnant, I have to deal with Tristan's old injury, I'm already exhausted. Can't you just trust me once?"

I didn't look at Tristan anymore.

I only looked at Emily.

"Do you really want me to give in?"

Emily avoided my gaze.

"Consider it me begging you."

The hospital room went quiet.

I looked down at her belly, then at Tristan's immobilized right hand.

Finally, I said, "I understand."

After leaving the hospital, I went straight back to the house.

I didn't enter the master bedroom. I went to the study.

The lawyer sent a confirmation message. The house disposal had begun, and the withdrawal from the child's trust signature was also in process.

I placed the anniversary ring on top of the divorce papers.

Next to them was the access permission cancellation confirmation.

Emily's and Tristan's permissions would both be deactivated tonight.

I organized all the evidence and sent it to the lawyer for safekeeping.

That evening, Emily sent me a message.

"Tristan is coming back to stay in the guest room tonight. Try not to be cold to him."

I didn't reply.

I dragged my suitcase out of the house.

The housekeeper came after me.

"Mr. Hayes, do you need a car prepared?"

I only said, "Don't touch anything in the study. When Emily returns, let her see for herself."

A few hours later, I sat in the law office.

The lawyer placed the materials in front of me.

"The surveillance footage, access logs, videos before and after Tristan's fall, recordings of the family pressuring you, and the unilateral commitment Miss Hayes just signed. Everything's here."

I paused briefly when I heard "unilateral commitment."

The lawyer said, "Once this document takes effect, the child's trust and everything involving Tristan will be separated from your name."

I nodded. "Keep going."

The lawyer asked, "Do you still want to leave any instructions here in the old city?"

I turned off my phone, stood up, and walked out.

"Everything worth seeing is in the study. There's nothing to explain."