"We dragged you out of that rust-belt gutter," Brenda sneered. "You owe us every dime."
Ava Mckenzie sat on the low couch and said nothing.
The name on the heavy linen paper was clear: Iverson Cooper.
He was an obituary headline in the financial pages, and now her supposed husband.
She pushed her black-framed glasses up the bridge of her nose.
Her gaze drifted past the paper to the front window.
A blue Buick Regal sat under the yellow streetlamp by the curb.
Inside the car, two silhouettes pressed together against the headrest.
Donovan Hayes had his hand behind Megan Shaw's neck.
Megan smoothed her blouse, her red lips parting against his collar.
Ava watched them through the glass.
It felt like watching dirty rainwater run down a pane.
She felt nothing at all.
The front door swung open with a bang.
Megan walked into the living room, smoothing her rumpled silk skirt.
Her cheeks were bright red, her breathing quick and shallow.
She extended her left hand into the lamplight, turning her wrist so the center stone caught the glare.
It was the two-carat diamond that had belonged to Ava's mother.
"Sister," Megan purred. "Donovan and I set our date for next month."
Megan stepped closer, thrusting the ring toward Ava's face.
"Tell me you are happy for us," Megan said.
Ava did not move.
"Marrying a dead man is a gift for someone like you," Megan laughed.
"The Coopers have money," Megan added. "Your real blood relatives are probably starving in a trailer park."
Brenda stood up, planting herself between them as if guarding a prize.
"Make up your mind, Ava," Brenda snapped. "We do not have all night."
The front door clicked shut again.
Donovan Hayes walked into the foyer, tucking his dress shirt into his trousers.
He smelled of cheap cologne and tobacco.
He walked straight past Ava without looking down.
"Has she signed yet?" Donovan asked Richard.
"She is thinking about it," Richard replied.
"Do not let her stall," Donovan said, checking his watch. "I have reservations across town."
Ava stood up from the couch.
The room went still around her.
"Donovan gave that ring to me three years ago," Ava said in a quiet voice.
Megan scoffed, lifting her chin. "He gave it to a winner, Ava."
"You took my ring," Ava continued, stepping forward. "Now you stand in my house and ask for my blessing."
Megan rolled her eyes. "Cry about it, you worthless-"
The slap cracked like a whip through the quiet room.
Ava's palm struck Megan's cheek with full force.
Megan stumbled backward into the armchair, clutching her jaw with both hands.
She let out a high, ragged shriek as blood welled at the corner of her mouth.
"My face!" Megan screamed. "Mom, she hit me!"
Brenda screamed, lunging forward to catch her daughter.
Richard's face flushed dark purple.
"You ungrateful bitch!" Richard roared, stepping up with his right hand raised high.
Ava did not flinch.
She looked directly into his eyes, her posture straight and still.
"I'll sign."
The words were quiet, but they cut the room in two.
Richard's fist stopped two inches from her ear.
His breathing hitched, his fingers trembling in the air.
"What did you say?" Richard demanded.
"I said I will marry Iverson Cooper," Ava said. "Alive or dead."
Brenda paused her sobbing, looking up with wide, greedy eyes.
Megan lowered her hands from her bruised cheek, her mouth open in shock.
Richard lowered his arm, his shoulders slumping with sudden relief.
Ava reached into her canvas shoulder bag.
She pulled out a folded sheet of crisp legal paper.
She dropped it squarely on top of the Cooper contract.
"You think this is a favor," Ava said. "It is a transaction."
Richard blinked at the fresh sheet. "What is this trash?"
"That is an official petition to terminate adoption," Ava said.
She pointed to the date stamped on the top margin.
"I drafted it this morning," Ava said. "Tomorrow morning, City Hall opens at nine."
"You will stand before the clerk and sign it," Ava stated.
"From tomorrow onward, the law wipes my name from your family," Ava said.
"I will be Ava Mckenzie, and nothing to the Shaws."
Brenda shrieked from the floor.
"You insolent brat!" Brenda screamed. "We raised you for ten years!"
"We gave you a roof over your head!" Brenda cried.
Ava picked up the silver pen from the table and clicked the cap shut.
She turned toward the wooden staircase.
"Then keep your name," Ava said calmly.
"Find five million dollars by midnight to pay your debts," Ava said over her shoulder.
"Or let the Cooper family take your house tomorrow morning," Ava added.
Richard stared at the blank signature line on his contract.
His jaw worked back and forth, grinding his teeth.
He looked at Donovan, but Donovan looked away at the ceiling.
He looked at Megan, whose swollen cheek was turning dark violet.
"Wait," Richard choked out.
Ava stopped with one foot on the first wooden step.
She did not turn around.
"Fine," Richard whispered through clenched teeth. "Nine o'clock at City Hall."
Ava walked back to the glass table.
She picked up the heavy black pen.
She pressed the steel nib against the Cooper agreement and signed in one smooth stroke.
Ava Mckenzie.
The ink was dark, sharp, and steady.
She tossed the pen onto the glass.
It rolled across the smooth surface and clicked against the folder edge.
She walked past the four of them without a glance.
Her footsteps climbed the wooden stairs in a steady, even rhythm.
Upstairs, Ava closed her bedroom door.
She turned the lock until the deadbolt clicked home.
She walked to the narrow window overlooking the street.
Outside, Donovan's blue Buick pulled away from the curb, its red taillights fading into the darkness.
Ava reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a battered, encrypted black smartphone.
She unlocked the custom interface and typed six words into the keypad.
"Leo, I need a favor."
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