Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 268

He only saw his father grabbing his mother.

He only heard his mother demanding to be let go.

He only saw the harsh living room lights stretching his father's shadow into a terrifying shape that completely swallowed his mother.

Wren's heart twisted.

She forcefully wrenched her arm out of Lawrence's grip and sprinted up the stairs.

"Leo."

Leo took a half-step back.

Not to hide from her.

But out of sheer, instinctual terror of the entire situation.

Wren knelt in front of him, keeping her voice incredibly soft. "Why are you awake, sweetheart?"

The boy didn't answer.

He looked past her to Lawrence standing at the bottom of the stairs, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "Is Dad going to yell at Mom?"

Lawrence stood frozen at the foot of the staircase, completely paralyzed.

That single sentence was more devastating than any accusation.

He wanted to say no.

But just seconds ago, he had barricaded the stairs, grabbed Wren's arm by force, and aggressively raised his voice at her.

Through a child's eyes, he was nothing but a monster hurting his mother.

Leo's eyes welled with tears.

He clutched his hands together tightly. "I don't want Willow to come to my school."

Wren paused.

He hadn't woken up because he was thirsty.

He had been tossing and turning, unable to sleep because the anxiety of the open day was eating him alive.

"Okay," she promised instantly. "Willow won't go."

Leo looked at her with desperate hope. "Really?"

"Really." Wren gently took his small hands. "Mom is going to the open day. And if Mom has an emergency, I will tell you and your teacher first. I will never let someone else make that decision for you."

The boy nodded.

But the tears finally spilled over.

In a heartbreakingly tiny voice, he asked, "Mom, when are we moving back to your house?"

All the blood drained from Lawrence's face.

Your house.

His son had completely severed Wren from the Langford Estate.

Once she finished, she saved the document and forwarded a concise summary to Robert Lawson.

Then, she pulled out the 'My Family' portrait day permission slip and signed her name in the attending family member slot.

Wren Whitaker.

Not Mrs. Langford.

Not his aunt.

Just Wren Whitaker.

At that exact moment, the screen of Eleanor's phone lit up in her bedroom.

It was a text from Willow.

"Eleanor, please don't fight with Wren over the open day. If Leo prefers to have Wren there, I'm perfectly fine with not going."

Eleanor scowled and typed back furiously.

"Don't worry about her. Her behavior is getting entirely out of hand. I am not going to let her dictate everything in this family."

She hit send and slammed her phone onto the nightstand.

In the master suite next door, Lawrence sat alone in the pitch black. The phantom sensation of Wren violently wrenching herself away from his grip still burned into his palms.

He stared down at his hands.

He had lost control again.