Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 96

Eleanor opened her mouth to speak, but Lawrence cut in first. "Leo, go upstairs and take a shower. I'll handle the logbook."

Leo gathered the sheets of paper and suddenly took a step back.

"I want to wait for Mom."

Lawrence's expression hardened. "She isn't coming tonight."

"Then can I call her?"

"No."

The moment the word left his mouth, even Lawrence felt a jolt of surprise.

The light in Leo's eyes completely extinguished.

He hugged his homework and trudged upstairs, his small back stiff and his shoulders drawn tight.

Only the adults were left in the living room.

Eleanor sighed. "Look what she's done to the boy."

Lawrence didn't reply.

He leaned down and picked up the broken pencil stub from the coffee table.

The lead was snapped clean off.

Like something that had finally cracked after being crushed under too much pressure.

At 10 PM, Xavier finally dug up the details of Eleanor's check-up.

Hospital, doctor, time—all confirmed.

But the medical files were nowhere to be found.

Eleanor mentioned they might be in a blue folder Wren used to keep.

The maids scoured the study and storage cabinets, finally unearthing a storage box from the bottom drawer of the master bedroom closet.

Lawrence stood by as the box was pulled out.

It was packed full of folders.

Every single folder had a label on the spine.

[Eleanor's Check-ups]

[Leo's Vaccines & Allergies]

[Lawrence's Stomach Meds]

[Langford Family Banquet Guest Lists]

[School Notices]

The handwriting was slender and neat.

All written by Wren.

The maid handed him the folder labeled "Eleanor's Check-ups."

Lawrence didn't take it immediately.

His eyes locked onto another folder.

[Lawrence's Stomach Meds]

He reached out and pulled it free.

Inside were not only his medical records, but doctor's notes, medication contraindications, dietary plans for after his business dinners, and even a highlighted list of which alcohols were most likely to trigger his stomach pain.

Lawrence flipped to the last page.

A sticky note was attached.

[He doesn't like reading these, remember to leave a backup copy with Xavier.]

Lawrence's finger traced the edge of the note.

The handwriting looked old.

She must have written it years ago.

He suddenly recalled a time he had a stomach ache on a business trip, and Xavier had miraculously produced the exact medication from his briefcase.

He remembered asking, "Why do you have this?"

Xavier had replied, "The missus packed it."

Back then, he only thought Wren was being overly controlling.

Now, those few lines seemed to lift off the page, pressing down on him with a crushing weight.

She didn't just stop taking care of him overnight.

She had taken care of him for so long.

So long that everyone had forgotten it wasn't a given.

Eleanor took the check-up folder, flipped through it, and sighed in relief.

"Wren really is meticulous."

She paused right after she said it.

The silence in the living room turned awkward.

Lawrence closed the stomach medication folder.

"Have the maids organize these things from now on."

Eleanor frowned. "How could the maids know as much as she did?"

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

Lawrence's expression darkened completely.

He hated hearing that.

He hated anyone using that tone to remind him that Wren was once irreplaceable in this house.

"No one is irreplaceable."

He said.

His voice was very low.

As if he were saying it to Eleanor, but also trying to convince himself.

Eleanor shot him a look but didn't push the issue.

He picked up his phone and called his lawyer.

"I do not agree to the divorce."

The lawyer said something on the other end.

Lawrence stared at the box of files, his voice dark and hard.

"Stall."

"Drag it out for as long as humanly possible."

After hanging up, soft footsteps echoed from upstairs.

Leo stood at the top of the stairs, clutching his space book.

"Dad."

Lawrence looked up.

Leo asked timidly, "Is the logbook done?"

Lawrence glanced at the blank sheets of paper on the coffee table.

He was silent for two seconds.

"Not yet."

Disappointment flooded Leo's eyes again.

Lawrence felt a tightness in his chest, and for the first time, he didn't bark an order.

"Come down here," he said. "We'll write it together."

Leo hesitated, then slowly descended the stairs.

Father and son sat by the coffee table.

Lawrence picked up the pen, stared at the section titled 'Child's Favorite Space Knowledge', and froze again.

Leo whispered, "I like space stations."

Lawrence wrote the words down.

"Why?"

Leo thought about it. "Because Mom said space stations are homes built in the sky."

Lawrence's pen stilled.

Leo looked at the paper, his voice barely a whisper.

"But do people leave homes too?"

Lawrence's grip on the pen slowly tightened.

He didn't answer.

Outside the window, the night was pitch black.

The warm light in The Langford Estate was finally turned on.

Only this time, the person who turned it on wasn't Wren.