Wolf's Call (Wolves Next Door #2) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,117
but because you're a part of my family. You were before you even met Ian. The day you moved in, Ashley was willing to challenge her brother for you, and I knew then that you wouldn't go anywhere. I'm just letting you know that I'll make sure of it."
"I..." I had to pause, shaking my head, trying to rattle a thought into place, because that was not at all what I'd expected. "Thank you. I don't know what else to say."
"Well, if you ever wondered where Ian got the love of children from, you can blame me," he teased. "Now, let's talk about our backup plan, because this will be here before we know it."
CHAPTER 34
Henry wasn't wrong. Six days passed in the blink of an eye. Between Gabby's reports about the boy at school, an influx of inquiries - which all amounted to nothing - at work, and trying to juggle time with the guys, I felt like I blinked and the day was upon us. On a Tuesday morning, Henry and I headed to the courthouse. Ashley closed the office. Then, she and the guys all came up to offer their moral support.
Henry made it clear that they wouldn't be allowed in. This wasn't that kind of case. Still, they wanted to go out to lunch when we were all done. To celebrate, they said. Gabby still had to go to school, but I promised to text her as soon as we got an answer. She promised to mute her phone, but I had a feeling she'd be watching it all day long.
Then it happened. Just like Henry said, the whole thing was shockingly easy. Henry presented our agreement, Gerardo's attorney said he agreed with it, and then we both had to sign a lot of papers. I couldn't even keep track of what they all were. I simply scrawled my name everywhere Henry told me to. Then, there was one form that Gerardo signed that I didn't.
"Do you understand that this removes all of your rights and responsibilities to your daughter, Gabriella Sofia Castillo?" the judge asked before my ex-husband could put the pen to the page. "By signing this, you will no longer have any legal obligations, responsibilities, or rights to any interactions with this child."
"I do," Gerardo assured him. "I'm not even sure she's mine."
I opened my mouth to respond, but Henry simply clasped my shoulder, effectively silencing me. Then the judge turned to him. "And you have proof of financial support that will confirm that this child will be adequately cared for?"
"She has a trust fund in her name," Henry said, passing over a set of papers. "Due to that, she wouldn't be allowed any state benefits, so financial considerations aren't an option."
I had to work to keep my mouth shut, because it seemed that when Henry asked about Gerardo relinquishing his parental rights, he'd left out a few things. I'd told him what I wanted; he'd simply made it happen. A fucking trust fund? What exactly had he done?
"Well, while unusual, this does meet the minimum standards, so..." The man paused to read through the papers before him quickly. "It seems everything is in order. I believe I can grant this."
And that was basically it. The judge said some more legal stuff, but my mind was stuck on the new trust fund my child now had. I could only imagine that Henry had done that, but I couldn't rule out Ian or Ashley either. Then again, were the rest of the guys loaded? I honestly didn't know. I'd never actually asked! How much they made had never seemed important.
Ashley paid me enough that money was no longer a concern. My bills were always covered, my daughter was taken care of, and I was slowly but surely paying down all of my debt while still putting a little into savings. I'd thought I was doing pretty good now, and while I knew that Wolf's Run had to make a ton of money, it had never crossed my mind to even worry about such things. Other people were rich. It wasn't something I associated with my friends.
No, my pack.
So, as we left the room, I felt like I was drunk, or lost, or something. Maybe dreaming. I couldn't be sure. I just wanted to know how he'd made that all happen, because the judge sounded like terminating parental rights wasn't something common.
"What just happened?" I asked Henry the moment we were outside.