CHAPTER 3: THE FIGHT
CHAPTER 3: THE FIGHT
The media exploded.
Billionaire seeks custody of four orphaned sisters.
Some called Owen a hero.
Others called it a publicity stunt.
Social media argued for weeks.
Television hosts debated his motives.
But none of them mattered.
Because the real battle happened in family court.
The abandoned aunt suddenly reappeared.
Not because she loved the girls.
Because she discovered who wanted them.
A billionaire.
Suddenly she demanded custody.
Claimed she had always cared.
Claimed misunderstandings.
Claimed she deserved another chance.
The judge wasn't convinced.
Neither was Sophie.
The courtroom became silent when the little girl took the witness chair.
She was only seven by then.
Her feet barely reached the floor.
The judge spoke softly.
"Sophie, where do you want to live?"
The little girl looked toward her sisters.
Then toward Owen.
Then back at the judge.
Her answer made several people cry.
"He's the first grown-up who came back."
The aunt's face drained of color.
Sophie continued.
"When we were hungry, he fed us."
She pointed toward Owen.
"When we were scared, he stayed."
Her voice cracked.
"When everyone else left... he didn't."
The courtroom fell silent.
The judge's ruling came two weeks later.
Permanent guardianship.
The sisters would stay together.
With Owen.
The girls screamed with joy.
Bella cried.
Luma laughed.
Issa wrapped both arms around Owen's neck.
And Sophie simply whispered:
May you like
"You kept your promise."
For Owen, that mattered more than every dollar he had ever earned.
