The room stilled, confusion replacing suspicion.
Dana’s attorney blinked. “Change your mind about what?”
Lucas looked at the polished table again, then back up at the bench. “I’m not here to fight for custody.”
The statement seemed to hang in the air, dissonant against the expectations everyone had carried into the room.
Assistant District Attorney Feld frowned. “Are you saying you intend to relinquish your parental rights?”
There was a beat of silence, long enough for the weight of that question to settle into the floorboards.
“Yes,” Lucas said quietly. “I am.”
If the room had been primed for confrontation, it now found itself off balance, unsure where to place its energy, because a man flanked by bikers announcing surrender did not fit the narrative anyone had prepared.
Dana’s composure cracked just slightly, her fingers tightening around each other. “What are you doing?” she asked, barely above a whisper.
Lucas turned toward her, and for the first time that morning, his voice carried something beyond exhaustion. “I’m stepping out of the way.”
