Margaret crossed the room.
“Read that again.”
Claire did.
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
Daniel watched her.
“I called screaming.”
Claire looked up.
“What?”
“I called and demanded to know where you were.”
Her voice broke.
“They would not tell me.”
She pointed toward the paper.
“I did not agree to stop contact. I begged for contact.”
Claire stared at the line.
Daniel said, “That’s not a misunderstanding.”
No one answered.
This time the truth was clean enough.
Edith had created a record that contradicted what Margaret remembered, what the letters suggested, and what happened afterward.
Why?
That answer was harder.
The file did not say.
They found no document showing Edith intended to adopt Claire at the time.
No proof she moved Claire for personal reasons.
No note confessing manipulation.
The next two placements were documented.
Only years later did Edith reappear as a foster parent.
Claire sat back.
“So we still don’t know.”
Margaret shook her head.
“We know she lied about me agreeing.”
“We know she lied to me about you not wanting me.”
“Yes.”
“But we don’t know why.”
“No.”
Claire stared at the papers.
Then she said, “I want to ask her.”
Daniel looked surprised.
Margaret did not.
“When?”
