Ben stepped in at once. "Ava, can you take Lily upstairs for a minute?"
Ava nodded and gently guided Lily out of the room.
I took my father into the kitchen and shut the door. "What is going on?"
He looked toward the ceiling, meaning upstairs.
He was pale. "Five years ago, I volunteered at a chapel in another county. Sometimes we helped with burial services for children in state care when nobody else came. There was one little girl. Around five years old. I remembered her because almost no one attended. Just me, the chapel director, and a worker from the children's home."
My mouth went dry. "And?"
He looked toward the ceiling, meaning upstairs. "At first I thought it was just a resemblance. Then I saw the bracelet. I have thought about that bracelet for five years."
I didn't sleep that night.
"What bracelet?"
"The silver one with the flower charm. The worker listed it with the child's belongings. She said it should stay with her."
I didn't sleep that night.
The next morning, I sat on the edge of Lily's bed. "I need to ask you something about your bracelet."
She touched it automatically. "Okay."
"How long have you had it?"
"As long as I can remember."
I called the children's home immediately and asked for Lily's full file.
"Can I see it?"
She held out her wrist. Tiny silver chain. Flower charm. On the inside, barely visible, was one engraved letter.
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M.
Not L.
I called the children's home immediately and asked for Lily's full file.
The director started with, "We already gave you the placement records."
Then I mentioned the bracelet and the county my father remembered.
"I need everything."
There was a pause. Then I mentioned the bracelet and the county my father remembered.
Her tone changed. "Come in person."
Ben drove. I went through Lily's paperwork in the car, really looked this time. The file had gaps all over it. Missing dates. Vague summaries. Transfers with almost no detail. One page called her Lily. Another older page had a different name partly crossed out.
Mara.
That was when I hired an attorney.
At the children's home, the director closed her office door and said, "When Lily arrived here three years ago, I flagged the gaps in her records. The state sent back a note saying the prior home had closed and the remaining records were considered sufficient. I hated it, but I had nothing else."
