Adam did not want to call Elena Ward.<\/p>\n
That alone told me she mattered.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling told him the court order covered records tied to Mercer transfers.<\/p>\n
Adam said Haven was not Mercer.<\/p>\n
Rebecca answered, \u201cThen you should have no objection to proving it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire did not bother with legal arguments.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam was silent for five seconds.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n
He disconnected.<\/p>\n
Claire looked at the blank phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he disappears again\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won\u2019t,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou trust him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca closed the laptop halfway.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may want the same thing you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo know what happened to the child.\u201d<\/p>\n
I finally forced myself to say it.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at me.<\/p>\n
Her face broke.<\/p>\n
Not fully.<\/p>\n
Just enough.<\/p>\n
I took her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cNineteen years.\u201d<\/p>\n
She whispered, \u201cWe didn\u2019t even know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if she knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
That hurt differently.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if someone told her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca said carefully, \u201cWe do not know what she knows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if she had good parents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope she did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if she didn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n
I had no answer.<\/p>\n
Luca slept between us in the hospital bassinet.<\/p>\n
One child beside us.<\/p>\n
Another perhaps living somewhere under a name we had never heard.<\/p>\n
At 2:31 a.m., Adam called back.<\/p>\n
A woman joined.<\/p>\n
Her voice was low.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
Cautious.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca introduced herself first.<\/p>\n
Elena interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s eyebrows lifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam sent your bar profile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was unnecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam said, \u201cYou wanted her identity verified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not ask you to send her my entire professional biography.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena almost laughed.<\/p>\n
The sound disappeared quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s voice changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know who I am?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSince when?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNineteen years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire flinched.<\/p>\n
I squeezed her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know Evan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know about the child?\u201d<\/p>\n
A long pause.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire whispered, \u201cIs she alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room stopped.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Claire made a sound I had never heard from her before.<\/p>\n
Half breath.<\/p>\n
Half sob.<\/p>\n
Alive.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you confirm this currently?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you last have direct contact?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Six weeks.<\/p>\n
Not nineteen years.<\/p>\n
Not an old file.<\/p>\n
Six weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s alive now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHealthy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means I am not her doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she safe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not telling you yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
Rebecca said, \u201cMs. Ward\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena was silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do not get to tell me my child is alive and then say you\u2019ll decide when I learn where.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not deciding for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am protecting her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWrong answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena inhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI expected that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen answer better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam said quietly, \u201cElena.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is her name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I repeated it before I could stop myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace.\u201d<\/p>\n
A name.<\/p>\n
Not Joint Issue Zero.<\/p>\n
Not a Mercer code.<\/p>\n
Grace.<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid we name her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer adoptive mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdoptive mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was she told?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Grace\u2019s biological parents were young and unable to raise her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is almost true enough to be cruel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena said nothing.<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked, \u201cWas the adoption legal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no mostly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were valid state proceedings based on false originating records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo legally processed, fraudulently initiated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho falsified the records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCaroline Price.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho signed surrender?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena went quiet.<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho signed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo proxy identities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Claire and Evan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen no lawful parental surrender occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s breathing changed.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
She stared at the bassinet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Grace\u2019s adoptive mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFour years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFather?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no adoptive father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho raised her after?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer mother\u2019s sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that who she lives with now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Grace know she is adopted?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she know the adoption was fraudulent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow partly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows some records were false.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she know we exist?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word struck harder than almost anything else.<\/p>\n
Claire whispered, \u201cSince when?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s known about us for two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows names.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHas she seen us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic records. social media.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe watched us live our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did not know whether you knew she existed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her I believed you did not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBelieved?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no contact with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same word again.<\/p>\n
I hated it.<\/p>\n
Claire said, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Haven had rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
Elena stopped.<\/p>\n
I said, \u201cOf course it did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHaven was not Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hid children under new identities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo keep them away from Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still decided for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The honesty stopped me.<\/p>\n
Elena continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaven began as an escape route.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 2009.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked, \u201cWho created it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElena, Peter, Rebecca Sloan, and eventually Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire turned toward my phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt another piece settle.<\/p>\n
He had not merely found the network.<\/p>\n
He had built an alternative.<\/p>\n
Elena continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer had split.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cInto what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne faction wanted to preserve the archive and hereditary control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMedical continuity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCaroline.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Haven?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted people out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire said, \u201cBy hiding them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy changing names.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy moving children.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s voice cracked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believed Mercer would take them otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one ever seems to notice the moment they become the thing they hate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena said nothing.<\/p>\n
Adam did not either.<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked, \u201cWas Grace in danger from Charles?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she was the first joint-line child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning she had the same succession value Luca has now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Caroline created her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo test the consolidation program.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
Grace had not been an accidental abuse of medical material.<\/p>\n
She had been an experiment.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cDid Michael know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s silence told me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe discovered the record in 2009.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Grace was born.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came to Haven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire whispered, \u201cHe saw her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
My father had seen the child.<\/p>\n
Our child.<\/p>\n
And never told us.<\/p>\n
I stared at the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleven months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he hold her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That hurt.<\/p>\n
It should not have.<\/p>\n
But it did.<\/p>\n
Claire began crying silently.<\/p>\n
I put my arm around her.<\/p>\n
She leaned into me without looking away from the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Michael say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted to take her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s head lifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe believed Charles would find her if she stayed connected to any Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted a permanent sealed adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire laughed through tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what you did anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he agree?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he tell you not to tell us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
One more choice made for us.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena took a long breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Caroline still monitored both of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought knowing would put Grace at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he plan to tell us later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said when Mercer was dismantled.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked, \u201cDid Michael leave documentation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHaven archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you preserve it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Grace know Michael saw her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not think it was mine to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least somebody discovered restraint eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena accepted that.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cHas Grace ever asked to meet us?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her there were risks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stopped her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Charles found another Haven child two months earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca said, \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAge?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-three.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will give investigators the file.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at Elena\u2019s speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace asked to meet us and you said no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe got angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe stopped speaking to me for four months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Elena said:<\/p>\n
\u201cShe found another way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe contacted someone near you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael\u2019s old attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca Sterling frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
We all looked toward Daniel\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n
Thomas was still connected.<\/p>\n
For once, he had no joke.<\/p>\n
Claire said, \u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
He inhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew Grace was alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFourteen months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou spoke to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you meet her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas did not answer.<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you meet my daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast winter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA coffee shop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted proof.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Michael knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could barely speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas accepted it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI deserved that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat truth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Michael found her in 2009. That he tried to protect her. That he was afraid of Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell her we did not know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas went quiet.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cShe cried.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Thomas continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked whether she should contact you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s face went blank.<\/p>\n
Marlene whispered, \u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed Charles was close to finding Haven.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou decided.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou decided for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou decided for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word had become an indictment.<\/p>\n
Claire leaned back against the pillows.<\/p>\n
She looked exhausted beyond anger.<\/p>\n
Then she said:<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone stops deciding now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
She looked at Rebecca.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan Grace legally contact us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan anyone stop her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan anyone stop us from contacting her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot unless there is a court order or she requests no contact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at Elena.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she want contact?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then answered:<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked me yesterday whether Luca had been born yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire broke completely.<\/p>\n
Not loudly.<\/p>\n
She covered her face and cried.<\/p>\n
I held her.<\/p>\n
Luca woke and began crying too.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, none of the adults who had spent all night arguing about bloodlines and custodians could do anything useful.<\/p>\n
Then Claire picked up her son.<\/p>\n
I sat beside her.<\/p>\n
She looked at the phone through tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell Grace we know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell her we did not know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd tell her she decides what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena was quiet.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at me.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
She continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo surprises. No one brings her here. No one gives us her address. No one pressures her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
Elena said, \u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked down at Luca.<\/p>\n
Then back at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Elena?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she wants nothing to do with us\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
I squeezed her shoulder.<\/p>\n
She finished.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou respect that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam did not want to call Elena Ward. That alone told me she mattered. Rebecca Sterling told him the court order covered records tied to Mercer transfers. Adam said Haven … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17784"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17856,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17784\/revisions\/17856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}