“You know, I rehearsed the conversation for years.”
I looked at her.
“When you were little, I planned exactly what I would say. I decided I’d tell you when you turned ten.”
She gave a sad laugh.
“Then your tenth birthday came, and you were so happy blowing out your candles. I thought, not today.”
She shook her head.
“Then came eleven. Twelve. Thirteen.”
Her eyes lowered.
“That’s how thirty years passes, Emma. One ‘not today’ at a time.”
“I wish you had told me.”
“I know.”
“But I understand how you got there.”
Her eyes filled again.
“I’m shaken,” I said. “But I’m not angry.”
She gripped my hand so tightly it almost hurt.
When Dr. Reeves returned, he brought a woman with him.
She introduced herself as Agent Morris.
She was part of the investigation into Maplewood House.
She explained that dozens of former children had been identified as potentially having altered records.
