The coaching before the “adoption interview,” drilling two terrified children on what to say to make themselves unwanted.
The long phone calls to Karen about the deed and the insurance, laughing, already spending money that wasn’t hers.
I saved every second of it, and I did not let myself look away, because those girls had lived it, and the least I could do was witness it too.
That evening, after Jenna fell asleep dreaming of her hotel party, I sat on the floor of the girls’ room.
“I heard what she said to you,” I told them softly. “All of it. None of it is going to happen. I need you to trust me for a few more days, and be brave, and let me handle it. Can you do that?”
Maya, always the tougher twin, studied my face.
“Are we staying with you?” she whispered.
I pulled the silver locket out from under Lily’s pajama collar, the one with our mother’s photo inside, the one they each wore half of.
