Whatever Claire had intended, the twins had apparently been left behind.
And the circumstances no longer looked accidental.
A CPS caseworker arrived twenty minutes later.
Her name was Maria Alvarez.
Late forties.
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Steady voice.
Kind eyes.
She sat on the floor rather than making the twins sit opposite her.
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Smart.
Children often feel safer with adults who lower themselves to their level.
“Do you know Colonel Steel?” she asked Lily.
Lily pointed toward me.
“Daddy knew him.”
Maria looked at me.
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“We’ll need to verify everything.”
“Of course.”
“Are you related?”
“No.”
Not by blood.
But in
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my memory, Thomas Vale’s dying hand tightened around mine.
Promise me.
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Rebecca.
Don’t let her disappear.
I had failed him once.
I wasn’t going to fail again.
Maria continued talking with the twins.
“Do you have grandparents?”
