Anna allowed them several minutes before reaching beneath the wooden box.
“There is one more document,” she said.
Henry looked up.
“I believed Claire’s letter was the last.”
“It was the last personal letter. This is different.”
She placed a thick folder on the table.
A red seal crossed the front, and the name of Mara Levin’s law firm appeared in the upper corner.
Mason withdrew his hand from Nora’s grasp.
“What is it?”
Anna broke the seal.
“Claire knew that Mason’s grandmother had been struggling with her health. She also knew his boarding scholarship would end when he completed the academic year.”
Mason’s expression hardened.
“My grandmother is fine.”
“She is recovering,” Anna said gently. “But she contacted Claire because she was worried about what would happen if she could no longer serve as your legal guardian.”
Henry looked at Mason.
“You knew she was ill?”
“She told me it was nothing serious.”
“She may have been trying not to worry you.”
Anna opened the folder.
“Claire and Mrs. Brooks began preparing a contingency plan. Nothing in this folder can force a decision. Mason’s wishes would have to be heard, and any arrangement would require review by a court.”
Mason remained standing.
“What arrangement?”
Anna turned the first page toward them.
It was a petition drafted but not yet filed. Claire’s name appeared in several places, followed by detailed provisions concerning Mason’s education, residence, and continued relationship with his grandmother and sister.
Henry felt an uneasy pressure building behind his ribs.
“Claire intended to become his guardian,” he said.
“Yes,” Anna replied. “But she included a contingency in case she became unable to do so.”
Henry looked down at the document.
Near the bottom of the page was a blank signature line.
Above it, beneath the words Proposed Guardian, a name had already been typed.
Mason leaned closer.
Henry read it once.
Then again.
The name was his.
Henry James Whitman.
PART 3
“She mentioned helping someone at the community center. She said there was a student she believed in. I didn’t know that student was you.”
Mason’s expression tightened.
“A student she believed in,” he repeated. “That sounds much nicer than a problem she was trying to solve.”
“You are not a problem.”
“You barely know me.”
“That doesn’t make you a problem.”
“It doesn’t make us family either.”
The words landed with painful accuracy.
Anna Adler remained seated at the end of the table, giving them space without leaving them alone. Nora stirred against Henry’s chest, sensing the tension in his body.
Mason reached for his backpack.
“I’m going.”
Anna rose. “Mason, there is more you should understand.”
“I’ve understood enough.”
“No one has filed the petition,” she said.
His hand stopped on the strap.
Anna touched the document with two fingers.
“This was a draft. Claire instructed that it was never to be submitted without your agreement and Henry’s. She was very specific.”
Mason did not sit down.
“She still wrote his name.”
