Margaret looked toward the screen.
“From the man who changed her file.”
Silence.
“What man?”
“A county attorney.”
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
“Name.”
Margaret hesitated.
“Thomas Garner.”
Daniel knew the name.
Everyone in Cedar Glen did.
Judge Thomas Garner had served on the district bench for twenty-five years before retiring.
Respected.
Charity boards.
Church.
Scholarship fund.
His portrait hung inside the county courthouse.
Daniel whispered, “Why?”
Margaret looked ashamed.
“Money.”
“From who?”
“The Carters.”
Evelyn went completely still.
Daniel looked at her.
“No.”
Margaret shook her head quickly.
“Not how you think.”
Rachel said, “Explain.”
Margaret took a breath.
“Richard Carter was trying to adopt legally.”
Evelyn’s face changed.
“He knew?”
“He knew there was a father.”
Daniel felt betrayed by a dead man he had never met.
Margaret continued.
“Garner told him parental rights had been terminated.”
“They weren’t.”
“No.”
“Did Richard know that?”
“I don’t think so.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“You think?”
Margaret’s eyes filled.
“Garner falsified the termination.”
“Why?”
“Richard donated to a foundation Garner controlled.”
Evelyn covered her mouth.
Margaret continued.
“I discovered inconsistencies after the adoption petition began. I confronted Garner.”
“What happened?”
“He threatened me.”
“With what?”
“My license. Criminal charges. He said I had mishandled other cases.”
“Had you?”
Margaret looked down.
“Yes.”
Not theft.
Not kidnapping.
Administrative failures.
Missed home visits.
Incomplete records.
Enough to destroy a career.
Garner used them.
“He told me the child would be better with the Carters anyway.”
Daniel stood.
“I was her father.”
“I know.”
“You knew.”
“I knew.”
His voice rose.
“You let them take her.”
Margaret began crying.
“Yes.”
Daniel turned away.
Evelyn stared at the screen.
“Did my parents know my father was looking for me?”
Margaret answered quietly.
“I don’t believe so.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Relief.
Grief.
Both.
Margaret continued.
“Garner created records showing Daniel had abandoned you. Richard and Helen believed them.”
Daniel looked toward Evelyn.
That mattered.
He could see it mattered.
Her childhood had not been built on intentional theft by the people she loved.
It had been built on a lie told to everyone.
Evelyn asked, “Why Kansas?”
Margaret hesitated.
“Garner arranged an intermediary.”
“What intermediary?”
“A private adoption consultant.”
“Name.”
“Lillian Price.”
Rachel began taking notes.