“Scared.”
“Of what?”
“That maybe papers can change.”
Daniel felt his chest tighten.
Dr. Shah leaned forward.
“What papers?”
“The ones that say Dad adopted me.”
“Do you think the papers make Daniel your dad?”
Sophie nodded uncertainly.
Dr. Shah asked, “What did you call him before the papers?”
Sophie thought.
“Dad.”
“What did he do before the papers?”
“Dad stuff.”
“What is Dad stuff?”
“Breakfast.”
Daniel almost laughed.
“Driving me.”
“Anything else?”
“Hugging.”
“Homework?”
Sophie rolled her eyes.
“Unfortunately.”
Dr. Shah smiled.
“So if the papers disappeared tomorrow, what would Daniel be?”
Sophie looked toward him.
“Dad.”
Daniel had to look away.
Dr. Shah nodded.
“The papers tell other adults what the law recognizes.”
She pointed gently toward Sophie.
“They don’t create your memories.”
Sophie considered that.
“Can Luke change the papers?”
“No.”
Dr. Shah looked toward Daniel.
He answered.
“No.”
“Can Officer Mercer?”
“No.”
“Can Grandma Carol?”
“No.”
Sophie leaned back.
“Okay.”
The fear did not vanish.
But it got a name.
That helped.
Luke was arrested six days later.
Not for wanting contact.
Not for being a biological father grieving old decisions.
For violating the protective order through indirect contact, falsifying a document, and participating in misuse of information obtained through Caleb.
The forged letter mattered.
So did messages investigators found after executing a search warrant on his motel room.
One message made Daniel sit down.
Luke had written to Carol:
Once Sophie sees me, she’ll remember.
Carol replied:
She was two.
Luke:
Kids know blood.
Carol:
Stop.
Luke:
Daniel knows she’s mine.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Mine.
That word explained more than the rest.
Not daughter.
Not child.
Mine.
Hannah once told Daniel that Luke confused love with possession when he was frightened.
At the time Daniel thought she was being harsh.
Now he understood.
Luke’s problem was not that he felt nothing.
He felt too much.
Shame.
Loss.
Jealousy.
Love.
Regret.
But every emotion bent toward ownership.
Sophie’s needs entered the story only after Luke’s.
That had been true when she was two.
Apparently it remained true now.
Luke requested a hearing seeking contact.
Daniel’s attorney, Nina Patel, almost laughed when she read the filing.
“He has no standing to reverse the adoption.”
“I know.”