“Yes,” I said.

“And Rose,” she said, her voice growing stronger. “She never got to raise me. She never got to see me grow up.”

“He took that from her,” I said. “And he took it from you.”

Claire stared at the documents on the table.

She reached out and stacked them neatly, aligning the edges of the papers.

“We can’t let him get away with this,” she said, her voice filled with a cold determination.

“What are you thinking, sweetheart?” I asked.

“These papers,” she said, tapping the forged court order. “This is evidence. If we take this to the local police, Richard will know. He has friends there.”

“He does,” I agreed.

“Then we take them to the state police,” Claire said, looking up at me. “We go together. We show them what he did to Rose, and what he did to us.”

I felt a sudden rush of fear, but also a deep sense of relief.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked. “It will change everything.”

“He isn’t my father,” Claire said, her voice steady. “Not anymore. I want to help Rose. I want the truth to come out.”