I walked back to Claire’s bedside.

She had stopped crying, but her face was pale.

“What are you doing, Daniel?” she asked.

“I am going to make you their legal guardian,” I said.

She stared at me, her lips parting in shock.

“Their guardian?” she whispered. “But I am just…”

“You are the person they trust most,” I said.

“You carry their secret, Claire.”

“And you love them.”

She looked at the ceiling, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes.

“I have loved them since the day they were born,” she said.

“I know,” I said gently.

“And tomorrow, we are going to tell the world.”

I sat down in the vinyl armchair next to her bed.

The room was quiet except for the hum of the medical equipment.

I watched the door, waiting for the next move from the board.

The hours passed slowly.

Every few minutes, my phone buzzed with alerts.

More articles were popping up online.

They were digging into Claire’s past, looking for anything to use.

They mentioned her quiet nature, her lack of family, her sudden arrival at the estate.