“That folder isn’t for you,” Chloe said before I could ask about it.

Her tone was measured.

Marianne touched her shoulder and shook her head slightly.

Neither girl appeared frightened of me, and that fact was both a mercy and a warning.

They had been raised to speak without fear, apparently by someone who had learned to live without my approval.

“I wasn’t going to take it,” I said.

“You were staring at it,” Sophie replied.

I forced myself to look at Marianne.