Caroline let out a loud sigh and folded her arms across her chest.

“Everybody knows who the real cruel mother is in this story,” Caroline said, stepping close enough that I could smell her cold cream.

“Nobody in this family believes a single word you say anymore, Clara.”

“She’s telling people I starve my own child,” I said.

“When a mother can’t manage her home, people notice,” Caroline said, tipping her head back against the painted cinder-block wall.

“A formal intake timestamp at the district office stops bad mothers fast, and Frank knows how those records get handled.”