“Grandma said I’m not supposed to talk about grown-up things,” he whispered.

That evening I wrote down his exact words and began a separate timeline.

I did not know that the next page would include a forged signature.

PART 7

Noah’s school had always been his safe place.

He liked the library’s turtle and the smell of pencil shavings.

His third-grade teacher, Ms.

Romero, greeted every student by name and kept a tin of stickers for anyone having a hard morning.