He let her win.

When I asked why, he said, “Because they’re her shelves.”

I couldn’t help smiling.

Maybe this was what changing looked like when nobody was watching: a man handing over the paintbrush and letting his daughter choose the color of her own story.

PART 22

One evening Lena noticed a handwritten address in the corner of a decades-old letter.

It belonged to a foster family who had cared for Lucy briefly before she entered the placement connected to Marion Bell.

Paige asked Lena to check whether the family was willing to talk, but made it clear she did not want anyone approached under false pretenses.