Chapter 4Time's Up: My Aunt Adopts Me

Over the phone, Hailey continued, "Oh, Ms. Warren took half a day off to come too. She even skipped the school's faculty meeting. She said she had to see you join your real family with her own eyes."

When I heard that Kate Warren had come as well, my grip tightened on the phone, and a lump formed in my throat.

In the years after Ivana’s birth parents, Martin Ewart and Emma Boyd, swapped us, I lived a life worse than a stray.

When Martin and Emma lost at cards, they took it out on me.

They wouldn't give me a thick coat in winter. They didn't even want me to finish high school. They wanted to marry me off early for money.

If Hailey hadn't shared her meals with me, I wouldn't have made it.

I only survived because Kate came to the house again and again to look after me. She secured my financial aid and paid my tuition herself. Without her, I wouldn't have finished high school and survived long enough for Hugo and Clara to find me.

Compared with my birth parents, who favored Ivana, Hailey and Kate felt more like my real family.

I swallowed the tightness in my throat and spoke softly into the phone.

"It's not done yet."

The other end went quiet for a beat.

Then, someone else took the phone.

Kate's voice came through.

"Why isn't it done? This is the ninth time! Last month, they said it'd definitely get done. Did Ivana come up with another excuse?" Kate asked.

Hugo and Clara heard her voice.

Kate was an outsider, so they wanted to keep up appearances.

"Ms. Warren, don't listen to Yvette," Hugo said. "She's just jealous of Ivana. We're already at the county clerk's office. We only got delayed a little."

But Kate wasn't having it.

"Delayed? What could be more important than finalizing your daugher's legal placement? You know how much she's suffered. How long does the paperwork take? Why drag it out until people get off work?"

Hugo could no longer keep his face straight.

He frowned again.

Clara cut in. Her tone hardened.

"Ms. Warren, we're grateful for how you took care of her before. But this is a family matter. Outsiders like you don't know the full story. It's better not to step in.

"No matter how you look at it, she's our biological daughter. Of course we'll add her to the records. After all, she's our flesh and blood."

Clara glanced at Ivana and kept talking into the phone.

"What difference does one day make? At worst, we'll do it next time," she continued.

When I heard that, I actually felt relieved.

It was the answer I'd expected. It even felt familiar.

I felt nothing.

No anger. No resentment.

Not even the slightest hint of surprise.

I took the phone back and spoke to Kate carefully.

"Ms. Warren, don't worry. I'll get the papers done today. Wait for me at the restaurant. When it's done, I'll bring my parents with me," I reassured her.

Then, I switched back to the home screen. Victoria's message popped up.

"Eugene and I just passed the last traffic light. We'll be there soon." Eugene Patterson was her husband.

I checked the time in the corner.

It was 4:55 pm.

The glass doors of the hall were pushed open.

The attendant stood on the steps and called out to the people outside.

"Last five minutes! Does anyone else need service?"

Ivana shrank back right then and tugged Clara's sleeve.

"Mom, Dad, take Yvette inside," she said. "My feelings don't matter. Go in. Don't worry about me."

Clara's heart went out to her at once.