Chapter 6 - The Pages She Changed
Mom had altered the journal too.
She inserted several handwritten pages describing thoughts I had never expressed.
One claimed I wanted to disappear permanently.
Another said I hated my siblings.
The handwriting looked similar from a distance.
Up close, the differences were obvious.
Mom pressed too hard with the pen.
She formed the letter S differently.
She also used blue ink.
Every original entry had been written with the same black gel pen I kept clipped inside the cover.
Helena already possessed dated photographs of the real pages.
The school counselor had copies.
Cloud timestamps proved when they were uploaded.
Mom’s additions appeared only after she took the notebook.
The officers stopped treating the call as a routine runaway recovery.
They contacted a supervisor and child protective services.
A caseworker arrived that afternoon.
The younger children were not taken away permanently that day, but emergency arrangements were made.
Mateo and the toddlers stayed temporarily with approved relatives while investigators assessed the home, food supply, sleeping conditions, and supervision history.
Mom was transported for an interview after refusing to cooperate and attempting to leave with the children.
She shouted that I had betrayed the family.
Mateo began crying again.
I knelt in front of him.
“This is not your fault.”
“Are we getting dinner?”
The question broke something in Helena.
She turned away so he would not see her face.
May you like
“Yes,” I told him. “Everyone is eating tonight.”
For the first time in years, that promise did not depend on me preparing food for seven people alone.
