Chapter 18 - Clearing the Shadows
The transition wasn't without its battles, but this time, Sarah didn't have to fight them alone.
Two days later, Arthur Pendelton sat at the dining room table, flanked by a team of Eleanor's top corporate lawyers. They had summoned a representative from the state's child welfare department. Sarah sat beside Eleanor, watching in quiet awe as her aunt dismantled the bureaucratic red tape that had tortured her for three years.
"You lost a child in your system," Eleanor told the state representative, her voice a deadly, quiet blade. "You withheld information from her biological sister, forcing her into destitution. You will finalize the permanent guardianship paperwork for Lily to remain with me immediately, or my legal team will bury your department in so much litigation you won't see daylight until the next decade."
May you like
The paperwork was signed within the hour.
When the lawyers left, Sarah looked at the stack of bound documents. It was over. The state could never take Lily away again. Sarah covered her face with her hands, letting out a long, shuddering breath, feeling truly safe for the first time in her adult life.
