Leo’s hands began to shake so violently that he had to grip the edge of the table tighter to keep from dropping his pencil. A sudden, sharp ringing filled his ears, drowning out the murmurs of the court clerk and the low hum of the fluorescent lights overhead.
“Where did you get that?” Leo’s voice cracked, the word tearing through his throat with a sudden, desperate hostility that made the bailiff shift his weight and rest his hand cautiously on his holster.
The woman looked up, her eyes swimming with a grief so deep and ancient it seemed to have settled permanently into the lines around her mouth. She didn't flinch from Leo’s glare. She accepted it as her due.
“She gave it to me,” the woman answered softly, her voice barely carrying past the first row of empty benches.
Judge Harrison leaned forward, resting his forearms on the bench. “Ma’am, for the record, you need to state your name and your relationship to these children. This is a closed dependency proceeding, and unauthorized interruptions can result in removal from the courtroom.”
The woman swallowed hard, blinking rapidly to keep the tears from spilling over her lashes. She wiped a trembling hand beneath her eye.
“I’m Margaret,” she said, her voice catching on the syllables. “I’m your aunt. Your mother’s older sister.”
The words hung in the air, cold and unbelievable. Leo looked down at Toby, whose little head lifted slightly at the word aunt, his wide, uncomprehending eyes blinking up at his brother as if translating a foreign language. Then Leo looked back at the woman, a bitter, hollow laugh escaping his lips before he could stop it.