“And an infant transfer authorization with a document number that does not appear in the electronic copy.”
My head spun.
“Transfer where?”
“We don’t know.”
The adoption attorney said:
“Lucas’s records might answer that.”
Rachel brought them the next morning.
The paperwork looked official.
That was the frightening part.
Seals.
Signatures.
Notary stamps.
A court file number.
But the signatures attributed to “Emily Carter” were inconsistent.
One had been notarized two days after I gave birth.
At that time, I could barely sit upright.
Another document listed the birth father as Aaron Carter.
Not Adrian Cole.
Dana looked at me.
“This was not merely your husband signing away custody.”
“Someone created false identities.”
“Why?”
“To separate the adoption from your real family.”
Rachel whispered:
“Oh God.”
Then the investigator found something else.
The attorney who had processed the adoption had closed his practice four years earlier after professional discipline involving improper private placements.
