Ms. Cole slowly took the paper from my trembling hands. She read the single sentence. Then looked back at me. “They found your brother?” I could only nod. For twenty years… Those three words had lived somewhere between impossible and unbearable. Now they were real. Or at least… Someone believed they were. Evelyn hurried over. “What happened?” Ms. Cole handed her the note. Evelyn’s eyebrows lifted. “Where did this come from?” The young court clerk cleared his throat. “Judge Halbrook received an emergency phone call a few minutes ago.” “He asked that this be given to Mr. Mercer immediately.” “Who called?” I asked. “I don’t know.” “The judge requested your presence in his chambers.” My heartbeat hammered against my ribs. Levon. The name alone pulled me backward through twenty years of unanswered questions. Did he remember me? Had he hated me all this time? Did he think I had stopped looking? Or worse… Did he think I had chosen another family over him? Judge Halbrook’s chambers felt much smaller than before. Rachel Whitmore was already inside. So was Mr. Fenwick. The judge motioned for me to close the door. “Alden…” “I need you to understand something.” “We don’t know if this information is accurate.”
I swallowed. “What information?” Rachel slid a thin manila folder toward me. “It came from the State Children’s Archive.” “The archives?” She nodded. “When your testimony ended…” “I couldn’t stop thinking about your brother.” “I made a few calls.” She paused. “One of the retired case supervisors remembered something.” My hands hesitated over the folder. “They kept old records?” “Some.” “Not many.” “But enough.” I slowly opened it. Inside was a faded intake photograph. A little boy. Four years old. One blue dinosaur slipper. My vision blurred. “No…” I whispered. “No…” It was him. Older than my last memory. His face thinner. His smile gone. But unmistakably… Levon. The room disappeared around me. My fingers traced the edge of the photograph. “I kept this picture in my head…” “…for twenty years.” Rachel quietly placed another page beside it. “After the separation…” “He entered three different foster homes.” My chest tightened. “Three?” She nodded sadly. “The first family dissolved their placement after six months.” “The second moved out of state.” “The third adopted him.” I looked up. “They adopted him?” “Yes.” Hope exploded inside me. “Then he’s okay?” Rachel didn’t answer. Instead… She turned another page. The silence lasted long enough for me to understand. Something was wrong.
Very wrong. The next document was a newspaper clipping. Twenty years old. A small local article. Barely larger than my hand. LOCAL COUPLE KILLED IN HIGHWAY COLLISION The names meant nothing to me. Until I reached the bottom. Survived by their adopted son… Levon Carter. My stomach dropped. “They died too?” Rachel nodded. “He was twelve.” Another family. Gone. Another home. Gone. Another beginning. Destroyed. I slowly sat down. I couldn’t feel my legs anymore. “How much can one child lose?” No one answered. Because there wasn’t an answer. Judge Halbrook quietly folded his hands. “The records continue.” I forced myself to keep reading. Another placement. Another school. Another city. Another caseworker. The pages blurred together. Addresses. Transfers. Medical reports. Behavior evaluations. One sentence caught my eye. Patient refuses to unpack belongings. Another. Sleeps wearing shoes. Another. Frequently asks whether this placement is temporary. I closed my eyes. That wasn’t behavior. That was survival. Every time someone loved him… They disappeared. Eventually… He must have stopped believing anyone stayed. Just like I had. Rachel handed me one final document.
“This arrived with the archive.”
It wasn’t official.
It wasn’t typed.
It was handwritten.
On lined notebook paper.
The edges had turned yellow.
“The case supervisor kept it.”
“She couldn’t bring herself to throw it away.”
My hands shook as I unfolded it.
The handwriting belonged to a child.
Large.
Uneven.
Some letters backward.
At the top…
Someone had written:
My Name Is Levon
I couldn’t breathe.
The page continued.
Dear whoever finds my brother,
My brother’s name is Alden.
He runs fast.
He can fix toys.
He lets me sleep next to him.
He didn’t leave me.
They made us go different places.
Tears fell onto the paper.
The ink blurred.
I kept reading.
If you see him,
tell him I wasn’t mad.
I know he tried.
I saw him running after the car.
My vision completely disappeared behind tears.
For twenty years…
For twenty endless years…
I had believed he thought I abandoned him.
But he had known.
Even at four years old…
He had known.
Evelyn quietly covered her mouth.
Rachel looked away.
Even Judge Halbrook lowered his eyes.
I continued.
Tell him I still have my blue slipper.
I keep it because maybe one day he’ll know it’s me.
The page ended with one final sentence.
Written so heavily that the pencil had almost torn through the paper.
I’m going to wait until he finds me.
I broke.
Completely.
Not quietly.
Not with dignity.
Twenty years of guilt…
Twenty years of grief…
Twenty years of searching…
Collapsed all at once.
I buried my face in my hands.
For the first time since I was nine years old…
I cried for my little brother.
Several minutes passed before anyone spoke.
Judge Halbrook finally broke the silence.
“The retired supervisor who saved that letter also gave us one more piece of information.”
I slowly looked up.
“What?”
“Six months ago…”
“Someone contacted the archive.”
Hope returned so suddenly it almost hurt.
“Who?”
“They were looking for you.”
The room froze.
“They used the name…”
The judge checked the file.
“…Levon Carter.”
Every heartbeat felt louder than the last.
“He never stopped looking either.”
Rachel smiled through tears.
“He searched after turning twenty-four.”
“He searched again at twenty-six.”
“And again earlier this year.”
I stared at them.
“So…”
“So we believe he’s alive.”
My heart pounded.
“Where is he?”
Rachel’s smile slowly faded.
“We don’t know.”
“He left a phone number.”
“It had been disconnected.”
“He left an address.”
“It was vacant.”
“He disappeared before they could contact him again.”
Hope and heartbreak collided inside me.
He was alive.
Maybe.
Somewhere.
Still searching.
Just as I was.
A knock interrupted the room.
The bailiff stepped inside.
“Your Honor…”
“The courtroom is ready.”
Judge Halbrook looked toward me.
Then toward the faded letter still clutched in my hands.
Finally…
He spoke softly.
“Mr. Mercer…”
“I don’t think today is only about saving five children.”
I looked at him.
“I think…”
“…today is about ending a story that began twenty years ago.”
He stood.
Straightened his robe.
And reached for the courtroom door.
Outside…
Five frightened little siblings waited to learn whether they would stay together.
Inside my pocket…
A faded letter from a four-year-old boy rested against my heart.
A little boy who had never stopped believing his brother would come back.
I silently made him one more promise.
I’m still running, Levon.
And this time…
I’m going to find you.
End of Part 6
