He smiled, and Lily closed the folder.
The court had not cured him.
It had not repaired every betrayal or guarantee an easy future.
It had done something smaller and more important.
It had refused to confuse vulnerability with helplessness.
It had listened before taking a family apart.
And when every adult in the room believed the quiet child in the back row had nothing to contribute, Lily had opened a purple school folder and made them see the life they were about to erase.
