Leah
I stayed until the afternoon, long enough to sit through updates, document the timeline, and call Maya from the office phone with Carol beside me.
She answered on the fourth ring.
“Hi,” Maya said.
Her voice was too flat.
Not calm.
Careful.
“Hi, Maya,” I said. “It’s Leah. I’m here with Carol.”
A pause.
“Okay.”
“We wanted to check on you and Diego,” I said.
“We’re fine.”
Carol looked at me.
I kept my voice steady.
“I’m glad to hear your voice.”
Another pause.
“He’s sleeping,” Maya said.
Diego was six.
It was two in the afternoon.
“Long day?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Okay,” I said. “We don’t need to do everything on the phone. Carol is going to stop by with an advocate later. You don’t have to decide anything before then.”
“I can’t leave.”
The words came out fast.
Not lo
