at Leo’s flushed face, moved us beneath the shade of his patio umbrella, and called emergency services.
He then called Nadia Chen, who was already on her way to the house.
Seven minutes later, a dark SUV stopped at the curb.
A woman in a navy suit stepped out carrying a thick cream-colored folder.
Grant opened the door and smiled as if nothing had happened.
‘Ms.
Chen! What a surprise.’
She looked past him.
Her eyes found me sitting beside the infant carrier.
‘June Reed?’
I nodded.
She approached us and crouched beside Leo.
‘How long has he been feverish?’
‘I don’t know,’ I whispered.
‘A few days.
Aunt Valerie said he was fine.’
Nadia looked at Mr.
Okafor, then at my bare feet.
‘You’ve called for medical help?’
‘Yes,’ he answered.
‘They’re coming.’
She turned toward Grant.
‘Why are these children outside?’
‘June has behavioral issues,’ he replied.
‘We were trying to teach her responsibility.’
Nadia remained silent for a moment.
Then she opened the folder.
‘Your guardianship application described you as a responsible caregiver able to meet these children’s needs.’
‘We are responsible caregivers.’
‘Then I would appreciate an explanation for the financial reports you’ve submitted.’
Grant’s smile tightened.
‘What reports?’
Nadia removed three pages.
‘According to your signed requests, you’ve been reimbursed thousands of dollars each month for childcare, nutrition, transportation, and medical supervision.’
Valerie appeared behind Grant.
‘We deserve support for taking them in,’ she said.
‘Children absolutely deserve financial support,’ Nadia replied.
‘The question is whether the money has been used for their care.’
She placed another document over the first.
‘The Reed Family Trust has disbursed forty-one thousand eight hundred dollars based on your reimbursement requests and special invoices during the past three months.’
The number meant almost nothing to me.
At eight years old, forty-one thousand dollars might as well have been the price of the moon.
But I knew twenty-four dollars.
That was the price Valerie had just used to explain why my baby brother couldn’t eat.
I looked from Nadia to my aunt.
‘If Mommy left us money,’ I asked, ‘why are we not allowed another can of formula?’
Valerie’s face changed.
For the first time, she looked at me as though I had said something dangerous.
Grant cleared his throat.
‘There are household expenses a child doesn’t understand.’
Nadia nodded once.
‘Then let’s discuss the twenty-three thousand two hundred dollars in special medical charges.
You submitted invoices for specialist appointments, emergency nutritional support, and therapy services.’
‘Those babies have special needs,’ Valerie said.
‘Indeed.
Which is why I contacted the providers.’
Nadia raised one of the receipts.
‘The named specialist has no record of treating Leo or Miles.
The clinic listed on two additional invoices closed two years ago.’
Grant stepped down from the porch.
‘You’re accusing us of fraud?’
‘I’m documenting serious discrepancies that will require a full investigation.’
He reached for the papers.
Nadia moved them out of reach.
‘Please don’t touch the documents.’
A siren sounded in the distance.
Grant’s eyes flickered toward the street.
‘We can resolve this without making a spectacle,’ he said.
‘Right now,’ Nadia answered, ‘the children’s health comes first.’
The ambulance arrived moments later.
Two paramedics checked Leo’s temperature and breathing, then examined Miles for signs of dehydration.
One paramedic gently asked
