“She has my name, she has brothers and sisters, and a room full of her things. We might not be blood, but we are family, and I have the legal papers to prove it.”

The woman shook her head, nearly pleading. “You can’t do this to me! You were supposed to understand…”

“I do. I understand what Rachel did, and I understand what you’re asking, but the answer is no.”

“You don’t even want to know which one?”

Rachel’s words echoed in my memory: “Rebecca… keep a close eye on her, okay?” It had to be her.

“It doesn’t matter because they’re all mine now,” I said. “Every single one of them. And I won’t let you take that away from any of them.”

“I have rights,” she said quietly. “Legal ones.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The adoption was private. There were irregularities. My lawyer says—”

“No! Whatever your lawyer says, the answer is still no.”

“You can’t just—”