The judge took the documents.
Mikhail looked toward his lawyer.
His face was no longer angry.
It was calculating.
And then I realized he wasn’t finished.
“Who will be her guardian?” he asked.
Todor looked at me.
I answered:
“It’s written in the documents.”
The judge turned through the pages.
Then he raised his eyes.
“In the event of the death or incapacity of both parents, the child’s guardian will be Mrs. Nadezhda Stoyanova.”
Silvia gasped.
“Nadezhda? That woman from Ruse?”
“Yes,” Todor said. “My daughter from my first marriage.”
The room fell silent again.
“You have another daughter?” Silvia asked.
Todor nodded.
“Yes. She is fifty-two. She has two children. She knows Elena. She knows Emilia. And she has agreed to be part of her life.”
Mikhail went pale.
“So you don’t even trust us.”
It hurt to hear him say it.
But I couldn’t lie.
