“I will personally supervise this case until permanent placement is finalized.”

For a heartbeat, the courtroom was completely silent.

Then, I heard a quiet gasp.

Lila slipped free from the court aide’s hand and ran directly toward me.

I dropped onto one knee just as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

“We’re going home?” she whispered.

My throat tightened.

“Yeah, sweetheart,” I managed to answer. “We’re going home.”

The twins wrapped themselves around my shoulders a moment later, and even Eli, who had worked so hard to stay brave, finally let his tears fall.

“I told them you’d keep trying,” he said, wiping his face. “I told them.”

“You helped me keep that promise,” I whispered.

When I looked up, Beverly was standing next to us.

She handed me the temporary custody papers.

“Take good care of them,” she said quietly.

“I will.”

“I know.”

As we walked from the courtroom, Diane placed a hand on my shoulder.

“You did all the difficult work,” she said. “I only helped the court hear it.”

Outside, the afternoon sunlight felt warmer than I remembered.

One by one, I strapped each child into a car seat.

This time, no one asked where they were headed.

Everyone already knew.

The ride home was almost silent.

Lila fell asleep before we reached the first traffic light, her stuffed rabbit resting beneath her chin.

The twins leaned against one another in the back seat, and for the first time since I’d known them, they weren’t holding on because they were scared. They were simply exhausted.

Eli looked toward me through the rearview mirror.

“We’re really staying together?” he asked.

I smiled.

“Yeah, buddy. We are.”

He nodded once and turned back toward the window.

That was the first time I watched him smile.

“I kept my promise,” I whispered to the brother I had not seen in 20 years.