A few nights later, I received a video call from Ruby.

She was hiding beneath a blanket.

Her face filled the screen.

“Aunt Micah?”

“Hi, sweetheart.”

“Are you still mad at us?”

My heart broke.

“I was never angry with you, Ruby.”

She hesitated.

Then she asked a question I wasn’t prepared for.

“Mommy says you stopped picking us up because she can’t afford to pay you anymore.”

I felt sick.

Ruby’s eyes filled with tears.

“Is that true?”

I wanted to tell her everything.

I wanted to explain that I’d never been paid.

That I had spent four years caring for her because I loved her.

But she was only seven.

She shouldn’t have been forced to choose between believing her mother and believing her aunt.

So I spoke gently.

“None of this is your fault, sweetheart. I promise.”