Nina went to the government records office, a dull place that smelled like printer ink. A worker looked up the twins’ case on his computer. He found it, but noticed something strange: the file said it was being checked every month, yet nothing had actually changed in two years. Nina asked, “Who was signing off on these updates? He shrugged, “No one. The signature line is empty.”
That missing signature felt like a warning. It looked like someone was keeping the kids on the books just to get credit for them, but making sure no one’s name was attached to the paperwork. Nina realized the twins weren’t just a small detail anymore; they were a symbol of the whole problem. She had to act fast, or these kids would be swallowed up by the system’s confusing language and disappear.