Interviewer: Thank you, Maya. Jax, follow me please.

  {Interviewer leads Jax to the room}

  I: Now, I’ve already heard from your wife, but what was your experience with Dawn like?

  J: Well…

  I: Yes?

  J: She… she was quiet. But I always felt like something was off about her. I know trauma affects different people in different ways, and I wasn’t going to reject her for not being talkative, but with all due respect, we’re a foster family. She wasn’t like anything I’d seen before. She was always in her room, and sometimes I would hear her talking to someone. I assumed she had stolen the house phone to call someone, and I thought maybe it would be good for her to be reckless sometimes, so I never checked it out or reprimanded her for it. But she always seemed off in her own world, finding something funny when no one had said anything. It was off-putting.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  I: I see. Did you talk about any of this with your children, or Maya? Not Dawn herself?

  J: No, never. And besides, Maya was dead set that Dawn just needed to get out of the house.

  I: And you have no contact information for her previous foster parents? You never contacted them?

  J: No.

  I: Thank you for your time.

  {Recording Stops}