The Archive Page

At the archive office, the clerk closed the book too quickly. He said the page was missing, but she saw the torn edge.

The torn edge meant someone had removed the record recently.

Not years ago.

Recently.

He refused to look her in the eye when he said the family name was no longer in the registry.

"Removed by who?" she asked.

He lowered his voice.

"Someone with money. Someone who paid to make a name disappear."

Then he slid a torn slip of paper across the desk.

The missing name on the page matched the woman from the photo.