The doctor shook his head slowly. “The social worker is on her way, but I need to be direct with you because security is currently detaining him. Jake didn’t change his name to honor his mother. He changed it because he was placed in a protected identity program as a minor.”
Sandra felt the world tilt. “Witness protection? Like in the movies?”
“No”, the doctor said, his voice dropping. “The flag on his file isn’t for his protection. It’s a ‘Domestic Safety Alert’ from a different state. That name change was part of a court-mandated sealing of records following a high-profile case involving a fire at a residential home twenty years ago. The system didn’t flag him as a victim, Sandra. It flagged him as someone who is legally barred from being around unsupervised minors in his home state.”
The door opened, and a woman in a suit entered, holding a thin manila folder. “Sandra? I’m Sarah from Social Services. We need to talk about the history Jake—or rather, Ethan—never told you about.”
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