Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 274

By evening, the initial feedback from the review meeting was better than expected.

The ethics board secretary sent a message saying the materials would be moved to the next round of formal review. Before leaving, Clara dropped a parting comment: "We haven't won yet, but at least we don't look like we're getting beat up."

Maya slumped over the table in exhaustion. "Ms. Thorne gives compliments that sound like legal notices."

Phoebe gathered the documents. "As long as you can tell it's a compliment, it's fine."

Wren smiled.

She checked the time.

Six-twenty.

She had promised Leo she'd be home.

As she walked to the elevator, Lawrence caught up with her.

"I can help you set up a meeting with Director Clarke."

Wren pressed the elevator button. "No need."

"Langford Medical's archives might have clues about Vivian Vance's old project."

"Then you can look into it," she said, watching the floor numbers. "When you find something, give it to me as evidence. Don't use it as a bargaining chip."

Lawrence's expression darkened.

The elevator doors opened.

Wren stepped inside.

Before the doors closed, she saw him still standing in the hall.

He didn't step in.

He seemed to finally understand that there were some doors he couldn't just walk through whenever he pleased.

When Wren arrived back at the Langford Estate, Leo was already waiting in the living room.

He wasn't staring at the clock like the past few days. Instead, he was on the rug, tracing the outline of his name tag for tomorrow. Seeing her, he immediately stood up.

"Look, Mom."

The letters on the paper had been traced darker.

My Family: Wren Whitaker.

Wren walked over and knelt beside him. "It looks great."

Leo asked softly, "Tomorrow, I'll go to school first, and then you'll come, right?"

"Yes. You go to school at seven-thirty as usual. The Open House starts at nine. I'll be at the classroom door at eight-fifty."

The child committed it to memory.

He tucked the name tag into the innermost pocket of his backpack, as if safeguarding something precious.

That night, Leo fell asleep earlier than usual.

As Wren was turning off the lamp, he mumbled sleepily, "Mom, don't let anyone else take my tag tomorrow."

Her heart clenched.

"I won't."

The next morning, Wren dropped Leo off at school first.

The parents were allowed in at nine, but the kids arrived at their normal time. The school gates were busier than usual; teachers and volunteers were setting up the sign-in desks, and the hallways were lined with "My Family" themed artwork.

Before getting out of the car, Leo checked the zipper on his backpack twice.

"The tag is in there," Wren reminded him.

He nodded and asked again, "Eight-fifty, Mom?"

"Eight-fifty."

After entering the school gates, Leo walked a few steps and looked back.

Wren waved at him.

Only then did he follow his classmates inside.

There was still over an hour until the Open House.

Wren didn't go far, opting for a coffee shop across the street. Phoebe called to briefly discuss the follow-up for the review materials, and Wren listened while watching the school gates through the window.

The volunteer looked up, surprised. "You're Leo's family too? Someone else just went in..."

Wren looked at her.

"I am Leo's mother."

The teacher's face changed as she quickly flipped through the register.

Wren didn't wait for her to explain; she grabbed a visitor's sticker and marched straight toward the first-grade classroom.

The hallway was decorated with the children's "My Family" drawings.

There were dads, moms, grandpas, and grandmas.

Leo's drawing was at the very end.

It featured a single woman in a black dress, with messy handwriting next to it:

Mom knows how to say no.

Wren's footsteps faltered.

A second later, she heard a parent laugh from inside the classroom.

"Leo, your aunt is so young, she looks just like a mom."

Wren looked inside.

At the front of the classroom, Willow was crouching next to Leo, holding the name tag he had traced all night.

Leo's face was pale, his hands gripping his backpack straps tightly.

But Willow gently pinned the tag to his chest.

The tag originally read:

My Family: Wren Whitaker.

But at some point, a light blue sticker had been added next to it.

It bore Willow's beautiful handwriting.

Aunt-Mom: Willow Whitaker.