Chapter 15 - THE MISSING-CHILD PROTOCOL
Years after the trial, Ethan helped design the Brooks-Reed Verification Protocol.
He was twenty-four and studying child advocacy law.
The protocol required:
Direct verification of a child’s claimed identity.
Independent review of private medical transfers.
Automatic cross-checking of hospital bands against missing-child databases.
Private interviews away from guardians.
Immediate preservation of clothing, devices, and transport records.
No diagnosis of identity delusion without multidisciplinary evaluation.
The protocol prevented another Hollow Creek-style transfer in Arizona.
A child admitted under a false name repeatedly stated her real address.
A nurse followed the rule.
Police verified the claim.
The “guardian” was arrested.
The child returned home before legal records changed.
No midnight escape.
No shaved head.
No years missing.
Ethan read the report in silence.
David asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
Both answers could be true.
They sat together.
No one rushed the feeling into inspiration.
May you like
Prevention did not erase memory.
It gave memory work to do.
