The Name on the Mailbox

In 2019, a family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, finalized the adoption of their eight-year-old son, Marcus, who had spent four years in foster care. The judge signed the papers, the courtroom cheered, and his new parents drove him home. But Marcus kept calling them "Mr. and Mrs. Patterson" for weeks. He set his shoes by the door each night, packed tight in a plastic bag — ready to leave if they changed their minds.…