Quinn, I have good news and bad news for you. First, your birth certificate is indeed a fake and doesn’t come up under any Maui hospital birth records. Don’t fret, we can still look up your mother and go from there. All we need to find is a relative of hers and that will get us started. Second news is better. You missed some steps on the genealogy site. I went through them, and you have a close match, but it’s from an anonymous user. I sent them a message. No need to reply to this message, I’ll let you know when/if I hear back. —Auntie Wang

Wait. Quinn scanned the message again.

Her birth certificate was fake? What did that mean? She was adopted? She was born somewhere else?

She felt dizzy for a moment. Why had her mother disclosed one truth that would lead to so many more questions? Quinn wished her mom would’ve had the courage to come clean much earlier, when there was still time to explore what else she was hiding.

And an anonymous match? Quinn didn’t even know you could participate anonymously. Why would someone go to the trouble to register and then not want their information known?

Once again, something told her that if she could find Carmen, she could find answers. She opened Facebook and tried again to search for Carmen Crowe, this time without adding Maui. Carmen could’ve moved to the mainland too. Or another island.

Way too many Carmen Crowes popped up. Trying to find someone who looked like the same Carmen from a decades-old photo was daunting.

She might’ve married, too, dropping the name Crowe.

It was impossible to narrow it down.

Quinn felt like a failure as an investigator.

She closed her laptop, suddenly glad that she’d given the search over to Auntie Wang. Let the eager woman chase the bread crumbs for a day or so, and then just maybe they’d find something less depressing.

It would be good to keep busy today.

She slid out the door.

“Quinn,” Maria called, her head poking just out her back door. “Come join us for breakfast. Please.”

Quinn wasn’t that hungry now, but Maria wasn’t likely to take no for an answer, so she quickly crossed the small yard.

After a quick meal and some laughter that had turned sour when Alani asked her to attend Pali’s upcoming football game and he groaned with disappointment, Quinn retreated outside, her feelings hurt. She didn’t know why she should care, but she did. She reminded herself that the boy was missing his father and, on top of that, had just found out that they were losing their home.