Local mother and author
Kristine Barnett tonight is out on bond
after being arrested for abandoning her adopted daughter.
Why are you watching these lies?
How did they find enough evidence to arrest you,
if none of it's true?
Previously, on Good American Family...
- Something is off, I feel it. - Ow, ow, ow!
Her behavior in a seven-year-old is one thing.
What if she isn't a kid?
She's been hiding her period.
- For how long? - I don't know.
Mommy said it, ask her.
- Did you try to poison me? - No!
Hey, hey, hey! Kris, Kris, you can't yell at her like this.
You live in denial about the fact that
there's a sociopathic con artist
making a fool of you.
I'm not scared of you.
Natalia!
- Daddy, that was so scary! - Okay, okay, it's okay.
She's got you wrapped around her finger.
You refused to give up on one disabled child.
What's Glenn Beck gonna think when he finds out
that you gave up on another one?
You threatening me?
Fine. Not paying for her surgeries.
- And you can take care of her. - Gladly.
And don't let her out of your sight.
♪ You ask me if I love you ♪
It's been like this since 1995.
- ♪ I choke on my reply ♪ - Come on, come on.
- ♪ I'd rather hurt you, honestly ♪ - Where are you?
Back then, I'd wake up in the middle of the night
and roll over, and he'd be gone.
♪ And who am I to judge ya ♪
♪ On what you say or do? ♪
♪ I'm only just beginning ♪
♪ To see the real you ♪
♪ And sometimes when we touch ♪
♪ The honesty's too much ♪
Over the years, he tried so many things
to make himself feel better,
but nothing ever worked for very long.
In these moments, all I wanted was to hold him
and to take care of him.
♪ 'Til we both break down and cry ♪
But that night, things were so bad,
I realized...
I was the helpless one.
I just had to convince him of that,
how much I needed him,
that without him, I'd be toast.
And so, finally, I did what I probably should have done
in the first place.
♪ Leaves me battling with my pride ♪
I told him to ask me to marry him.
♪ But through the insecurity ♪
And he did. And I said yes.
♪ ...tenderness survives ♪
♪ Sometimes when we touch ♪
♪ The honesty's too much ♪
♪ And I have to close my eyes and hide ♪
♪ I wanna hold ya 'til I die ♪
♪ 'Til we both break down and cry ♪
I saved him from himself then,
and it's the same thing today, 25 years later.
♪ 'Til the fear in me subsides ♪
I make him feel needed, when really, we both know
he's the one who's always needed me.
And that's why I can get him to fall in line,
even after the divorce.
But, he talked to the cops about you?
Because of his new wife. And look what happened.
He went and told a bunch of lies and got himself arrested.
But I... won't she try and pin this whole nonsense on you?
Nah.
She can't give him what I give him.
Back in the day, when he would have one of his episodes...
this is how I'd get him to pep back up.
Shh.
I mean, you look hot as hell.
But... Kris, you're not gonna send him
one of these now, are you?
Val, he's a married man. I would never.
But the point is, in the end,
I'm the only one who knows how to make him feel like a man.
It was 2011,
a few months after our trip to New York.
I was still looking for work,
but basically being a stay-at-home dad,
doing housework, doing errands.
I mean, somebody had to do this stuff,
'cause Kristine had just gotten a big fancy book deal
from all of her TV appearances.
I just wanna make sure we get everything in, you know?
There's just so much. Where do I even start?
Oh, don't worry, lovie,
Myra knows how to write a book.
She's the best ghostwriter we've got.
Wrote two bestsellers for us last year,
- although I'm not allowed to say which. - Wow.
This first visit today is just to orient her in your story,
give her enough to go away and get started with,
and then she'll be back.
I think we've got you, let's see, uh,
four visits budgeted over the next few months.
Honestly, my biggest piece of advice is just
let her into your life.
Take her to your favorite coffee shop,
introduce her to your friends.
Make her feel like a part of the family.
Don't worry, she'll be a Barnett in no time.
Yes! That is exactly the feeling
we want from the book.
All of us at Random House have fallen in love
with your story.
Oh, stop. You're too nice.
No, honestly, you were incredible
on 60 Minutes last night.
You had us bawling.
I just wanna help families help their kids.
Uh, let me go freshen up, will you?
I'll let you know how it turns out.
What are you still doing here?
Well, you know, it takes me a while
to get her out of the house, Kris.
Well, just go already.
She's in pain. She moves slowly.
You know, this would be a heck of a lot easier
if I could just plop her in front of the TV upstairs,
- while you... - No!
Not an option.
I'm not taking any chances having her pull
any of her nonsense
while the ghostwriter's here.
What would she possibly do?
Oh, I don't know, maybe poison her coffee
or put a tampon in her lap.
- Kristine. - This book advance and Jacob's Place
has us barely squeaking by.
- Kris. - So, until you get a job...
Oh, she's early.
Go. Go, keep her quiet.
Oh, sure, sure. Yeah, yeah.
Welcome to...
I'm sorry. Are you Myra?
Oh, no, ma'am. I'm Ted Jones,
and this is Melinda Aguilar,
and we're with, uh, Child Protective Services.
- What? - Well, we're here
because there's been some concern about the safety
of the children in your home.
So, we're gonna have to have a look around.
Well, you must have the wrong house.
You are Kristine Barnett,
and your husband is Michael Barnett?
Okay, well, we'll also need to speak with Jacob,
Wesley, Ethan, and Natalia.
Do you know how much longer this is gonna take?
I have somewhere to be.
Maybe if you could just tell me who called you,
I could clear up any misunderstandings,
save you all a lot of time.
I can't go into specifics.
Mommy, are they gonna take us away
like in Lilo & Stitch?
No, sweet boy. No one is taking anyone away.
Nobody's taking anyone.
Removing children from their homes
is never our intention.
Okay, we're done for today.
Uh, there are a few loose ends.
We'll follow up after Natalia's foot surgery,
you know, see how she's doing.
Talking to them was so scary, Mommy.
You were brave, sweet pea.
- We'll, uh, talk soon. - Uh, yeah.
Boys, go upstairs.
You told them you were having foot surgery?
I-I w... I was trying to help. I didn't want you to go to jail.
You see this, right?
- What? - Come on, Michael.
She called CPS and told them she has to have foot surgery,
so now we're on the hook for it.
She has us over a barrel, and she knows it.
Or it was Mrs. Murphy.
You know, she-she... she's always complaining about the noise.
- We don't know. - Michael.
I have no time for this.
Myra will be here any minute. Get her upstairs.
Yeah. Come on, sweetie.
Okay.
Can you help me please, Daddy?
Yeah, of course I'll help you, yep.
Come on, baby, it's okay.
I know you were only trying to help.
I wanted to give my kids the kind of childhood
I didn't have,
where their dreams were encouraged,
- where they could each find their spark... - I'm Wesley.
the thing that gets them up in the morning.
- I'm Ethan. - Getting to write this book
shows the world that's possible.
Oh my gosh. They're scrumptious.
So now, I need to know everything about you.
We, um, had to crate the dog.
- She's terrible with strangers. - Ah.
But what you need to know about me is I love a latte.
I'm gonna take you to Norma's, it's my favorite.
Okay, uh, now?
- Yeah. - Yeah? Okay.
I wanna write about
how even in dark times...
- Um, okay. Bye. - there's hope.
After you.
As happy as my family is now,
we've had those dark times.
We're not proud of it, but that first therapist
that said the word "autism" talking about Jake?
- Mm-hmm. - Michael fired him on the spot.
Wow.
I just cried.
I want people to know that,
that getting a diagnosis for your kid
can be scary and destabilizing.
Recovery from clubfoot surgery is long.
She's gonna need to be off her feet
for a couple months and...
And we felt that too, the hopelessness.
But we got through it
together.
I'm impressed that you
and Michael seem so strong.
It could be such a strain on a marriage to have
kids with medical issues. It...
You know, it's a pretty high divorce rate, actually.
We took our vows seriously.
You are crushing this.
- Does it hurt? - A little.
You're doing great.
I know him better than I know anyone.
Probably better than he knows himself.
We're a team.
Mm, that's very,
very inspirational.
How'd you too meet?
It was a frat party.
I think the theme
was, uh, "Neanderthal Free for All"?
Something like that.
Basically, Mike was, uh, Fred Flintstone.
Oh, God.
And I guess I was sexy Wilma.
It's funny having so much history with someone.
We started dating so young.
We learned to face life together.
I was so focused on Jacob. I'd forget to take care of me.
But Michael never did.
Sometimes he'd bring home dinner,
and after Jake had gone down,
we'd spread out a blanket on the living room floor
and have a date-night picnic.
So, if anything,
Jacob's diagnosis brought us closer.
We didn't always agree,
but we were always each other's port in the storm.
Our marriage really got us through.
- Wow. - Um, I thank God every day for Michael.
This is great. It's total gold.
You know, I, I hate to say it,
but I think I've got most of what I need
for one hell of a book.
Mm!
They're already on me to send in a draft.
They want to fast-track this one.
That's good news, right?
The best news.
Um...
one last ask.
I would just love to spend more time
at your house, for color.
Uh, aside from the first day,
I, I haven't really been there.
It's such a mess.
I love a mess. I'm a mess.
And a mess is what grounds the story.
- Let's go. - Okay.
Just...
no judgments.
Here we are, back at the living room.
Pretty standard stuff.
Did I tell you Jacob has been accepted
to the Perimeter Institute for graduate work?
Oh. Is that the one in Pasadena?
No, it's in Canada.
Super prestigious.
Oh, personal question.
How do you pay for Jake's schooling?
I know that you have the book advance
and Jacob's Place.
Does Michael bring in a lot?
Oh, Michael's been out of work for a while.
Oh, that must be really hard.
Your career is taking off as his is struggling.
You know, Mike's always been a dabbler.
He's into music, and writing, and cars.
- Mm-hmm. - Retail was
good for him until recently,
and probably not what he wanted to do.
- It's maybe not his dream. - Mm. Yeah.
It seems like he never found his spark.
Hmm.
You know, in our wedding vows,
I said that Mike makes
the impossible possible every day.
What do you think about that, for the dedication for the book?
Has a nice ring to it.
Really sells the romance.
Oh.
Changing gears...
Dad! Dad!
- Jacob, what is it? - Mom, you have to come now.
Why, what's wrong?
- Uh... - What's wrong?
- Natalia. - Where's your dad?
- I don't know! - Who's Natalia?
Wes! Ethan!
Natalia, what are you doing?
- That's my toy! - Natalia! Stop!
No!
- Wes, don't! No, no, no! - Wesley!
Don't!
Wesley!
Come on! I got ya!
- Natalia! - Wes!
- We were just playing. - Stay away from us!
- Kris, what the heck? - Where were you?!
Mrs. Murphy's battery died. It just took one minute.
Well, that's all it takes!
Natalia, you...
What happened? Wait. Are you okay?
I don't like to hide things.
It's not in my nature.
I just didn't know how to tell you.
We're in such a hard situation.
- I can see that. - I want the best for Natalia.
I do.
We adopted her because of how much I care
about these kids.
But this book is supposed to be
an inspiration for families.
And if I write about Natalia, it might discourage people.
So, please don't tell your editor.
- Please. - Kristine,
I've written books for all sorts of folks,
athletes, politicians, billionaires.
Natalia would hardly be the first secret kid
that I have buried.
You decide what's in this book.
You're the author, not me, and not Michael, not Natalia.
You.
But if this is the version of the story
that you're going to tell...
make sure everyone around you is telling it too.
Or it might come back to bite you.
Hey, Kris, what... what are you doing?
Wait, wait, where are you going?
I'm taking the boys to my mom's.
- Wait, for how long? - I don't know.
Wait, hold on, we don't... W-We...
Let me just talk to her.
We don't even know what happened yet.
She tried to kill our boys.
I'm not sticking around so she can succeed next time.
Kris, don't... don't do this.
Like I said, she belongs in an institution.
No, you don't just lock people away
because they're suffering.
What are you... What are you... Y-You're gonna...
You're gonna commit me
every time I'm having a, a low? Is that it?
If you try to kill our boys, yeah.
Kris, wait, wait, wait, wait. Kris, please, come on.
Just give me some more time, okay?
I swear, I can figure this out.
Michael, she's been with us for two years.
You had your chance. You made your choice.
- I'm leaving. - Wait, wait, wait. What?
I, I heard you talk to the writer, you know?
You said, um...
I make the impossible possible.
Oh, Michael.
I said that for the book.
It's not true anymore.
♪ Oh, but now ♪
♪ Whistling my conscience to make me cry ♪
♪ No more I love you's ♪
♪ The language is leaving me ♪
Okay.
♪ No more I love you's ♪
- ♪ Changes are shifting ♪ - Grandma!
Get over here, you little dickens!
Grandma!
Hello. Hello. Oh! Boys,
you're in the upstairs bunk room.
- I got top. - I call bottom.
I got your room all ready for you.
I'll clear out the closet tomorrow.
Not moving in, Mom. It's only temporary.
Uh-huh.
♪ Desire, despair, desire ♪
♪ So many monsters ♪
Do you think they're coming back?
What? Don't be silly, sweetie.
It's just gonna be a few days.
Come on, let's get you in bed.
You're gonna turn into a pumpkin.
Okay, Daddy.
Okay.
Hi, you've reached Kristine Barnett.
If you know me, you know I'm most likely
on the other line.
Leave a message at the beep.
Hey, did you hit ignore?
'Cause that's not cool, unless you're sleeping.
Um,
in which case, I guess that is cool,
'cause it's late, and people need their sleep.
Anyway, um,
when you do get this, gimme a call.
And you're gonna... you're gonna laugh
'cause this is classic me.
Tomorrow's that big Skype interview.
T-Mobile.
And I, I can't find my lucky red tie.
I know what you're thinking. I would lose my head
if it wasn't screwed on straight.
Um, but I...
Do you have any idea maybe where it is?
Um, the tie. I mean, not my head,
'cause that's on my shoulders
while I'm leaving you a message here.
Um...
it's the... it's the, the silk one
with the little, tiny little dots on it.
You got it for me in Chicago.
Um, I don't know if you remember.
It was that last trip we took right before we had Jacob.
And I was a doofus, and I spilled wine
on my first lucky tie,
which was the one that
I wore at our wedding.
Um, anyway. And I, um...
I looked everywhere.
I looked in the hall closet, and I looked, uh,
in our closet,
and I can't find it anywhere, so, um...
You know what, I'm sorry. This is stupid.
Uh, you don't need to, um, worry about this,
'cause I'm a grownup, and I've got this,
and we're good here.
And, um...
it's awesome sauce, is what it is.
And, uh, I'm gonna wear another tie.
It's just as good. It's a great tie.
And I'll talk to you later.
Oh, you're so fucking stupid.
A fucking tie?
Come on. Come on, Michael.
Come on. You got this.
Come on, Michael! Come on, Michael!
You got everything you could possibly need, okay?
Now, listen, Natalia,
I have to ask you something.
Natalia.
I'm sorry, can you stop, please? The humming is really...
Okay, thank you. Look...
this interview is very important.
And I just need...
W... How do I say this? Uh...
I need you to promise me
that you will...
um...
No funny business, okay?
Hang out quiet in here
until Daddy's finished.
No jumping out, or scaring,
or harming...
I'll be good.
It'll be an hour, tops.
Good luck, Daddy.
Thank you, sweetie.
You know what? If this goes well,
I think the whole family's gonna, gonna come back.
Everything's gonna go back to normal, right?
Okay, here we go.
Sounds like you're pretty good
- on your feet. - Thanks.
Can you tell me about how you deal with conflict?
Good question.
Conflict, gosh, um...
Well, I avoid it.
Who likes conflict, you know what I mean?
Anyway, well, that's... I was joking.
Um, serious... Um...
One of my tasks at Circuit City...
uh, was being a team builder, making sure this was a place
where... where everybody...
You know what?
There is somebody at my door.
People... people knocking down my door trying to hire me.
Um, I will be right back.
Don't go anywhere. One second.
- Okay. - So sorry.
Fucking shit!
I can still hear you, man.
Jesus Christ, what?!
Oh, I'm... I'm sorry, Officer.
We've received several 911 calls from this address.
Is this your house?
It is, but I was just on an important Skype call,
- so I wasn't... - What about her?
Uh, that's my daughter, Natalia.
Wait, Natalia, did you just call 911?
- I wanted pizza. - You...
Uh... I'm sorry.
Apparently, pizza constitutes an emergency.
You know how it is.
You think this is funny, sir?
Folks die when 911 is busy.
No, I didn't mean that. I... I'm so sorry.
Listen, man, I-I just... I became a single parent all of a sudden.
My wife just left me, like, yesterday,
and I'm unemployed, and I was on this job interview,
which is why I'm dressed like this,
and we're just really...
we're just having a really hard time, okay?
And-And, man to man, if you could please just...
Could you let... let this one slide?
Man to man, you need to get your act together, for your kid.
Okay, yeah. Thank... Thank you, thank you.
Sorry, sorry, okay. Okay, coming.
I'm...
Wait, no. No!
Goddammit, Natalia.
Are you mad at me, Daddy?
Natalia, that was very...
What the heck was that?
Uh, I was hungry. You were busy.
S-So, you call 911? That doesn't make any sense.
I was bored.
You we're... Well, which was it?
Were you bored, or did you want pizza, 'cause y...
Wait. Did...
Did you call CPS like Mommy thinks you did?
Why would I do that?
I told you how important that interview was to us!
What the hell are we supposed to do now?
How are we gonna get the family back?!
I don't want them to come back, I want them to die.
What?
Don't say that.
You don't mean that.
Shit.
Boys, be careful. The fence is on.
Okay, Mom.
Let me do that.
I would be doing it if you weren't here.
But I can do it faster.
You know, I hate that you and Michael are having trouble.
No, you don't.
Oh, what do you want me to say?
- The man's an empty shirt. - Ha!
Michael's not empty, he's completely full of it.
But the thing is, honey, you let him know it.
Ask me, I think that's what sent him into that girl's arms.
Mom, that's revolting.
Get your mind out of the gutter, Jezebel.
I am saying that you gave him an ultimatum,
and look who he chose.
She makes him feel big. You made him feel small.
You think you're better than everyone else.
- That is not true. - No?
Isn't that why you left home?
You thought you were better than us?
Now, you're out there writing a whole book
about how you're a better mother than I am.
My book has zero to do with you.
Oh, please. It's always about the mother.
If you wanna talk about what kind of mother you were,
I didn't leave home because I thought I was better than you.
I left home because you didn't make it safe.
You're always so dramatic.
What about when he tried to make us eat
only saltines and sugar water
- for a week? - Oh, for Pete's sake!
You were getting chubby.
It's called a diet.
Okay, what about when he tried to make us eat glass?
Was that a diet too?
See, this is... This is what I mean.
Even now, you think you have all the answers,
but... it wasn't so easy.
You don't know how hard I fought to keep our family together.
You should have fought to keep us safe.
Daddy was sick.
He was seeing things, and you saw nothing
- and did nothing. - Don't be ridiculous.
I kept the worst of it from you.
Nobody really ate glass, did they?
You should have cut the cancer out
and divorced him.
Maybe you tried to keep us together,
but look at you now.
You're alone.
Ow! It bit me!
Mom! Mom! We found a turtle.
- Can I hold it, Wes? - And Dad's here.
Here you go. I'm just gonna go head up to the house
and talk to Mom real quick. Okay?
- Hi. - The boys are inside.
I'm gonna go talk to her.
- Mommy. - Nope.
Don't "Mommy" me.
Tell me what it's gonna take to make you go away,
to leave us alone.
You want me to go away?
You manipulated us into paying for your surgery.
What else do you want? Money?
Why would I want money?
What are you doing this for then?
Just torturing us for fun?
Why do you keep saying all these mean things about me?
I am not going to keep putting my children in danger.
I'm not going to let you keep doing this.
It hurts my feelings.
Why don't you love me...
Kristine?
What's up, my dudes? Hug attack.
The plastron is flat, not concave.
Whoa, is that a turtle?
Love turtles. That is awesome.
He's so cute.
Cool.
I missed you guys so much. Come here.
Gimme a hug. Come on.
- No. Dad. - Yes, yeah.
It was just one night. I saw you yesterday.
- You never loved me! - Chill.
Ow!
Michael! Michael, help!
Oh! Oh, my God, Kris!
The main thing is make sure you keep
- the burn clean. - But she's okay?
Yeah. Yeah. We were super lucky the voltage was low
on the part of the fence where she fell.
But in the meantime, keep drinking that Gatorade.
- Okay, Mrs. Barnett? - Okay, thank you so much.
- Absolutely. - Thank you.
Kris, I'm...
I'm so glad you're okay.
You do realize I didn't fall, right?
You do realize she tried to kill me, again?
What is it gonna take for you to believe me?
- Does one of us have to die? - No.
Kris, no.
I'm so sorry. You're not alone.
I'm so sorry I doubted you, but I believe you.
I believe you.
Just please, please just don't leave me.
I want... I just want us to go back to normal, okay?
I'm... I'm an idiot. I'm so... I'm so sorry.
It's okay, baby.
You're not an idiot. I'm the idiot.
I let her break our family apart.
You were just trying to keep us together.
That's all I wanted.
It's okay.
But Michael, what are we gonna do?
You were right.
She's a freakin' psycho.
We can't take her home.
We can't.
Okay.
So what, I don't know, what, do we call the police, or...?
No.
- We can't call the police. - Okay.
If we do that, she can spin the story
and make us the bad guys.
- Right. Yeah. - And that's why she called CPS.
So, we have to have her committed.
Okay. Okay, yeah.
You take the boys home and,
and I'll take her to Providence.
How did it go?
- What the heck happened? - The kids' wing at Providence was full.
They said maybe try this other place, Larue, in the morning.
What do we do tonight?
Do I bring the boys back to my mom's?
No, no. I have an idea.
I know you can hear me! Hey!
Are we sure this is okay?
I-I mean, she has everything in there she needs,
you know, and it's just one night.
No, I mean, can she get out?
Don't you love me?!
Oh yeah, no. I took the garage door
off the tracks.
Uh, the button doesn't work.
I-It's fully secure.
We just gotta keep watch, I guess,
you know, take turns tonight.
It's just one night.
Exactly. It's just one night.
Mommy?
Uh, what... What do we tell the boys?
I'll be right there, sweet boy.
We're gonna tell them the truth,
that we are getting Natalia the help she needs,
and that they're safe.
We are gonna take care of them.
I know you can hear me!
I hate you!
I'm gonna kill you!
Let me outta here!
Can you go try and get her quiet?
- The neighbors. - Yeah, okay.
Let me outta here!
I hate you!
Let me out of here!
- Mom! - It's okay, just...
power went out, that's all.
It'll be fine. It'll come back on.
What about Natalia?
- She's fine. - But it's quiet.
Daddy must have talked to her.
Is that the front door?
I... I-I think it's the police.
Sir, I'm Detective Taylor.
Do you live here?
Uh, I'm Michael Barnett. This is my wife, Kristine.
We live here, yes.
We received a complaint from a neighbor.
They said they heard screaming. Sounded like a child.
- We-we-we can explain. - I'd like to take a look around.
Our boys are upstairs in our room.
The storm's got us all a bit jumpy.
I don't wanna be out in this either,
but we've received multiple complaints
at this address.
There's an open CPS investigation,
and now sounds of a child screaming.
I think what our neighbor heard was
our adopted daughter, Natalia.
- She's not well. - Where is she now?
Well, we... we have her isolated from the rest of the family.
- Where? - In there.
In-In... In, uh, the garage.
It's in here. It's...
It's a, a finished room, though.
Yeah, it... We're... it's just temporary
until we get her a room at a hospital.
Okay, I think I'd like to hear what she has to say.
Well, you have to understand, she's dangerous.
She's hurt me and my boys,
and she's lied about who she is.
Her papers are all fake.
- What papers? - Everything.
Birth certificate, immigration.
- Go get the folder. - Yeah. Yeah.
How old is your daughter?
Well, that's the problem, Officer.
This is gonna sound nuts.
I mean, like, horror movie nuts.
But she's an adult.
She's a sociopath. She's impersonating a child.
- Have you called the police? - We can't.
As soon as I got suspicious, she called CPS.
And now, there's a file on me.
All she has to do is call the police
and say I've abused her,
and the state will take my boys away.
I mean, she's got us trapped.
- Wait. - Ma'am.
I just... I know how this looks.
And I'm just telling you, I'm a mother, and I'm a teacher,
and I'm a Christian,
and all I'm trying to do is keep my family safe.
I'm going in there now.
Okay. Okay.
Natalia.
You in here?
It's okay, honey. I'm Detective Taylor.
Can you come out from there?
This is her birth certificate.
It's in Ukrainian.
And this is everything we have,
but this is what did it for me.
Look, that's not her.
What did she say to you?
About what you'd expect.
She denied everything.
Said it was you who tried to hurt her.
All we've ever tried to do is help.
That's right.
You know James, chapter one, verse twenty-seven?
"Religion that is pure and undefiled
before God, the Father, is this: visit orphans..."
"And widows in their affliction."
Yes, exactly.
Exactly what we have tried to do.
Hm.
Seems to me...
she took advantage of your faith and generosity.
Yes, that is exactly what she's done.
You have evidence, not of a crime, per se,
but I can tell that she's much older
than what she says.
Like here. She hasn't grown at all
since she came to the U.S. four years ago.
If she's a kid, she would have grown, right?
- I... I didn't even think of that. - Yeah.
- So, what can we do now?
Well, why not, uh,
dissolve the adoption, give her up to the state?
Well, but then she could just go and con another family.
It hurts my heart that you felt like you couldn't come to us.
If you're good people and keep to the law,
we're here to help you.
You know, there's a legal process
to correct someone's birth date.
We did it with my sister-in-law's parents.
They're from Tanzania, and their birth certificates
were off by a few years.
Got tricky with Social Security.
Wait, so you can just do that?
It's basically just correcting a clerical error.
Then, you can make her legal age match the age she is.
And because of her disability,
you can probably elect to stay on as her guardian,
make sure she doesn't target anyone else.
It's a simple process if you have documentation.
What kind of documentation do you need?
Probably just what you have here.
Maybe a letter from a doctor reviewing her records.
I can recommend a lawyer, if you need,
gal I know from church.
That would be great. Thank you.
This probably feels quite sudden to you.
We were surprised at how quickly things moved
once we got started.
But eventually, the truth was always
gonna catch up to you.
While you've been getting the help you need,
we met with a bunch of doctors and lawyers.
They looked through all your records, and agree.
You're an adult.
One of the doctors wrote a letter for us.
And we took that to a judge,
who signed an emergency petition.
So, it's official now.
We've taken care of everything for you,
but you're gonna have to start living on your own
as an adult.
It's time.
We got you an apartment.
It's really nice inside.
The kitchen's full of your favorite foods.
The closet's full of new clothes.
Kris even bought you some new makeup.
We also got you a bus pass, a new ID,
and an EBT card so you can buy food.
The court allows some adults with disabilities
to have legal guardians,
so we've decided to do that.
So, even though you'll live on your own,
we'll make sure rent and bills get paid,
and we'll check up on you.
But otherwise, you're pretty much all set up
and good to go.
It may feel strange telling the truth,
you've been lying for so long.
So, if anyone asks,
you can tell them you look young,
but you're actually an adult.
You're 22 years old.
So, no more tricks, and no more little kid act.
It's right there in black and white.
You're 22.
I know this must be overwhelming.
You've been telling this lie a long time.
But this is a clean slate, a new beginning.
Do you have anything you wanna say?
No.
Okay, well, um...
Voila! There you go.
Well, go on, Natalia.
We talked about this.
Focus on staying out of trouble.
Whew.
- Okay. You okay? - Yeah.
♪ You ask me if I love you ♪
- I love you. - I love you too.
- We're gonna be okay. - Yeah?
- Yeah. - ♪ And I choke on my reply ♪
- We're gonna be okay. - Okay.
♪ I'd rather hurt you, honestly ♪
♪ Than mislead you with a lie ♪
♪ And sometimes when we touch ♪
♪ The honesty's too much ♪
♪ And I have to close my eyes and hide ♪
♪ I wanna hold you 'til I die ♪
♪ 'Til we both break down and cry ♪
♪ I wanna hold ya ♪
♪ 'Til the fear in me subsides ♪
♪ At times I'd like to break you ♪
♪ And drive you to your knees ♪
♪ At times I'd like to break... ♪