Sato came to the witness table with Meili beside her. She kept one hand on the child’s shoulder and the other on a folded contract copy. The family had sealed the medical page and the current address.
“I want the record to say my daughter never agreed to a share,” Sato said. “She was named in an amendment without a new signature.”
The hearing chair nodded. “We can read the clause without naming her. The medical page stays sealed.”
The clerk opened the adult contract first. It showed a fixed term signed by Sato. The descendant amendment followed beneath it, in a different hand, without a new signature. The chair read the clause aloud without speaking Meili’s name.
Meili sat through the exchange, drawing on the back of a blank card. Sato did not ask to leave the room. She only asked the chair not to question the child about her health or current address. The chair agreed and moved to the next clause.
Another island representative stood. “My ancestor’s name should be withheld. Our relatives still work in a Registry office.”
The clerk recorded the request and offered a private way to submit supporting papers. The representative handed over the original contract under seal, allowing the clerk to read the terms without exposing the household address.
