These things more often involve a biological mother and mom’s new squeeze, but it appears it can go the other way too.
The classic evil stepmother of legend, it appears.
The photo is horrible, and there’s no way a teacher or anybody in contact with the child could have missed this.
I’ll bet we’ll find that this “family” was already visited several times by Child Protective Services, or whatever they call it there, who are usually a bunch of non-functional welfare hires or barely literate, almost non-English speaking African or ME immigrants who never notice anything no matter how badly the child is being treated.
Or if they did see anything, there was a judge who ruled that the child had to go back to the “family.”
I’ve seen it and know somebody who works in that field and it’s all too common.
Thank God the brother, who I assume does not live in the household anymore, was able to get help for the child.