Chapter 3: The Family Secret
Chapter 3: The Family Secret
My father refused to speak.
My mother finally did.
With her attorney sitting beside her, she quietly admitted the truth.
When I was born, my biological mother—Sarah Collins—had been a nineteen-year-old college student.
She had briefly dated my father.
When Sarah threatened to expose the affair, my mother confronted her.
A legal battle followed.
Sarah disappeared shortly afterward.
Everyone believed she had abandoned me.
But she hadn't.
She had spent years searching.
My parents intercepted every letter she sent.
Every birthday card.
Every attempt to contact me.
They convinced me she never wanted me.
The detective handed me a cardboard box recovered from the attic.
Inside were dozens of unopened envelopes.
Every one addressed to me.
Every one from Sarah.
Twenty-six birthdays.
Twenty-six Christmases.
Twenty-six years of love...
Hidden by the people who raised me.
I collapsed into tears.
Everything I believed about my life had been manufactured.
Marcus wrapped his arms around me.
"You still have a family," he whispered.
"You have us."
Meanwhile, detectives uncovered another horrifying detail.
Vanessa admitted she had always hated Lily.
Not because Lily had done anything wrong...
But because Grandma constantly compared Emma to her.
Lily was cheerful.
Curious.
Kind.
Everyone naturally loved her.
Vanessa wanted Emma to be the only child celebrated that day.
Their solution?
Put Lily to sleep.
Hide her until after the party.
May you like
Then claim she had wandered away.
They never expected anyone to search the dumpsters.
