The Stranger at the Door
On my eighteenth birthday, everything I knew about my life shattered. A knock at the door. A woman I had never seen before. And seven words that turned my world upside down—
“Emma, I’m your real mother.”
A Life Built on Love
I always knew I was adopted. My parents never hid it from me. It was just a fact, like my love for vanilla ice cream, brushing horses, or how I needed a nightlight until I was twelve.
They told me I was chosen. That after years of waiting, hoping, praying, they had finally found me—and from the moment they held me, I was theirs.
I believed them.
I had a beautiful life. A home filled with laughter, parents who never missed a soccer game or a birthday, who wiped my tears after my first heartbreak. My mother and I cooked dinner together every night, no matter what. My dad told the best bedtime stories. I never once questioned where I came from—because I knew where I belonged.
Until the emails started.
At first, I ignored them.
“Happy early birthday, Emma. I’ve been thinking about you. I’d love to talk.”
No name. No context. Just… there.
Then came the Facebook request—from a blank profile.
And then, on the morning of my birthday, the knock.
The Knock That Changed Everything
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