Uncertain.
I looked up.
An elderly woman stood near the courtroom doors.
Silver hair.
Elegant navy coat.
Pearl earrings.
And tears in her eyes.
At first, I thought she’d mistaken me for someone else.
Then she slowly approached.
Her hands trembled.
“My God,” she whispered.
“It really is you.”
I frowned.
“I’m sorry… do I know you?”
The woman swallowed hard.
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“But I know your mother.”
The room seemed to stop.
My heart skipped.
“My mother died when I was six.”
Tears rolled down the stranger’s cheeks.
“No, sweetheart.”
“She didn’t.”
The blood drained from my face.
Nathan and Lauren stopped walking.
Everyone still gathering their things turned to stare.
The woman reached into her purse with shaking hands and removed an old photograph.
A faded picture of a young woman holding a baby.
Me.
“Your mother has been searching for you for nineteen years.”
My pulse thundered.
“What?”
The woman nodded through tears.
“She never abandoned you.”
“She lost you.”
“And she’s outside.”
Across the room, Nathan’s smile vanished.
Lauren’s mouth fell open.
Because standing beyond the courtroom doors…
Surrounded by three attorneys…
Was a woman whose face looked exactly like mine.
And the moment she saw me place a protective hand over my pregnant stomach…
She burst into tears and whispered six words that made the entire courthouse fall silent.
“I finally found my little girl.”
You’ll find Part 2 in the comments
