“You’ll never feel unloved like I did.”

The years blurred into survival. Emily learned to juggle jobs, childcare, and night classes until exhaustion became routine. By nineteen, she’d earned her GED. By twenty-three, she had a nursing license. And by twenty-eight, she had built a modest but stable life in Nashville — not glamorous, but safe.

Still, on quiet nights when she tucked Lily into bed, she sometimes wondered if her mother ever thought about her. Or about the granddaughter she’d never met.

Then came the call.