My Sister Abandoned Her Baby With Me — Ten Years Later, My Parents Took Me to Court and Regretted It

I sat on my couch staring at the sleeping baby, completely overwhelmed.

Lily woke up soon after, her face scrunching into a hungry cry. I had nothing for a baby in my apartment. No formula, no diapers, nothing.

I called my boyfriend Mark, hoping he could help. His reaction was almost as shocking as my parents’.

“A baby? Your sister just dumped her kid on you? That’s insane, Natalie. You need to call social services.”

“I can’t just call social services in the middle of the night. She’s my niece. Can you please just go to the store and get some formula and diapers?”

“This isn’t our problem,” he said firmly. “This is exactly the kind of drama your sister always creates. Don’t get pulled into it.”

I hung up, realizing I was entirely on my own.

That first night was a blur of crying, formula temperature checks, and diaper changes. I drove to a twenty-four-hour supermarket in my scrubs, frantically googling what to buy. A kind elderly woman working the night shift helped me put together essentials, her eyes full of concern.

As I fed Lily in the quiet darkness, watching her tiny face relax in contentment, I whispered a promise I would keep for the next decade.

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