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

One afternoon when Lily was five, she ran into the kitchen holding a carefully drawn picture of two figures surrounded by a large red heart.

“That’s beautiful, sweetie,” I said, pulling her into a hug. “Is that us?”

“Yes, that’s you and me inside a heart because we’re a heart family, not a blood family. Miss Peterson told us that some families are made from blood and some are made from heart, and heart families are just as real.”

“Miss Peterson is very wise,” I said, blinking back tears. “We’re definitely a heart family.”

“And that’s the best kind,” Lily declared with the absolute certainty only a five-year-old can possess.

Four more years passed in a comfortable rhythm.

Lily was nine, thriving in fourth grade with good friends and a passion for both art and science. Then everything changed.

The phone call came on an ordinary Tuesday evening as I was helping Lily with her science project about the solar system. An unknown number flashed on my screen.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Natalie. It’s Amanda.”

The voice was hesitant, familiar, yet strange after so many years.

“Amanda, where are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m actually in town. I was hoping we could meet. To talk.”

We arranged to meet at a café the next day while Lily was at school. The woman who walked in was almost unrecognizable. Amanda was thirty-two now, her hair styled in a sophisticated bob. She wore a tailored blazer and carried an expensive-looking handbag.

“You look good,” she said. “Really good.”

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