I became a single mother at 17. Years later, my son took a DNA test to find his father and discovered a truth that took my breath away.

Back in my kitchen, Leo whispered, “So I knew.”

—Yes, I told him, honey. I promise.

Keep reading.

Matilda had giggled. Her father had already scheduled an out-of-state transfer and decided they would leave early. Andrew begged me to let him come see me first. He begged me to stay long enough to explain. He refused.

Then Gwen wrote the part that blurred my vision.

Andrew wrote letters, but his mother hid them.

Matilda had exploded.

I didn’t get any.

I pushed so hard that my chair scraped the floor.

-No.

Leo stood up. —Mom…

“No.” I grabbed the edge of the counter. “No, it’s impossible.”

“There’s more,” he said softly.

I looked at him.

She swallowed. “He says they hid some letters. They threw some away, and some…” She looked at her phone. “Some of them were put in a box in the attic.”

—No, it’s impossible.

A box: irrefutable proof

-Andreas.

My father appeared behind her. “What’s going on?”

—Heather? What happened?

I handed the phone to Mom. She read the conversation while Dad read over his shoulder.

Mom’s expression changed first. “Ted,” she whispered. “She wrote it.”

Dad cursed softly.

Leo looked at us both. “Didn’t you know?”

“If I had known Andrew wanted to get involved,” my father said abruptly, “I would have gone to that house myself.”

“Ted,” my mother said.

“She wrote it.”

“No, Lucy. That woman made our daughter believe she had been abandoned.”

Her voice cracked as she said the last word, and that was what finally broke me.

It was my father who had almost cried in my kitchen because someone had stolen years from me and Leo.

My son came across the room and hugged me.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t know it would be like this.”

I took a step back and touched her face. “Don’t apologize for telling me the truth, love. You should know that I’m not angry with you.”

Her voice broke as she said the last word.

Her eyes were also wet.

I covered my mouth with my hand and shook my head.

—No, love. I think they hid it from us.

The kitchen fell silent.

A minute later, Leo said, “Gwen wants to see us. She says she still has the box.”

That was enough to get us started.

The kitchen fell silent.

***

At six o’clock, Leo and I were driving two counties away, my parents following in Dad’s truck, as if it was a family affair now.

Leo kept rereading Gwen’s messages. I kept both hands on the wheel because if I let go, I thought I would collapse.

Gwen lived in a little white house with potted flowers hanging on the porch. My parents promised to stay in the truck unless we needed them. He opened the door before we even knocked.

He had Andrew’s mouth. I almost had a heart attack.

Leo kept rereading Gwen’s messages.

“Heather?” he asked.

I nodded.

She started to cry. —I’m so sorry.

Then she looked at Leo and covered her mouth. “Oh my God. My love, you look so much like him.”

Leo looked at me, helpless.

I went over to her and hugged her.

—I’m so sorry.
Inside, he wasted no time.

“The box is upstairs,” he said. “It has all his letters that I could find.”

“Do you really have them all?” Leo asked quietly.

Gwen nodded. “I found them after our mother died last winter.”