great-recipes.grastyup.com “My uncle once asked me, ‘Are you a virgin?’ when I was already 27 years old. From that moment, I started to be afraid of him. And a few days later, when he took me to a hotel outside the city, he leaned close to my ear by the pool and whispered, ‘After the pool, come up to my room…’”

Tears streamed down my face.

“Are you Anna?”

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then she began to cry.

“Yes, sweetheart. Yes, I am.”

I pressed my hand against my mouth.

All my life, I had believed my story began with the parents who raised me. Now, in a single evening, I had discovered that the story started long before I was born—and that the people I trusted most had kept pieces of it hidden from me.

“Why did you leave me?” I whispered.

“I didn’t leave you,” Anna said through her tears. “I was told you had died.”

My knees weakened, and I sat down.

“What?”

“Your grandfather told me the baby hadn’t survived. By the time I discovered the truth, Laura and Daniel had already taken you away. I searched for you for years, Emily. I swear I never stopped.”

I looked at Richard.

He was standing by the window, crying silently.