The woman standing at my workplace looked nothing like the careless mother I had imagined for fifteen years. She appeared nervous, exhausted, and terrified that I would ask her to leave before she could explain.
She said she had never willingly abandoned me.
When I was three, my father accused her of being unstable and used his family’s money to win full custody. He obtained a court order limiting her contact, changed our address, and returned every letter she sent. Whenever she tried to visit, he threatened to have her arrested.
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