My mother kicked me out of the house the very night she found out I was pregnant. Five years went by and she never contacted me, nor had she ever seen her grandchild. Then, after meeting the baby’s father, she wanted to come back into my life.

Alessandro moved beside me without a word, solid and calm, as I walked to the front door and opened it. My mother stood in the middle of my new living room, looking between us like she could not believe this was happening to her. She asked if we could please talk, if I could give her a chance to explain properly.

I kept holding the door open. My heart pounded so hard I thought everyone could hear it, but my hand did not shake on the doorknob. She gathered her purse and the flowers she had brought, then walked past me with her head down and more tears streaking her cheeks.

I watched her get into her car and pull away before I closed the door. Then I leaned against it for a long moment because my legs felt weak. Alessandro and I sat at the kitchen table after I checked that Janna was still asleep upstairs, her nightlight glowing softly through the crack in her door.

He apologized for ambushing me with the documents. He explained that when he hired investigators to find me, they had compiled everything as part of the search. The files showed the full picture of what I had survived, and he had kept them in case I ever needed proof.