Margaret insisted we go together. The old hospital had been closed for nearly two years, and snow covered its entrance. When we arrived, a small envelope was waiting beneath the front door. Inside was a photograph of Daniel holding a newborn baby. Margaret immediately recognized the blanket wrapped around the child. It belonged to Emily. Tears filled her eyes as she turned the photograph over. Written in familiar handwriting were the words, “Mom, please forgive me. There’s something I never had the courage to tell you.”

We heard footsteps coming from the corridor. A young man stepped into the light, wearing the same gray hoodie Daniel always wore. Margaret rushed toward him, but he stepped backward. “I didn’t know how to explain everything,” he said. Then he handed her another envelope. Inside was a letter from Emily, dated just days before her death. Margaret opened it, unaware that the letter would change everything she believed about her daughter.