I don’t expect your forgiveness, not now. But please, grant me this one final wish.

Take in my children. I’m begging you.

It wasn’t until I became a mother myself that I truly understood what our mom felt when she pleaded with me not to leave you.

Now, I feel it too… and I’m so sorry.”

My heart pounded. Where was their father?

Searching Amanda’s phone, I found countless messages to a man named Derek. He had abandoned her the moment he learned she was pregnant, leaving her to face everything alone—just like our mother, Meredith, when my father left after my birth.

That day, I made a decision that would change my life forever. I signed on as the guardian of my two nephews. I named them Timothy and Gabriel, after my adoptive parents, who had given me the love and support I so desperately needed growing up.

Together, we built a life. Raising them gave me purpose, and we honored Amanda and Meredith with fresh flowers on their graves.

Though I never got to mend things with Amanda, I saw her in Timothy and Gabriel. Through them, she lived on.