His voice broke.
“We can’t save our daughter.
But Chloe spent years trying to save Ava.
We can’t let that night destroy them both.”
Then I remembered Chloe begging me, “Mom, promise Ava will always have a home here.”
The decision didn’t come easily.
Plan Family Trips
I grieved for Chloe every day, but in the end, I decided to adopt Ava in her honor after her parents gave up their rights.
Everyone called us insane.
But after Ava received the lightest possible sentence, we slowly became a family.
Any mention of Chloe caused me unbearable pain, even though years had passed.
On the fifth anniversary of her passing, I made her favorite pie, just as I did every year.
After Daniel left for work, Ava waited until his truck disappeared from view and locked the door.
Then she brought me Chloe’s jacket — the one Chloe had been wearing that night, but the police never found it.
