Three Days Before Our Wedding, My Fiancé Forced Me Into a Car and Tied My Legs Together. When I Asked Why He Was Doing This, He Replied, “Your Mother Paid Me $50,000 to Bring You Here.” But When I Discovered Why My Mother Had Really Paid Him, My Knees Nearly Gave Way…

My voice broke.

“Did you honestly believe that finding out I was adopted would erase all of that?”

Margaret covered her mouth.

“I don’t know what I believed anymore.”

I turned toward Sarah.

She was standing a few feet away, too afraid to come closer.

“I never wanted to take you away from Margaret,” she said. “I knew she had raised you. I knew she was your mother in every way that mattered. I only wanted to see you once, if you would allow it.”

“Why didn’t you contact me directly?”

“I didn’t know how. I didn’t want to frighten you, and I didn’t want to expose your private information. When I finally found Margaret, I asked her to decide whether and when you should know.”

Sarah looked down at her hands.

“I thought I was doing the right thing by giving her time. I never imagined that time would become years.”