In my early thirties, I uncovered a startling revelation about my family that shook me to the core. Contrary to what I had always believed, my mother hadn’t just raised four children—she had actually given birth to six, relinquishing two for adoption before my arrival. Adding to the bombshell, I discovered that I was conceived during a fleeting encounter with a stranger before my mother married my stepfather, and she had contemplated putting me up for adoption, too. This revelation unraveled a web of secrets and left me questioning the very foundation of my identity.