At the age of 13, she gave birth to a child, and 18 years later, on her daughter’s birthday, she received a letter from the hospital after which the girl’s father admitted for the first time that he had been hiding the truth.

That evening, Emma told her daughter she had an appointment the next morning.

Sophie, who was preparing for her university entrance exams, could hardly take her eyes off her books.

 

“Don’t forget my birthday cake, Mom,” she said with a smile. “Eighteen is a big deal.”

Emma forced herself to smile back.

“I would never forget that.”

She had no idea that before the week was over, her daughter’s birthday would become the beginning of a journey neither of them expected.

 

Elizabeth lived in a modest apartment above an old bakery.

When Emma arrived, the older woman greeted her warmly but looked extremely nervous. She prepared tea, invited Emma to the table, and disappeared into the bedroom.

A moment later she returned carrying a brown envelope.”Your father gave this to me about four years ago,” Elisabeth explained. “He was already very ill. He knew he might not have much time left.”