Chapter 1
My mother-in-law slapped a little girl across the face in the middle of my wedding because she thought the child had stolen her diamond necklace—then the bride’s father saw what was clenched in the girl’s hand.
The reception was being held at a luxury hotel in Chicago.
Everything had been perfect until I heard a woman scream near the dessert table.
“Stop that child!”
Everyone turned.
My mother-in-law, Diane, was pointing at a little girl who looked about eight years old.
The girl froze beside one of the tables.
Her dress was old, and she was clutching something tightly in her fist.
“My necklace is gone,” Diane shouted.
Then she marched straight toward the child.
“I saw you standing beside my purse.”
The girl shook her head.
“I didn’t take anything.”
“Open your hand.”
The girl backed away.
“No.”
Diane’s face hardened.
Before anyone could stop her, she slapped the child across the face.
The entire ballroom went silent.
The little girl stumbled backward and began crying.
I rushed over.
“Diane! What are you doing?”
“She stole a forty-thousand-dollar necklace from me.”
My husband Ethan stared at his mother.
“You hit a child over jewelry?”
“She’s obviously lying.”
The girl whispered, “I was trying to find someone.”
Diane grabbed her wrist.
“Then show us what you’re hiding.”
“Let her go!” I shouted.
That was when my father, Robert, pushed through the crowd.
The second he saw the little girl, he stopped walking.
His face changed instantly.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered.
The girl looked at him.
Then she slowly opened her fist.
There was no diamond necklace inside.
There was an old photograph folded several times.
My father took one look at it and nearly dropped to his knees.
It showed him twenty years younger, standing beside a woman none of us recognized.
On the back were four handwritten words.
“Find your grandfather, Robert.”
May you like
Diane suddenly forgot all about her missing necklace.
Because my father looked at the little girl and asked, “Who is your mother?”
