The whole family drove a few states away from my sister Erin’s home to celebrate the much-awaited arrival of their bundle of joy, a baby boy named Noah.
I bought a teddy bear and a load of baby supplies for Lily, my lovely goddaughter, whom my sister had adopted about two years before, because I was excited to meet my nephew.
However, when we arrived at Erin’s suburban home, I spotted that Lily’s plastic slide wasn’t in the yard. The little garden she and I planted that summer was also removed. Baffled, I knocked on Erin’s door, and the moment I got inside together with our mom and dad, Erin appeared at the door, holding her son in her arms.
“Everyone, meet Noah!” she said surprisingly, turning the baby towards us.
As I looked around the place, I spotted all of Lily’s toys were disappeared, including her drawings and the photos of her that were proudly placed all around the living room the last time I visited.
Finally, I asked, “Erin, where’s Lily!?”
My sister said, “Oh, I gave her back!”
Being certain I misunderstood her, I asked for clarification. “What do you mean you returned it to her?”
I could see our parents’ faces became stone cold as they too startled what was actually going on.
“Well, I always imagine to become a mother, and now that I have Noah, why would I need a daughter?” Erin said, “Lily’s going to be just find, they’ll find another family for her.”
What I was hearing was unbelievable.
“Are you crazy, Erin? For two years, the girl called you Mom. She was your daughter, so you can’t return her like a toy.
The decision to leave her adoptive daughter behind was evidently not a huge issue to my sister.
She told me to relax, sis. “Anyway, she wasn’t mine. It’s not as though I abandoned my own child. Lily was only… momentary.
Her remarks broke my heart. How nasty could my own sister be? When she made such a foolish choice, what was she even thinking?
All of the memories I had of Lily suddenly came flooding back to me. My sister took her away without wa:rning. She was my goddaughter, my precious little kid, and the person who provided me the most consolation after my miscarriages.
It seems that Erin and her spouse did not wish to separate their affections for Lily and their biological son. The saddest part was that they didn’t think it was a big issue that she had left her adopted daughter behind. She even accused me of exaggerating the circumstances.
A knock on the door interrupted our argument. Erin was sh0cked to learn that it was karma taking reve:nge on her.
Erin was approached by two Child Protective Services representatives. It seems that Erin’s neighbor, with whom they frequently clashed, informed the services of her decision to leave her adopted daughter as soon as she had a biological child.
The woman, who identified herself as Vanessa, stated, “We have some questions regarding your adoption process and your ability to provide a stable home for your son.”
“Before relinquishing custody of your daughter, Lily, we have reason to believe that you hurried the adoption termination and neglected necessary counseling.”
Erin and her spouse, David, asserted that they adhered to the law, but Vanessa stated that they were informed that they had returned the legally adopted child without a clear plan for transition, which caused them to doubt their parenting abilities.
Erin started crying, but I didn’t feel sorry for her in the slightest.
I really couldn’t stay with Erin any longer, so I walked away.
Lily was all I could think of. I was curious about her whereabouts and emotional state. But it wasn’t simple to learn all of it. There was no public information concerning her whereabouts.
Fortunately, we were able to locate Lily with the help of my attorney. A foster household took her in. It broke my heart. Before being adopted by my sister, she went through a few foster home changes, and now she was experiencing the same thing once more.
Fortunately, I was granted visitation rights, and I quickly submitted my own adoption paperwork. Unlike my sister, I couldn’t ignore Lily, who played a significant role in my life.
It required a great deal of patience, time, and paperwork, but at last Lily was at home with me.
My husband, Aaron, gave me a hug and declared, “We finally did it,” after the adoption procedure was complete.
His support and his love for Lily meant the world to me.
Lily turned six last week. Her birthday celebration was exquisite.
She suffers nightmares and occasionally hoards food out of fear that it will be taken away, but she will get much better with time. And it’s true that she believed for a long time that my sister had abandoned her because she had done something wrong.
My sister’s adoptive daughter Lily, whom she no longer liked, became my entire universe.
