set the table for three on my 47th birthday—like I had for the past two years—knowing one seat would stay heartbreakingly empty. That empty chair belonged to my daughter, Karen, who had cut off all contact. The silence had hardened into grief, but that night, a forgotten card in an old drawer shattered everything I thought I knew.

The house smelled of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, the birthday cake sat ready, its candles lit by Brad, my husband now. But as the flames flickered, I stared a

the empty chair, phone in hand, willing it to ring. When it didn’t, tears fell fast and hot. I blew out the candles and wished only for one thing—to hold my daughter again.

Later that night, while Brad slept, I dug out an old photo album. Memories of Karen as a baby with applesauce on her cheeks and tiny hands gripping my thumb crushed me. I had left her father, Nigel, without explaining why, thinking it would protect her. Instead, it built a wall between us. Read more below