The following months were filled with crying and insomnia. Then came the day of delivery. When the midwife placed the infant against her chest, the tiny hand that clung to her finger sliced it all off. The social worker came in with her forms. Master Pierce stood in the doorway.
Emma did not sign. She looked at her daughter's dark, velvety head and whispered softly, "Her name is Lily." The lawyer turned on his heel without saying a word. Emma returned home, alone with her baby and a future fraught with uncertainty.
Twelve years of breakfasts and deserved victories
Lily has grown up, luminous. Emma graduated in evening classes. They lived in a cheerful little house, where the bottle of maple syrup was invariably on the table every Saturday morning.
Until the day someone knocked on the door.
Richard and Vanessa Hollister. Smiling, relaxed, as if nothing had ever happened. They walked in without an invitation, called Lily "my darling," and accused Emma of cheating on them years before. Armed with lawyers and influential connections, they now wanted to get the child back.
