At the age of 13, she became one of the youngest mothers in Europe; but 18 years later, she received a letter revealing that her beloved father had kept a terrible family secret from her her entire life… When thirteen-year-old Emma held her newborn daughter in her arms for the first time, a nurse gently asked her: “Do you understand that you have a child now?”

Emma placed the birthday cake inside the refrigerator and called Sophie. She said something important had arrived and asked whether her daughter still wanted to celebrate at home or postpone dinner.

Sophie heard the strain in her voice. Twenty minutes later, she walked through the apartment door, set down her bag, and asked whether someone was ill.Emma told her no. Then she placed Heinrich’s letter, Martha’s statement, and Lucas’s unopened envelope on the table.

She began with the truth Sophie already knew: Emma had been twelve when the pregnancy was discovered, and the adults around her had involved doctors and the authorities. Then she explained that important parts of what followed had been hidden from both of them.

Sophie listened without interrupting. Her face changed when Emma described the threats, the secret payments, and Heinrich’s decision to preserve the evidence until she turned eighteen.

“Grandma took their money?” Sophie finally asked.