“I am,” she whispered, opening her eyes to look at me. “I am their mother, Daniel.”

I reached out, my fingers hovering for a moment before I gently touched the back of her cold hand.

She did not pull away.

“I only wanted to be near them,” she said, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

“When I lost my parental rights, I felt like my life was over.”

“Your father’s lawyers made me sign everything,” she said.

“They gave me a check and told me if I ever tried to contact you or the boys, they would destroy me.”

“I didn’t care about the money,” she said, her voice rising slightly. “I never touched a single cent of it.”

I watched her face, seeing the raw pain that she had hidden behind a quiet, submissive smile for months.

“But how did you end up at my house?” I asked.

“I saw the listing for a live-in housekeeper,” she said, wiping her nose with the back of her trembling hand.

“I knew it was dangerous, but I couldn’t stop myself.”