CHAPTER 28

All eyes were on Eva and the couple who had claimed to be her parents. The woman’s hands trembled slightly as she stepped forward.  Eva’s feet moved on their own. One hesitant step. Then another. And another. Her eyes locked on the woman’s face — familiar, painfully familiar, as if a missing piece of herself had just walked through the door. Her lips parted to say something, but the words never came. Instead, her chest heaved with emotion. Her mother opened her arms, and Eva stumbled into her embrace, sobbing as though she’d been holding the pain in for a lifetime. “I knew I’d find you,” her mother whispered into her hair, clinging to her as if she'd disappear again. Her father wrapped his arms around both of them, and his strong presence grounded the moment. Their tears mingled. They were filled with so much happiness and relief. No more wondering. No more dreaming of faces in the dark. This was real. Eva buried her face in her mother’s shoulder, inhaling her scent. Her heart beat