Just as the music began, our flower girl — my stepdaughter Amelia — vanished. The ceremony halted. Moments later, we found her locked in a supply closet, clutching her bouquet and crying. What she whispered next shattered the day.
Amelia had lost her mom at three and was cautious when I entered her life. But over the years, we bonded through bedtime stories, baking disasters, and quiet trust. When her dad and I got engaged, she was ecstatic and insisted on being the flower girl. She practiced for months. But on the wedding day, she was suddenly gone. In her place came my niece Emma — my sister-in-law Melanie’s “miracle baby.” Confused and unsure, she toddled down the aisle while I froze in horror. A search led us to a locked closet.