For years, my son Peter and his wife Betty stopped inviting me to their home, always offering vague excuses—last-minute plans, renovations, a sick child. I didn’t question it too deeply. Maybe they just needed space. Families go through phases, after all. But a quiet part of me always wondered if there was more to it. One afternoon, on a whim, I decided to drop by unannounced with a small gift for my granddaughter Mia. It was nothing extravagant—just a puzzle she’d mentioned wanting. The moment I stepped inside, something felt… off. A strange energy hung in the air. Peter and Betty looked surprised,
even uncomfortable, but tried to act normal. I let it go, though the feeling lingered. A few days later, I was babysitting Mia. As we sat on the floor coloring, she proudly showed me a crayon drawing she had made. It was of their house—but there was something unusual. In one corner of the picture, a figure stood alone in a room below the house. “That’s Grandpa Jack,” she said matter-of-factly. “He lives in the basement.” I froze. Grandpa Jack. My ex-husband. The man who had walked out on us over twenty years ago and never looked back. He had vanished from our lives without explanation,