At sixty-seven, Norma believed moving in with her son after losing her husband was a blessing. She cooked, cleaned, organized the house, and helped care for her grandson, telling herself that being needed meant she was still part of the family.

But on her grandson’s twenty-second birthday, her daughter-in-law took everyone to an expensive restaurant and left Norma behind. Minutes after they left, her son sent a message asking her to clean the kitchen before they returned with guests. Standing alone in the house, Norma finally realized she had become the person they relied on, not the person they celebrated.

She opened her suitcase for the first time in two years, but what happened next would reveal a truth her grandson had never known.