My hands were shaking so violently I could barely hold the infant against my chest.

I stared down at the small of my newborn niece’s back.

Stretched across her delicate skin, just above her left hip, was a distinct birthmark—a jagged, star-shaped patch of dark pigmentation with a pale, heart-shaped center.

It wasn’t just a random birthmark.

It was an exact, identical match to a birthmark I had seen my entire life.

My husband, David, had that exact same mark on his lower back.