I Was 29 and Single When I Fought to Keep Five Siblings Together. The Judge Asked Why, and My Answer Changed Everything.

That was one lesson I learned sooner than expected.

PART 10

At 2:14 the first night, I woke to crying.

I couldn’t tell which room it came from.

For one panicked second I was nine years old again, listening for my little brother in a strange house.

I found Mia sitting in bed with the blanket pulled around her shoulders.

Lucas stood beside her, whispering urgently that everything was fine, though his own face was pale.

‘Mia?’ I said from the doorway.