I adopted a 4-year-old girl – A month later, she came to me and said: “Mommy, don’t trust Daddy.”
It had been a month since we officially became a family of three. After months of planning, paperwork, and home visits, Mihai and I brought little Ioana home. She was shy but had a spark that we hoped would soon shine brightly. As her mother, I was ready to give her all the love she deserved.
Mihai was thrilled. After years of heartache trying to start a family, adoption felt like a gift from fate when we met Ioana. But just weeks into our new life together, I noticed something unsettling. Ioana clung to me and looked at Mihai with a strange fear. I reassured myself, thinking she was just adjusting.
Then, one afternoon, while I was folding laundry, Ioana looked at me, her voice soft. “Mommy,” she whispered, “don’t trust Daddy.”
Her words froze me in place, my heart pounding. It wasn’t hatred—just a quiet, childlike warning. I knelt down and gently asked, “Why, sweetheart?”
Her lips curved into a small, sad smile before she answered.
Her lips curved into a small, sad smile before she answered, “He’s not who he says he is.”
Confused, I gently probed further. “What do you mean, Ioana? Daddy loves you. Did something happen?”
She hesitated, her small hands twisting the hem of her shirt. “He pretends,” she said in a hushed voice. “At the orphanage… I saw him. He was angry.”
A chill ran down my spine. “Angry? When was this?”
Ioana looked down, as though struggling to put her thoughts into words. “Before you came. He was there. He yelled at the lady who took care of us. He said bad things about me.”
Her words didn’t make sense. Mihai had never mentioned visiting the orphanage alone. He and I had gone through every step of the process together—or so I thought.
“That’s not possible, sweetheart. Maybe you saw someone else who looked like Daddy?” I said, trying to reassure both her and myself.
Ioana shook her head firmly. “It was him. He was scary. I remember his voice.”
I wanted to dismiss it as a child’s misunderstanding, but something about her earnestness stopped me. Later that evening, while Mihai played with Ioana in the living room, I snuck into his office. My gut told me I needed answers.
His laptop was open, and a folder labeled “Personal” caught my eye. Inside, I found emails exchanged with someone from the orphanage. One email, dated months before we officially met Ioana, made my stomach churn:
“Subject: Concerns about Ioana’s behavior.
She might not be a good fit. Let’s discuss other options.”
Why would Mihai express doubts about Ioana when he’d seemed so excited during the adoption process? And why hadn’t he told me about these discussions?
I heard Mihai’s footsteps approaching, and I quickly closed the laptop. My mind raced with questions, but one thing was clear: I needed to know the truth.
That night, as Mihai slept, I whispered to Ioana, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll keep you safe.”
What had Mihai done? And why was Ioana so afraid of him?