Growing up, I always believed I was one of the lucky ones. I was adopted as a baby by loving parents and later gained two adopted siblings, Brian and Kayla. We were told we were all “chosen” and equal, and for years, I believed it. On my 25th birthday, everything changed. I received a letter from a lawyer: my birth mother, Alina, had passed away and left me her entire estate — $187,000. I was overwhelmed with emotion and expected my family to support me.
