At 17, I was just babysitting for some extra cash. The Mercers—Willa and Dorian—left their usual note: “Back by midnight.” But midnight came and went. By 4 a.m., I was pacing, worried. Then I saw the news. Their faces were on TV—caught trying to flee the country with fake passports. Embezzlement, fraud… it was all surreal. And I was still in their house. Their kids, Elise and Ezra, were asleep upstairs.

I called my mom. At dawn, we contacted Child Protective Services. The kids were taken away—Elise crying, Ezra clutching his dinosaur book.Three months later, I got a letter: “Thank you for taking care of them. We trusted you. Don’t forget them. —W.” I didn’t.

I found them in foster care and started visiting. When I learned they’d be separated, I couldn’t let it happen. At 20, still in college, I petitioned for guardianship—and won. We lived in a tiny apartment. I worked, studied, and scraped by. But the kids smiled again. At 22, a surprise came: a $40,000 cashier’s check from a Swiss law firm. No note. Later, a letter explained it was a trust Willa had set up for the kids. They never contacted us again—but that money helped us start over.

Now, Ezra is a coding whiz. Elise wants to be an art therapist. And me? I was just the babysitter… who became their guardian. Sometimes, you’re thrown into a story you never chose. But you still get to decide who you’ll be in it.