I felt a knot form in my throat. I didn't know how to respond to that – didn't know how to tell Amelia that I wasn't equipped to take care of anyone, let alone a child. "If this is a ploy to get me to ask them to release you," I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Even if you have a daughter, I can't just…"
Amelia shook her head. "I'm not asking you to. I deserve to be here. I've done things I can't undo, things I need to answer for. But my daughter doesn't deserve to suffer for my mistakes. She's innocent, Sienna. She doesn't know the kind of person I am. It's not her fault that she has a shitty mom, like me."
I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of Amelia's words pressing down on me. I couldn't deny the truth in time. Whatever sins she had committed, her daughter was blameless.
