My Family Turned Against Me When I Became a Private Detective, but a Teen Girl’s Case Changed Everything — Story of the Day

My family turned their backs on me when I left journalism to become a private detective. They saw it as a disgrace, and I started to wonder if they were right. No clients, no money, just regrets. But then a teenage girl walked into my office, searching for her mother—and her case changed everything.

I was sitting in my small, dimly lit office, sorting through the week’s mail. Bills, bills, bills, advertisements, more bills. The usual.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

I let out a heavy sigh and set the letters aside, covering my face with my hands.

I used to be a journalist—a successful one, I must say—but I always felt like it wasn’t enough.

Stories were always unfinished, truths half-exposed, and justice left waiting. So, at 42, I quit my job and decided to become a private detective.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

It was something that truly interested me, something I had always wanted to do.

My family didn’t support me. They tried to talk me out of it, but when they realized my mind was made up, they turned their backs on me.

My husband finally had a reason to leave me for a younger woman—one with shinier hair, fewer wrinkles, and, I assumed, fewer opinions.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

And my daughter? She cut me out of her life completely. She saw being a private detective as disgraceful—especially when compared to the prestige of journalism.

Of course, it hurt. But the longer I worked as a private detective, the more I started to wonder if they had been right.

I hadn’t had a new client in nearly three months, and I had plenty of debt. People didn’t believe in a female private investigator.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Men were assumed to be better at solving cases—stronger, sharper, tougher. As if intuition, patience, and persistence didn’t count.

Suddenly, even surprisingly, I heard a hesitant knock at the door. I straightened up, quickly smoothing my hair and shoving the pile of bills into a drawer.

“Come in!” I called out.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

The doorknob turned slowly, and the door creaked open. A girl, about fifteen, stepped inside.

She hesitated, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Her clothes were too small—cheap, second-hand, sleeves of her sweater jagged as if they’d been cut off.

“How can I help you?” I asked, motioning to the chair across from my desk.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

She sat down carefully, pulling her sleeves over her hands, her long, unkempt hair kept falling into her face. She brushed it away absently, over and over.

One thing was clear—she didn’t have a mother. I had taught my daughter how to braid her hair when she was six. This girl had no idea what to do with hers.

“My name is Emily,” she said, her voice quiet but firm. “I’m an orphan. I need your help to find my mother.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

I studied her face. She looked nervous, but her eyes held something else—determination.

“She gave you up?” I asked.

Emily nodded. “Yes. I don’t know anything about her. Not her name, not what she looks like. Nothing.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

She swallowed hard. “I’m fifteen now. No one is going to adopt me at this point. But I want to find her. I just want to see her. I need to understand why she left me.”

Her words stung. No child should feel unwanted. No child should wonder why they weren’t enough.

“I’ll need something to go on,” I said, reaching for my notebook.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Emily sat up straighter. “I was born in this town. I’ve never moved, never been sent anywhere else.” She took a breath. “My birthday is February 15, 2009.”

I jotted it down.

“Is that enough?” she asked, her fingers gripping the edge of her sweater.

“I’ll do everything I can,” I promised.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

She hesitated, then pulled a few crumpled bills from her pocket. “I have some money, but not much.”

It wasn’t even close to what I needed, but that didn’t matter.

“If I find her, then you can pay me,” I said.

Her lips trembled. “Thank you.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

She stood to leave.

“Wait. How can I find you?” I asked.

She scribbled an address and handed it to me. “My foster home. I’ll be there.”

I nodded, and she walked out.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

The next morning, I wasted no time. It had been a long time since I had worked on a real case.

Even though I knew I wouldn’t make any money from this one—I couldn’t, in good conscience, take money from an orphan—it still felt good to have a purpose.

The first place I went was the hospital. Our town had only one, which made things easier.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

If Emily’s mother had given birth there, the records would be somewhere inside.

One advantage of my former job was that I had connections everywhere. The hospital was no exception.

I knew exactly who to talk to—Camilla. She had been a nurse for years, and we had met back when I was covering a story about harassment in hospitals.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

She had been a source then. Since that day, she’d been a friend. As soon as she spotted me, she put down her clipboard and grinned.

“Sara!” she said, pulling me into a quick hug. “What brings you here? Please don’t say trouble.”

“I need your help,” I said, leaning in slightly.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Camilla raised an eyebrow. “Of course you do. You never just stop by to visit an old friend, do you?”

I crossed my arms. “You were literally at my house for dinner last week.”

She smirked. “Fine. What do you need?”

“Birth records. February 15, 2009.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

She blinked. “That’s specific. Should I be worried?”

“Nothing illegal. I just need to find a name.”

Camilla folded her arms. “That’s doable, but make it fast.”

I hesitated. “The baby was given up, probably in secret.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Her expression changed. “Sara, you know I can’t just hand you confidential records.”

“Please,” I said. “Just a quick look. No one will even notice.”

She studied me, then sighed. “You have ten minutes.”

I smiled. “Thank you. I owe you.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

She rolled her eyes. “You owe me for life.”

She led me through a narrow hallway to the hospital archives. The air smelled of dust and old paper.

Camilla pulled out a thick folder labeled 2009 – Abandoned Newborns and handed it to me.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Be quick,” she whispered.

I flipped through the pages, my fingers trembling. February 15. My eyes locked on the mother’s name. My breath caught.

No. This couldn’t be real.

I shoved the file back and hurried out.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Camilla stood by the door. “Sara, you’re as pale as a ghost. What happened?”

“I’ll explain later,” I muttered, pushing past her. I needed air.

I stood outside a house I had never seen before. The air felt heavy, pressing down on me.

Emily’s case had become the hardest of my career. Too personal. Too close.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

I stared at the door. My hands felt numb. I couldn’t bring myself to ring the bell.

I took a breath and reached for the doorbell. My hand hovered over it. I could still turn around, pretend I never came. But that wasn’t an option. Not for Emily.

I pressed the button. The chime echoed inside. Footsteps approached.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

The door opened, and I saw her.

Her face paled. Her lips parted in shock. “Mom?”

I swallowed hard. My throat felt tight. “Hi.”

Meredith blinked. Her fingers tightened around the edge of the door. “What are you doing here? I thought I made it clear—I don’t want to see you.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

I met her gaze. “I wouldn’t have come if this were about me.”

Her eyes darkened. “Then why are you here?”

I took a deep breath. “For your daughter.”

The color drained from her face. Her whole body tensed. “How… how did you—” She couldn’t finish.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Her breath hitched. Tears filled her eyes. Then, without a word, she stepped aside and let me in.

The kitchen was small but neat. She moved stiffly, as if her body wasn’t sure what to do. She pulled out a chair and sat down.

I stayed standing for a moment, then sat across from her. Silence filled the space between us.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Her name is Emily, if you’re wondering,” I said. “No one ever adopted her. She’s been living with foster families. She came to me to find her mother, but I never imagined—”

Meredith squeezed her hands together. “Please stop,” she whispered.

I waited.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“I have regretted it my whole life,” she said, her voice breaking. “I tried to forget. I told myself it was the best thing. That she’d have a better life without me. And now you show up out of nowhere to remind me what a terrible person I am.”

“You’re not terrible. You were a child yourself when she was born. I just don’t understand how you hid it. How did your father and I not know?”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“I wore loose clothes. My belly wasn’t that big. And I planned to give birth in another town, but you and Dad went abroad for your work right before it happened. So it all worked out,” she said.

“Tell her I couldn’t be found,” Meredith said suddenly.

“Why?” I asked. “Meredith, I’m a mother too. I know what it’s like to lose a child. Nothing is more painful than that.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

She lowered her gaze. Her voice trembled. “How can I face her? She’ll hate me.”

I let her words hang in the air. “Maybe,” I admitted. “But even so, she wanted to find you. That means something.”

Meredith wiped at her eyes. “What if she doesn’t want me?”

“She wants answers. She wants to know where she came from. You owe her that.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

She looked away. I knew she resented me. But I reminded myself—this wasn’t about us. It was about Emily.

“I have her address,” I said. “Do you want to see her?”

Meredith hesitated. Then, slowly, she nodded.

We drove in silence. The streetlights flickered as we passed. When we reached the house, Meredith didn’t move. Her fingers dug into her lap.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Aren’t you coming?” she asked.

I shook my head. “This is between you two.”

She looked down. Her voice broke. “Mom… I regret cutting you out. I was ashamed.”

I turned to her. “You are my daughter. No matter what, I will always love you.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Her face crumpled, and she reached for me. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her the way I had when she was little.

“What you’re doing is important,” she whispered. “People like Emily need you.”

I smiled, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Then she stepped out, walked to the door, and knocked.

A moment later, Emily appeared. They stared at each other. Then Meredith took a breath. Emily took a step forward.

They talked. They cried. And then Emily wrapped her arms around her mother.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Tell us what you think about this story and share it with your friends. It might inspire them and brighten their day.

If you enjoyed this story, read this one: My future brother-in-law was always a problem—rude, arrogant, and always pushing boundaries. But on my wedding day, he crossed a line we could never forgive. He humiliated me in front of everyone, turning my perfect day into a nightmare. That was the last straw, and my fiancé finally had enough.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life.

11 Characters That Were Pregnant in Real Life, and What Their Babies Look Like Today

Participating in the filming of a series or movie is hard work since celebrities have to get into the skin of their characters to achieve an authentic interpretation. But that doesn’t mean that actors don’t have real lives behind the scenes. Sometimes, actresses decide to become mothers and already have contracts with production companies. This presents a challenge for them, because of their pregnancy, and for the filmmakers who have to decide whether to incorporate the belly into the plot or simply let the actress cover her belly.

Bright Side made a list of 11 celebrities who played during pregnancy (some of them had to hide their belly) and is revealing what these kids that made things complicated for their mothers and producers look like today.

1. Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Seinfeld

During the shooting of the third season of the popular sitcom, Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus became pregnant with her first child, Henry Hall. Baby Henry was born in July of 1992. However, the actress’s pregnancy was never really a problem for the producers of the series. The simple solution writers came up with was to put her character, Elaine, in baggy clothes and any large garments to hide her belly. Henry is currently 29 years old.

2. Claire Danes in Homeland

You probably know actress Claire Danes because of the amazing performance she delivered as the CIA agent, Carrie Mathison, in the television series, Homeland. However, what’s not often talked about is the fact that she was 8 months pregnant when she completed the filming of the second season. Her pregnancy could not be introduced in the plot due to her character, so they decided to use digital retouching to hide her belly. Her son, Cyrus, was born in December 2012, and he’s now 9 years old.

3. Ellen Pompeo in Grey’s Anatomy

During the filming of the sixth season of one of the most popular drama series ever created, Grey’s Anatomy, producers decided to hide Ellen Pompeo’s pregnancy from the cameras. This was done because, for the writers, this was not the right time for her character, Dr. Meredith, to have a baby, and they wanted to keep that for a later moment. In September 2009, Stella Luna, now 12 years old, was born.

4. Zooey Deschanel in New Girl

Zooey Deschanel was 7 months pregnant when season 5 of the hit series, New Girl,was shot. As you probably remember, the actress had to be momentarily replaced by Megan Fox since producers were only able to hide her belly for no more than a few episodes. Deschanel also had to stay off the series until she returned from postpartum rest. Zooey gave birth to her daughter, Elsie, in August 2015, and today the little girl is 5 years old.

5. Holly Marie Combs in Charmed

Holly Marie Combs, who plays Piper, one of the main characters of the series, Charmed, announced during the shooting of the sixth season that she was pregnant. The producers thought it was better to hide her pregnancy at first. However, after a while, they decided that it was better for her character to actually have a child in the story as well. Apparently, Piper’s pregnancy was planned before the actress knew she was expecting a baby, so that came in handy. Combs gave birth to her first child, Finley Arthur, in 2004, and he’s now 17 years old.

6. Amaia Salamanca in Velvet

https://embed.gettyimages.com/embed/667730796?et=qkSA4q7KRYpwkGjPvGq6ew&tld=es&sig=7gpI_h2Icj2NbK0Kl3NV-_unjFrM4_HJtvhUF_g1sfE=&caption=true&ver=1

Amaia Salamanca’s pregnancy was well-planned when she rejoined the set of Velvet, a show about the compelling Spanish story of a fashion house in Madrid in the late ’50s. Because of this, production had no choice but to make Barbara, her character, pregnant as well. At the age of 28, she gave birth to her first child, a girl named Olivia Varo, in April 2014.

7. Kerry Washington in Scandal

Kerry Washington’s pregnancy happened right in the middle of the shooting of the series, Scandal, in which she played the main character. This unforeseen event forced producers to reduce the number of episodes to hide the actress’s pregnancy that couldn’t fit the schedule of the series. Currently, her daughter, Isabelle, is 7 years old.

8. Kristen Bell in House of Lies

The star of the House of Lies TV series, Kristen Bell, was about 6 months pregnant with her first daughter when the second season of the show was about to be shot. In order to actually film some episodes, the producers had to hire a body double for the scenes in which Bell would have had to show her belly. Her first daughter, Lincoln Bell, is now 8 years old.

9. Cobie Smulders in How I Met Your Mother

https://embed.gettyimages.com/embed/165393821?et=bak9FYxCS1h09phHhjaOIg&tld=no&sig=Dn2XqspeN4ZcyicTRn-p4kc5RF_6Op1Vray794hTe00=&caption=true&ver=1

Actress Cobie Smulders brought her character, Robin, to millions of small screens thanks to the sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. After fellow actress Alyson Hannigan told the show-runners that she was pregnant, Cobie Smulders discovered that she was also pregnant and told the producers who had to camouflage both of their pregnancies. To disguise Smulders’ belly, producers asked the costume designers to use garments and objects that could hide her abdomen, and they had the character remain seated for most of the scenes that she appeared in. In May 2009, the actress gave birth to her daughter, Shaelyn.

10. Madonna in Evita

Madonna, also known as the Queen of Pop, made the controversial 1996 film in which she played the wife of Argentinian dictator Juan Domingo Perón, Eva Perón. However, Madonna was pregnant with her daughter, Lourdes Leon, back then. It was because of this that the crew of Evita cleverly used costumes and camera shots so that it was not noticeable that Madonna was pregnant with her eldest daughter who is now 24 years old.

11. Lisa Kudrow in Friends

When Lisa Kudrow played Phoebe Buffay on one of the most famous sitcoms, Friends, she became pregnant. This was right about when they started filming the fourth season. The producers decided to include her pregnancy in the story by having Phoebe lend her womb to her brother to conceive triplets because he and his wife couldn’t have kids on their own. Today, her only son, Julian, is 23 years old.

What is your favorite family series? What do you think of women who work while pregnant?

Preview photo credit Friends / Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, and, co-producerlisakudrow / Instagram

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