My daughter unexpectedly said, “Daddy, take me to an orphanage.” At first, I thought she was just joking, until I understood why she said that 😢 😨

I returned from a business trip late at night. I missed my home, my wife, and especially my daughter terribly. When I walked into the apartment, she immediately ran to me.

That evening, the whole family had dinner. Everything was quiet, warm, just like home.

An hour later, my wife said she was going out for a bit—she had to go to a friend’s house. My daughter and I were left alone.

She sat down across from me, playing with her macaroni with her fork, and suddenly said softly,

“Daddy, take me to an orphanage.”

I didn’t immediately understand what I had heard.

“What?” I asked, smiling. “You’re joking, right? Did Mommy make you angry?”

She shook her head.

“No.”

I frowned.

“Then why do you want to go to an orphanage, sweetheart?”

My daughter looked up. There wasn’t a hint of mischief, just seriousness, quite uncharacteristic of her age.

Honestly, I thought it was just a childish whim, but with my daughter’s answer, I felt a chill run through my entire body 😱😲

“Because my sister is there.”

I froze.

“What sister? You don’t have a sister.”

“Yes, I do, Dad. I heard Mom on the phone saying she gave her daughter to the orphanage to hide her from us. She’s all alone there. I want to be with her.”

I felt a chill run down my spine. My heart pounded in my temples. I didn’t know what to say, how to breathe, how to react.

I just sat there, staring at my daughter, unable to process what I’d heard.

When my wife returned, I greeted her at the door.

“We need to talk,” I said, my voice hoarse.

She took off her jacket, looked at me, and from the expression on my face, she understood everything.

“You… know everything?”

I nodded silently. She sat down and struggled to find the words. Then, she wept.

“Yes, it’s true,” she finally said. “Before I met you… I had a daughter. I was only twenty. The girl’s father left, my parents abandoned me. I was alone. No money, no support. I had to give her to an orphanage, so at least she wouldn’t go hungry. I thought I’d get her back later, but life took a different turn. I met you, everything changed… but the guilt never went away.”

I remained silent, unable to say anything. Everything inside me turned upside down. Standing before me was the woman I loved and considered family—and now a chasm seemed to have opened between us.

A few minutes later, I said gently,

“We’ll find her.”

My wife looked at me, unable to believe what she was hearing.

“Really?”

“Absolutely. If your daughter is alive, it means we all still have a chance to fix things.”