When my son brought his new fiancée home for dinner, I never expected the evening would end with police lights flashing in our driveway. At first glance, Cindy seemed pleasant enough – pretty, polite, the kind of girl any mother would be happy to welcome into the family. But when she smiled, something clicked in my memory.
I excused myself to “show Cindy the wine cellar,” locking the basement door behind us. My hands shook as I called my husband and son downstairs. “We need to call the police,” I told them. “That’s not Cindy – that’s Danielle Curtis from the women’s shelter I worked at years ago.”
My son’s face crumbled as I explained how she’d scammed multiple shelters, stealing from staff and residents alike. The police confirmed she had outstanding warrants. Watching them lead her away, I realized the hardest part of parenting isn’t protecting your children from pain – it’s sometimes being the one who causes it to save them from something worse.
