When I was seven, I became separated from my mother in a crowded mall. Terrified, I searched everywhere until a blonde woman approached and comforted me before I was reunited with Mom. Years later, while sharing the memory with a friend, my teenage son overheard and turned pale. He revealed that the woman had actually kidnapped me—and only released me after her boyfriend convinced her to let me go. My son had hidden the truth for years to spare me the pain.
