I will never forget the day that I found out our adoption agency might have been fraudulent. It is one of those life changing moments that get seared into your memory. My life, what I knew of it anyway, as well as the lives of my adopted kids, were forever altered that day. It was the moment that put all proceeding moments into motion. The driving force of what happened next.
I received a single text message from a friend that I had met through our agency and adoption process. If you have adopted before, you know that you can develop quick and deep relationships with families going through the same process as you. Jessica Davis was one of those people for me. I cannot remember exactly how our relationship developed, but she was one of those people that I just had an instant connection with. I trusted and valued her from the moment I met her. Her text message on this day read, “Do you have time to talk? It is important.” I called her right away.
The house that we were living in at the time had a huge walk-in closet in the upstairs hallway. I had kept all my adoption paperwork in a file in this closet. I went in, closed the door, and called Jessica. We went through the paperwork together. We had only had the kids in the United States for a couple of months at this point. “Oh, you had that judge? That judge was taking bribes for adoption cases.” “That was your probation officer? That guy was not even a legit probation officer, he worked for the agency as a fraud.” All the red flags started to wave at my face. Feelings of guilt and being sucker punched flooded my body. Was this really happening? How could anyone do this? I began to cry.
“I know a woman” Jessica began, “I met her while we were in country. She took care of our daughter for us when we had to come back to the United States without her. She is Ugandan. Her name is Gladys. She is a private Investigator, and she can help you. Please reach out to her. I trust her.” I trusted Jessica, like I said, but with all the corruption surrounding me I was still hesitant. I hung up the phone, still sitting on the quiet of the closet floor. Gentle sobs leaving my body. I felt sick, and unsure, and not willing to believe everything I had just heard.
This story is heavy, complicated, and heartbreaking. In order to protect the children involved, their names have been changed and we will not be sharing any actual photos of them.
