The baby adopted by the doctors was given the name Elvira, though everyone soon called her Ellie. As she grew, she looked more and more like her adoptive mother, with the same golden curls and bright, easy smile.
Because of that striking resemblance, few neighbors or family friends ever suspected she was adopted. Ellie grew up surrounded by affection and opportunity. From an early age, her parents made sure she had every advantage they could give her.
First they enrolled her in a private preschool with an arts program, and later they filled her schedule with enrichment activities. Swimming lessons, English tutoring, and other academic programs quickly became part of her routine.
The second baby girl was adopted by a thoughtful, educated couple. Her adoptive mother was a longtime schoolteacher, and her father worked as an accountant for a large local firm. They named her Ariana. She was a serious, bright child, and her parents paid close attention to her education from the start.
She was so advanced that she could easily have skipped first grade and gone straight into second after testing. But her mother, being an experienced educator, decided it would be better for Ariana to learn and grow alongside children her own age.
The third girl’s life took a different path. Quiet, observant Tanya was placed with a large foster-adoptive family that was noisy, busy, and close-knit. From a young age, she knew she had been adopted, but she also knew she was being raised by decent, hardworking people who cared for her.
Her new parents did not spoil her with expensive toys or fancy clothes. They raised all their children with clear rules, modest expectations, and a strong emphasis on honesty. The lives of the three sisters, separated in infancy, crossed again in an unexpected way the year they each turned seven.
By pure coincidence, all three families moved into the same newly built apartment complex in the suburbs.
Tanya’s family got a larger unit through a housing assistance program, while Ellie’s well-off doctor parents bought a spacious condo with a mortgage…
