Caroline moved to New York with her friend Melissa to chase their Broadway dreams, taking a job as a cleaning lady to pay the bills. On her first assignment in a Manhattan home, she spotted a photo of her mother, Helen, in the owner’s office. Moments later, the homeowner, Richard, arrived, and when Caroline asked about the photo, he revealed the woman was the love of his life who had supposedly died in a bus crash while pregnant.

Shocked, Caroline told him the woman looked exactly like her mother. When Richard learned her mother’s name and hometown, he realized this could be his long-lost partner and child. He immediately called Helen, only to discover she had been told by her mother that Richard wanted nothing to do with her. In reality, he’d been led to believe Helen was dead.

Helen was stunned to learn the truth and that her daughter had found Richard by chance. She admitted her mother’s deception had kept them apart for nearly two decades. Caroline explained how she’d run away to pursue her dreams and promised she wasn’t coming home until she made it on Broadway — now with a new reason to stay in New York.

After hanging up, Caroline and Richard broke the ice with a laugh, realizing they were father and daughter. Though the past couldn’t be changed, they now had the chance to build the relationship stolen from them for years.