When Marla’s father died, he left her only a locked, rusty toolbox. Soon after, her stepmother, April, appeared and offered her $5,000 to throw it away. Suspicious, Marla refused and later tricked April into letting her into the house, where she stole a key hidden in April’s jewelry box.
Opening the toolbox, Marla discovered divorce papers revealing that her biological mother, Susannah, hadn’t died when she was two, as she’d always been told — she’d been alive but struggling with severe mental illness. April admitted she kept the secret because Susannah was unstable and dangerous at the time, but also to stop Marla from searching for her.
Marla began investigating and eventually found her mother’s obituary — she had died the previous year. At her mother’s grave, Marla met Tanya, her mother’s sister, who told her that while Susannah had struggled, she loved Marla deeply. Though she couldn’t meet her mother, Marla discovered she still had family and a chance to learn about her past.
