But we had no idea what lay ahead.

At first, everything seemed more than fine—it felt magical. The boys acted like brothers. Mornings became smoother. Dinner was louder, filled with jokes and giggles. Weekends disappeared into bike rides, soccer games, and backyard forts.

But slowly, cracks began to show.

Zayden started having nightmares—screams so intense they left his throat raw. He couldn’t tolerate loud noises. He avoided cars entirely. Sometimes, when we thought he was playing, we’d find him curled up in the closet, rocking back and forth.