"After Years Apart, I Was Overjoyed to Hear from My Daughter—Until the Shocking Truth Was Revealed"

OPENING Facebook to see a message from her long lost daughter, Sian Williams broke down in tears.

After searching for the baby she had given up for adoption for years, Sian, 52, was keen to make up for lost time.

Sian Williams was forced to give up her daughter Tilly into care as a baby and was adopted by another family Credit: Sian Williams Years later, Sian tried to find her daughter via adoption groups on Facebook and the the adoption contact register Credit: Sian Williams

But after a heartfelt two-day reunion, Sian received some sinister news that shook her to the core.

The woman claiming to be her daughter Tilly* was actually a sick imposter who had pretended she was her long-lost daughter.

And it wasn’t the first time she had done it either, with three women contacting her to say she had done the same thing to them.

Sian, from Milford Haven, had been heartbroken when she was forced to give up her daughter Tilly* as a baby 30 years ago.

Tilly was taken into foster care when she was six months old Credit: Sian Williams When Tilly turned 18, the family could not provide updates about her life to Sian Credit: Sian Williams

The move had followed a horrific tragedy, when Sian’s eldest daughter Jessica had been just a week after her fifth birthday.

Jessica fell ill with a ‘stomach bug’ while her seemingly devoted step-dad was looking after her, and doctors, who pronounced her dead on arrival at hospital, became suspicious of Jenkins after spotting over 45 different injuries all over her body.

He was convicted of Jessica’s manslaughter with diminished responsibility, and sentenced to 10 years in a young offenders’ institution.

Social services took Tilly into foster care when she was six months old, and a devastated Sian was granted supervised visits for a year.

Despite the pain of being separated from her, Sian said: “Watching her grow into a loving toddler was the proudest I’d ever been.”

Then, just before she turned two, a judge ruled Tilly should be adopted, which Sian fought in the High Court, but lost.

The distraught mum said: “Broken, I self-harmed and drank. I even tried to take my own life.”

Eventually, she found her strength again and met her husband Martin, and they had two daughters together, who grew up knowing about their sisters.

Sian added: “Tilly’s adoptive parents were kind, sending letters and photos every year. I’d frame them and proudly show them to my girls.”

However, when Tilly turned 18, the updates stopped because she was an adult, and any contact had to be initiated from the teen.

All Sian had of her daughter were photographs she had taken of her as a baby with sister Jessica, and snaps sent from her adoptive family.

The mum shared: “I made a memory box, including a letter, a tiny teddy, and photos of her sisters, and passed it on to social services, praying she would ask for it one day.”

When Martin died four years later, Sian was spurred on to seek a relationship with her daughter.

Taking to adoption groups, she wrote: “I’m desperate to find my daughter”, and included her birth name and date of birth in the hopes of it reaching her.

Although there were flickers of hope over the years, nothing came of it, until Sian received a Facebook message just days before what would have been Tilly’s 30th birthday.

The message read: “Are you looking for a daughter? I think I’m her.”

Her heart pounding, Sian screamed to her eldest daughter that she had found Tilly at last.

Sian’s mum took a cautious approach, given she claims she now went by the name Cindy* and the photo was a cartoon so they were unable to see her face.

After asking for her date of birth, Cindy sent the correct one.

Sian added: “We started messaging constantly. And when she told me she had four children, my hand shot to my mouth.

“I sent her all those pictures I’d kept, and she confirmed it was her.”

Cindy heartbreakingly asked Sian why she had given her up for adoption, but Sian assured her that she had loved her “more than anything.”

Cindy didn’t know anything about Jessica when Sian spoke about her, and begged her to share what had happened.

Sian continued: “She sent a selfie and, comparing it to her baby pictures, I spotted the resemblance to her dad.

“When she offered to do a DNA test and I agreed, she suddenly bristled.

“Not wanting to push her away, I dropped the subject.”

Soon, the reunited mother-and-daughter duo moved onto video calls, with Cindy introducing Sian to her four kids as “nan.”

What was even more exciting was Cindy revealing the “huge news” that she was pregnant with twins.

Sian continued: “She lived four hours away and I couldn’t wait to meet her. But she was in and out of hospital.

“I could really do with my mumma, she texted one night from a hospital bed.”

Then, she confided that her boyfriend was violent, leaving Sian worried that history was repeating itself.

Sian begged Cindy to leave him – especially after the partner messaged her directly and boasted about hurting her and said he’d taken their kids to see Jenkins in .

She added: “I was terrified of pushing her away. I couldn’t lose her again.

“When she asked for to help, I sent £50 three times, ashamed that I couldn’t afford to send more.”

After two months of calls and messages, the pair finally arranged to meet, with Sian driving four hours to see Cindy and her two youngest kids.

Sian shared: “My legs felt weak as I hugged her tightly. We’ll never be apart again,’ I promised.”

That night, Cindy and her baby slept in Sian’s room at the B&B, and the pair chatted for hours into the night.

After two “wonderful days”, Sian said saying goodbye was agony, and on the drive home, she decided that she would have no choice but to move closer to her so she didn’t waste another moment.

Cindy posted about the reunion on Facebook and people were quick to congratulate them, but the next day, Sian’s phone started buzzing.

The mum was left baffled as one woman sent her a chilling message that said: “I’m sorry to tell you this, but Cindy’s not your daughter. She’s done this before.”

Sian said: “My stomach dropped. It just couldn’t be true.

“When I texted Cindy, she told me to block the woman, claiming that she’d been harassing her for years.

“But two more women messaged me too.”

Sian decided to send Cindy one final message asking if she really was her daughter.

She was heartbroken when the reply came quickly, and said: “I’m really sorry.

“I wanted to have a mum, someone who put me first. I never had that.”

The mum said she was left feeling “physically sick” and blocked her after telling her she needed help.

Sian added: “She’d known Tilly’s date of birth because I’d put it in my Facebook post when I was searching for her.

“I remembered how she’d bristled when I’d mentioned a DNA test early on, knowing that I wouldn’t push it and risk losing her.

“It was cruel beyond belief.”

Worried about her children, Sian reported Cindy to the and social services, however, was told there is no specific in pretending to be someone’s long-lost child.

What was even gut-wrenching for Sian was that she had applied to be on the adoption contact register, but had removed her name after thinking she had found her daughter.

After 12 months of waiting, she is having to reapply to once again be on the list.

Sian shared: “I shudder when I think of how I told Cindy everything about our lives, even slept in the same bed as her.

“Now I’m terrified that if the real Tilly ever reaches out, I’ll be too scared to believe her.

“Cindy has destroyed my trust in people.

“And when I try to picture Tilly, all I can see is Cindy’s cruel face grinning back at me.”

*Cindy and Tilly’s names have been changed.