My grandson secretly gave me a walkie-talkie for our bedtime chats — one night, it ended up revealing a conversation I wasn’t meant to hear.

I raised my son on my own. I gave him everything I had—even my retirement savings. I believed that love alone was enough, that my sacrifices would be noticed, remembered, and eventually returned. But a little plastic walkie-talkie from my grandson revealed just how little that really meant to the man I raised. Hi, I’m Annie. I’m 60 years old, and …