When Ellie lost her dad to a sudden heart attack at 19, her world shattered. Still deep in grief, she returned from the funeral to the home she’d grown up in — only to be kicked out by her cold and distant stepmother, Cheryl.
Without so much as a pause to mourn, Cheryl told her she “wasn’t really family anymore.” Ellie packed a single duffel bag, grabbed her guitar, and crashed on her best friend’s couch. That night, desperate and heartbroken, she called her Aunt Janine — her father’s older sister — and asked for help.
