A grandma always thought her middle granddaughter, Lindsay, 15, looked a little different from the rest of the family since she had blonde, wavy hair, while the rest of her siblings’ hair was dark. “I thought genetics was being weird, and I love her,” she posted on Reddit’s AITA thread.

However, things turned serious when Lindsay’s parents “banned” her from going a step further and having a DNA test. If the family was certain that their daughter was theirs, why would they prevent her from finding clarity in the situation? After the parents laid down the rule, the situation began to appear strange. “I informed my son and [daughter-in-law] that there was something fishy about her birth that she needed to know. “They denied it and told me to leave it alone,” the grandmother wrote.

Lindsay refused to give up her pursuit. She sought her biology instructor, who admitted that having such disparate characteristics was “odd.” Lindsay became overwhelmed by the turmoil and sought assistance from her granny. “She came to me distressed, asking me to buy a DNA test because she wants to know,” the grandma wrote.

The grandma purchased a DNA test, which confirmed their concerns. “Long story short, she’s not her mother’s child,” the grandma wrote. “My son got someone else pregnant, and her bio mom gave her up.”

Lindsay happened to be the middle kid, which was intriguing. So the father had a baby with another lady while still married to his wife. This discovery prompts the question: how did the family unexpectedly have a baby without raising suspicions?

“They were on the opposite side of the nation when she was born, and I met Lindsey when she was about 6 months old. “It’s really not hard to hide everything,” the grandma wrote. “Our family has a history of losses, so it’s customary to announce a baby late in the pregnancy. They did the same thing with their oldest and didn’t think twice about it.

The startling discovery has caused some strife in the family. Lindsay is especially angry about the issue now that the family no longer communicates with the grandma.

Should the grandma have taken such dramatic measures if she knew what may happen if her suspicions were correct? Reddit commentators unanimously backed the grandmother’s decision. Lindsay’s main motive for wanting to know her family history was medical.

“Your son and his wife are terrible for lying to her until she was 15 about something so vital and then continuing to lie to her even after she clearly began to question things. There are medical reasons why a person may need to know what their genetics are/are not, and if you hadn’t aided her, she would have found out on her own,” Shake_Speare423 commented.

Another reader pointed out that defending the parents’ lie was far less essential than Lindsay’s mental health.

“People have the right to know their genetic origin. Lying about adoption has been related to increased suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and sadness. You prioritized her safety and comfort above your son’s interests. Parental rights are not more valuable than a child’s entitlement to complete medical treatment, and concealing an adoption does just that. Maybe certain things, like a child’s health, should take precedence over a parent’s right to lie, gaslight, and control their child as they see fit,” Remembrancer Lirael remarked.

The grandmother received great support for placing herself in an unpleasant circumstance to preserve her granddaughter’s emotional and physical well-being. However, one reader said that she might have approached it less controversially.

“The replies here are out of the ordinary, but you should have gone via your son [and daughter-in-law] and convinced them. I told them that Lindsey’s biology instructor had pointed out that she had features that didn’t make sense, and I convinced them that Lindsey would find out anyway,” Phil McGraw wrote. “It would have allowed them to find a way to inform her without having to be angry about it. A DNA test is the worst method to find out. I’m sure they’d rather have told her than let her find out through a DNA test if that’s what was coming.”