An 18-year-old who was abducted at birth has spoken out for the first time, after learning that her mother was actually her kidnapper.
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Alexis Manigo was kidnapped from hospital by Gloria Williams in 1998, when she was just a newborn baby.
Despite her real mother’s desperate efforts to find her, her whereabouts remained a mystery for 18 years, until now.
After almost two decades hoping for news of their little girl, her biological parents received word their child might be in South Carolina, travelling to meet her for the first time since birth.
But despite everything that’s happened, Alexis says she forgives her mum for what she’s done.
“She will always be mom,” the teenager told ABC news.
“I was given the best life. I had everything I ever needed and wanted.
“She loved me for 18 years, she cared for me.”
But the teen is also struggling to come to terms with the revelation, including the fact her original name isn’t Alexis.
“Your whole life you’ve been known as Alexis…and now it’s like people are referring to you as someone else, nationally,” she told reporters.
51-year-old Gloria Williams is facing charges for the kidnapping, while Alexis is pleading for the law system to go easy on her “gentle” mother.
“Just don’t lock her up and throw away the key.”