Chapter 5: The Man Who Knew the Truth
Daniel stared at the envelope for so long that I thought he might tear it apart without opening it.
Then he looked at Claire.
“What does this mean?””
She backed away.
“I don't know.””
“Don't lie to me again.””
“I'm not!””
Daniel ripped open the envelope.
Inside were three photographs, a printed laboratory report, and a handwritten note.
The first photograph showed Claire standing outside a medical building. Beside her was Marcus, wearing the same blue shirt Sophie had described.
The second showed them sitting together at a café, their heads bent over a document.
The third made Daniel's fingers go numb.
It showed Marcus with his hand resting on Claire's bare, swollen-looking stomach beneath a loose shirt.
The photograph was dated nine months earlier.
Daniel lowered it slowly.
“Why is my best friend touching your stomach?””
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“Daniel, that picture doesn't mean what you think.””
“Then tell me what it means!””
She looked at the laboratory report.
For the first time that afternoon, she seemed unable to stand upright.
I stepped closer to Daniel.
“Let me see that.””
He handed me the paper.
At the top was the name of a private laboratory. Beneath it were several lines of technical language, followed by a result that made my heart pound.
The document referred to a genetic relationship analysis between two adults and a minor child.
There was no child named on the first page.
Only a reference number.
I looked at the handwritten note.
Daniel, if you want to know why Claire has been lying to you, ask Marcus about the baby born last spring. Ask him why he paid for the hospital room. And ask your mother why she helped them keep it secret.
I read the note twice.
Then I looked at my mother.
She had gone so pale that the pink roses behind her seemed brighter than her face.
“Mom,” I said slowly, “what baby?””
She sat down.
“I can't do this.””
Daniel's voice broke.
“Do what? Tell me the truth?””
Our mother pressed a napkin to her mouth.
Claire began shaking her head.
“This is not how I wanted you to find out.””
Daniel turned toward her.
“Find out what?””
She looked at the photographs.
Then she whispered, “Marcus has a son.””
Daniel stared at her.
“Why are you telling me something I already know? Marcus told me he had a son with his ex-girlfriend years ago.””
Claire shook her head.
“Not that son.””
The silence that followed seemed to swallow the entire room.
Daniel looked at the laboratory report again.
“Whose child is it?””
Claire couldn't answer.
He stepped toward her.
“Whose child?””
She looked straight into his eyes.
“Mine.””
My mother started crying.
Daniel didn't move.
For several seconds, his expression was so empty that I wondered whether he'd even understood what she'd said.
Then he whispered, “You had a baby?””
Claire nodded.
“When?””
“Last spring.””
“Where is the baby?””
“She's safe.””
“Where?””
“With a family who wanted to adopt.””
Daniel gripped the back of a chair.
“You gave birth to a child last spring, and I didn't know?””
Claire sobbed.
“I didn't know how to tell you.””
“You were pregnant before you announced this pregnancy?””
“Yes.””
“How could you hide an entire pregnancy from me?””
She stared at the floor.
“I wasn't living with you then.””
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“What?””
Claire's tears fell faster.
“After the last fertility treatment, I moved out for a while. I told you I was staying with my aunt because I needed space. But I was actually staying with Marcus.””
Daniel took a step backward.
My mind struggled to catch up.
The dates.
The money.
The photographs.
The false pregnancy.
All of it had begun long before the party.
“You were having an affair,” Daniel said.
Claire didn't deny it.
I heard my mother whisper, “Oh, Claire.””
Daniel looked at her.
“You knew?””
Mom shook her head.
“I knew she'd been seeing Marcus, but she told me it was over. She said she'd made a terrible mistake and wanted to repair her marriage.””
“You knew she was seeing him while I was paying for fertility treatments?””
“I didn't know about the baby until later.””
Daniel stared at her.
“And when you found out?””
Mom's shoulders collapsed.
“I was afraid you'd lose everything.””
“Everything?”” Daniel repeated.
“You mean my marriage?””
“I thought if Claire could get pregnant again, you might be able to move past what happened.””
He looked at her in disbelief.
“So you helped her fake a pregnancy?””
“No! I gave her some money for medical expenses. I didn't know she was going to use it for that!””
Claire suddenly shouted, “You told me not to tell him about the first baby!””
Mom flinched.
“I told you to get legal advice before making any decisions. That's not the same thing!””
Daniel held up the laboratory report.
“What does this have to do with Marcus's son?””
Claire looked at the document.
“The child is a girl.””
She swallowed.
“She was born last spring. Marcus wanted to raise her, but his circumstances weren't stable. I agreed to let her be adopted because I couldn't face Daniel with the truth.””
“And the report?””
“Marcus arranged a DNA test because he wanted to prove he was the father.””
Daniel's face tightened.
“Then why is my name on the envelope?””
Claire looked away.
“Because he told me there was a chance the test would reveal something else.””
“What something else?””
She began to cry harder.
“I don't know.””
Daniel slammed the paper onto the table.
“Stop saying that!””
Claire recoiled.
“I swear, Daniel, I don't know what the report says. Marcus gave me a copy, but I never opened it.””
“Then why keep it?””
“Because he told me not to destroy it.””
Daniel snatched the report from my hands and turned to the second page.
His eyes moved across the numbers.
Then he stopped.
He read the same paragraph again, his lips moving silently.
“That's impossible,” he whispered.
I leaned over his shoulder.
The report didn't simply identify Marcus as the child's biological father.
It listed an additional tested individual.
*Daniel Carter.*
Beneath his name was a conclusion that made my brother's knees buckle.
The laboratory had found a biological relationship between Daniel and the child that was inconsistent with an ordinary unrelated adult.
Daniel grabbed the table to steady himself.
“No,” he said.
“No, that can't be right.””
Claire covered her mouth.
I stared at the paper, trying to understand the wording.
Then Daniel looked up at her.
“Why would a laboratory test me against Marcus's daughter?””
Claire shook her head.
“I don't know.””
He looked at the photograph of Marcus with his hand on her stomach.
“Did you sleep with him while you were married to me?””
“Yes.””
“Did you sleep with anyone else?””
Claire hesitated.
It was only a second.
But Daniel saw it.
“Claire.””
She pressed both hands over her mouth.
“There's something I haven't told you.””
Daniel's voice became a whisper.
“What now?””
Claire looked at my mother.
Then at me.
Then back at her husband.
“The baby I gave birth to last spring…”
May you like
She took a shaky breath.
“Marcus isn't the only man who could be her father.””
