Chapter 4
The letter was from Ryan's attorney.
I read it standing in the driveway while Ethan watched me from the front porch.
The words blurred together at first.
Then I forced myself to slow down.
Ryan wanted contact with Ethan.
Not occasional phone calls.
Not birthday cards.
Regular visitation.
He claimed he had been sober for three years, had a stable job, and had recently married.
He wanted to begin rebuilding a relationship with his son.
The letter was dated almost four months ago.
Four months.
Sarah hadn't told me.
The attorney also mentioned financial support.
Specifically, that Ryan was prepared to address “previously disputed support obligations” as part of a broader agreement.
That sentence bothered me.
I folded the letter before Ethan could get close enough to read it.
“What's that?”
“Adult stuff.”
“Is it about me?”
I looked at him.
Eight years old.
Already used to adults talking around him.
Already assuming every secret involved his future.
“Yes.”
He swallowed.
“Bad?”
“I don't know yet.”
That was becoming my most hated sentence.
I took him inside and made breakfast.
Real breakfast.
Eggs.
Toast.
Strawberries.
He barely touched it.
“Can I call Lily?”
“Yes.”
He used my phone.
Sarah didn't answer.
He tried again twenty minutes later.
Nothing.
By noon, he had stopped asking.
That hurt more than the tears.
While Ethan watched cartoons, I started making calls.
First, I called an attorney.
Not because I planned to steal Sarah's child.
Not because I thought I had some magical right that overruled his mother.
I called because I needed to understand what I could do if Ethan was being emotionally neglected.
The lawyer was careful.
She didn't promise anything.
She told me stepparent rights varied and were limited.
She told me not to threaten Sarah.
Not to hide Ethan.
Not to make accusations I couldn't prove.
Document facts.
Protect the child.
Stay calm.
Then she asked something that stopped me.
“Has the child expressed fear about going with his mother?”
I looked toward the living room.
Ethan was staring at the television without seeing it.
“Yes.”
“What kind of fear?”
“He thinks she doesn't want him.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
I understood.
“Physical fear? No.”
“Good. Keep listening. If that changes, act immediately.”
After the call, I went through the family calendar.
Then our joint bank account.
I wasn't snooping.
I paid most of our bills.
Sarah managed groceries, school expenses, and some household costs.
At first, nothing stood out.
Then I noticed deposits into an account I didn't recognize.
Transfers.
Small at first.
Then bigger.
Two thousand.
Three thousand.
One for five thousand dollars.
All from Sarah's checking account.
All sent to someone identified only as R. MORGAN.
Ryan Morgan.
My hands went cold.
I checked the dates.
The first transfer happened three days after the lawyer's letter.
Why was Sarah sending money to Ryan?
I called her.
Straight to voicemail.
I texted.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT RYAN.
Nothing.
Ten minutes later, my phone rang.
Not Sarah.
Melissa.
“Did you find something?”
“How did you know?”
“She called me screaming.”
I rubbed my eyes.
“She told you about Ryan?”
“No. You just did.”
I regretted saying the name.
“Melissa…”
“Jason, what is going on?”
I explained the letter.
Then the money.
Melissa went silent.
“That makes no sense.”
“I know.”
“She told me Ryan hadn't contacted her in years.”
“Apparently that's not true.”
“Why would she pay him?”
“I don't know.”
“Blackmail?”
The word landed heavily.
“I don't know.”
Melissa lowered her voice.
“My mother just called me.”
“And?”
“Sarah isn't there.”
I stood.
“What?”
“She said Sarah told you she was going to Mom's?”
“Yes.”
“She never showed up.”
“Where's Lily?”
“I don't know.”
I grabbed my keys.
“Jason, don't panic.”
“My five-year-old daughter is somewhere and my wife is lying about where she went.”
“I know.”
“That's a pretty good reason to panic.”
“Call her again.”
I did.
Nothing.
I checked the location-sharing app we used.
Sarah's location was off.
That had never happened before.
Then Ethan appeared behind me.
“Where's Lily?”
I forced my face to stay calm.
“With Mom.”
“Where?”
I couldn't lie.
“I’m figuring that out.”
His expression changed.
“Did she take her to him?”
My heart stopped.
“To who?”
Ethan realized he'd said too much.
“Ethan.”
He looked at the floor.
“To my dad.”
“You mean Ryan?”
He nodded.
“How do you know about Ryan?”
“Mom talked to him on the phone.”
“When?”
“A lot.”
I crouched in front of him.
“What did you hear?”
“I wasn't trying to listen.”
“I know.”
“She told him I didn't remember him.”
I felt sick.
“What else?”
“He asked if Lily looked like you.”
That made no sense.
“Why would he ask that?”
“I don't know.”
“Did your mom say anything?”
“She got mad.”
“What did she say?”
Ethan's forehead wrinkled as he tried to remember.
“She said, ‘Don't start that again.’”
A chill moved through me.
Again?
“Anything else?”
“One time she said if he ruined her life, she'd ruin his.”
I sat back.
This was no longer about temporary guardianship.
Something had happened between Sarah and Ryan.
Something they were both hiding.
At 2:17, Sarah finally texted.
LILY IS FINE.
I immediately called.
She declined.
I texted back.
WHERE ARE YOU?
No answer.
Then:
I NEED TIME. STOP CALLING.
I typed:
PUT LILY ON THE PHONE.
Three minutes later, my phone rang.
Video call.
Lily's face appeared.
“Daddy!”
Relief nearly knocked me over.
“Hey, sweetheart. Are you okay?”
“Yeah!”
“Where are you?”
She turned the phone.
I saw a hotel room.
Two beds.
A lamp.
Sarah reached over and turned the phone back.
“Enough.”
“Sarah, where are you?”
“She talked to you. She's fine.”
“You lied about going to your mother's.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Are you with Ryan?”
The screen froze.
Not technically.
Sarah had simply stopped moving.
But I saw the answer on her face.
“Are you?”
“Jason.”
“Is Ryan there?”
Lily shouted happily from somewhere off-screen.
“Uncle Ryan brought me ice cream!”
The world went silent.
Uncle Ryan.
Sarah closed her eyes.
Then she hung up.
I stared at the phone.
Ethan was standing across the room.
He had heard it.
“Why does Lily call my dad Uncle Ryan?”
“I don't know.”
“Yes, you do.”
“No, buddy. I really don't.”
His eyes filled.
“Did he come back for her?”
The question confused me.
“Why would he come back for Lily?”
Ethan looked terrified.
“Because Mom said he wanted to see her first.”
My pulse started hammering.
“What do you mean?”
“The last time they talked, Mom said, ‘You don't get near Ethan until we know the truth about Lily.’”
I couldn't move.
Ethan had no idea what those words meant.
I did.
Or at least, I knew what they could mean.
I called Sarah again.
Voicemail.
Again.
Voicemail.
Then I typed the question I couldn't believe I was asking my wife.
IS RYAN LILY'S FATHER?
The typing bubble appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Then stopped.
No answer.
I waited.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Twenty.
Finally, a message arrived.
COME TO THE HARBOR INN AT 6.
COME ALONE.
WE NEED TO TALK.
I looked at Ethan.
He was watching me.
“What happened?”
I couldn't answer him.
Because suddenly the woman who had spent weeks reminding me that Ethan wasn't biologically mine might have been hiding a secret about the child I believed was.
And for the first time since I walked into that kitchen, I understood that Sarah wasn't trying to get Ethan out of our house simply because she was tired.
She was trying to move him before something happened.
Something involving Ryan.
May you like
Something involving Lily.
And something that could destroy all four of us.
