Chapter 10: The Truth Behind the Video
The room felt like it stopped moving.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody breathed.
My eyes stayed fixed on the final message Michael had sent.
“He’s the reason Jayla is pregnant.””
Those words sat on my screen like a weapon.
A lie.
A threat.
Or the truth.
I didn’t know anymore.
I looked at my daughter.
She was crying silently.
Not because she was guilty.
Because she knew something worse was coming.
“Jayla,” I whispered.
She shook her head.
“I didn’t want you to find out like this.””
My heart sank.
“Find out what?””
She looked at Daniel.
Then at me.
“Michael lied about everything.””
Detective Harris leaned forward.
“Jayla, we need you to tell us what you know.””
She wrapped her arms around herself.
“I don’t know everything.””
“Tell us what you do know.””
She swallowed.
“Michael told me he could make everything go away.””
My stomach tightened.
“When?””
“After I found out I was pregnant.””
I closed my eyes.
That explained the messages.
The fear.
The secrecy.
But not everything.
“How did he know before you told me?””
Jayla looked down.
“Because he was the first person I told.””
The pain in my chest was unbearable.
Not because she told him first.
Because I understood why.
She thought he would help her.
She thought the person closest to her mother was safe.
“What did he say when you told him?””
Her voice trembled.
“He said I had made a mistake.””
I clenched my jaw.
“He said it wasn’t my fault?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“He said I ruined everything.””
Nobody moved.
“He told me you would hate me.””
I reached for her hand.
“I could never hate you.””
“I know that now.””
Her words hurt.
Because she had spent weeks believing the opposite.
Detective Harris asked:
“Jayla, who is the father?””
The room became silent.
She looked at me.
Then at the floor.
“I don’t know.””
My heart stopped.
“What do you mean?””
She cried harder.
“I don’t know.””
Detective Harris spoke gently.
“Jayla, pregnancy cases require answers. We need to understand what happened.””
She nodded.
“Michael told me he knew.””
“Did he tell you who?””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because he said if I knew, I would tell Mommy.””
I felt a chill.
“So Michael was protecting someone.””
Jayla nodded.
“That’s what I thought.””
Daniel suddenly spoke.
“No.””
Everyone looked at him.
“What?””
Daniel’s face had gone pale.
“He wasn’t protecting someone.””
“Then what?””
“He was protecting himself.””
My heart raced.
“What are you saying?””
Daniel looked at Jayla.
“Jayla, did Michael ever say anything about your memories being wrong?””
Her face changed.
A tiny reaction.
But I saw it.
“Jayla?””
She whispered:
“Yes.””
My blood ran cold.
“What did he say?””
“He said I wouldn’t remember everything clearly.””
Detective Harris stood.
“Why would he say that?””
Jayla closed her eyes.
“Because he said nobody would believe me.””
I felt sick.
The room suddenly became too small.
Michael had spent months controlling the story.
Making Jayla afraid.
Making me doubt.
Making everyone look away.
Then Detective Harris received a notification.
He checked his phone.
His expression changed.
“What?””
I asked.
He looked at me.
“We found the original hospital footage.””
My heart stopped.
“What footage?””
“Security cameras.””
Daniel looked confused.
“From where?””
“The hospital.””
Nobody spoke.
Detective Harris continued.
“Someone accessed the hospital records yesterday.””
“Who?””
He looked at his screen.
“We’re working on confirming it.””
A few seconds later, his phone rang.
He answered.
“Detective Harris.””
His face changed.
Then he looked directly at me.
“Mrs. Bennett.””
My stomach tightened.
“What?””
He slowly lowered the phone.
“The person who accessed the footage wasn’t Michael.””
I waited.
“Then who?””
His answer made my entire body go cold.
“It was Jayla’s biological father.””
Silence.
I looked at my daughter.
Her face had gone completely white.
Because there was one person who had never been mentioned.
One person whose name had disappeared from our lives years ago.
Her biological father.
“Who is he?”” I whispered.
Jayla’s lips parted.
But no sound came out.
Then my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I answered.
A man’s voice spoke softly.
“Emily Bennett?””
“Yes.””
“I think it’s time you and I talked.””
“Who is this?””
A pause.
May you like
Then:
“The man Michael spent six years trying to erase.””
