Chapter 4
Daniel left before the police arrived.
I had called them after he refused to leave the property.
Helen followed him.
But the paternity report remained on my driveway.
So did the look on Ryan’s face.
Jessica sat on the curb.
She cried until she had no tears left.
Ryan stood beside his truck.
He refused to look at her.
Finally he said, “Was any of it real?”
Jessica lifted her head.
“What?”
“Our marriage.”
“Ryan…”
“Was any of it real?”
“Yes.”
He laughed quietly.
“That somehow makes it worse.”
She stood.
“I never planned this.”
“You planned hundreds of meetings with my brother-in-law.”
“I know.”
“You lied to me every day.”
“I know.”
“You let me believe that baby was mine.”
Jessica pressed both hands over her stomach.
“I didn’t know.”
Ryan stared at her.
“You knew it was possible.”
She couldn’t answer.
He nodded.
“That’s what I thought.”
Then he got into his truck.
Jessica ran toward him.
“Please don’t leave me.”
He looked through the open window.
“You already left.”
Then he drove away.
That night, Daniel sent me twenty-seven messages.
The first ones were angry.
YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO GO THROUGH MY THINGS.
Then defensive.
THE LOANS WERE FOR OUR FAMILY.
Then apologetic.
I LOST CONTROL WITH LILY.
Then romantic.
I LOVE YOU.
Then threatening.
IF YOU TRY TO TAKE MY DAUGHTER FROM ME, YOU WILL REGRET IT.
I forwarded every message to Caroline.
She replied with four words.
Do not respond tonight.
So I didn’t.
Instead, I sat beside Lily while she colored at the kitchen table.
She drew a house.
Three people stood outside.
One was me.
One was her.
The third was my mother.
No Daniel.
I tried not to react.
“Who’s that?”
“Grandma.”
“Where’s Daddy?”
She stopped coloring.
“I don’t want him in this picture.”
“Okay.”
“Is that bad?”
“No.”
“He’ll get mad.”
The way she said it hurt.
As though every choice had to be measured against Daniel’s anger.
I sat beside her.
“Sweetheart, Daddy’s feelings are not your job.”
She looked at me.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“What if he cries?”
“He is allowed to feel sad.”
“What if he yells?”
“He is responsible for what he does when he’s angry.”
Lily thought about that.
Then she added a dog to the picture.
“We don’t have a dog.”
“I know.”
“What’s his name?”
“Freedom.”
I nearly cried.
The temporary custody hearing was scheduled three days later.
Three days.
Daniel used every hour.
He hired an attorney.
He sent messages to relatives claiming I had “manipulated” Lily into making accusations.
Helen called family members and told them I had been planning a divorce for months.
She said I had used the birthday party to humiliate Daniel.
Unfortunately for her, thirty people had watched the slap.
And four people had recorded parts of the party.
One video showed Lily making the accusation.
Daniel grabbing her arm.
Then striking her.
The video spread through our family privately.
Daniel’s story changed.
He claimed it was an accident.
Then he claimed he had been swatting a bug.
Then he claimed Lily moved unexpectedly.
Nobody believed him.
The morning before court, I got a call from an unknown number.
“Emily?”
A woman’s voice.
“Yes?”
“My name is Rachel Cole.”
I stopped breathing.
“I think you’ve been looking for me.”
I sat down.
“How did you get my number?”
“Jessica.”
Of course.
Rachel continued.
“I almost didn’t call.”
“Why did you?”
A long silence.
“Because Ava saw a picture of Lily online.”
My heart tightened.
“What picture?”
“The birthday pictures your cousin posted before everything happened.”
“Oh.”
“She asked who Lily was.”
Rachel’s voice changed.
“She knows Daniel has another family.”
I closed my eyes.
“How much does she know?”
“Enough to know he chose that family instead of her.”
“That’s not Lily’s fault.”
“I know.”
“And it isn’t Ava’s.”
Rachel exhaled.
“No.”
I hesitated.
“Can we meet?”
Another silence.
“I don’t want money.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
“Daniel always tells people I want money.”
“I read the messages.”
Rachel laughed once.
No humor.
“Then you know.”
“Yes.”
We met in a coffee shop an hour away.
My father drove me.
Rachel sat in the back corner.
She was in her mid-thirties.
Plain clothes.
Tired eyes.
She looked nothing like the monster Helen had described.
Ava was not with her.
I sat across from Rachel.
For several seconds we just stared at each other.
Then she said, “You look younger than I expected.”
“I’m thirty-three.”
She nodded.
“I was twenty-one when I met Daniel.”
My stomach tightened.
“How old was he?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“What happened?”
Rachel wrapped both hands around her coffee.
“He was charming.”
I almost laughed.
That word.
Everyone used that word.
“He said he was single.”
“Was he?”
“As far as I know.”
She looked out the window.
“When I got pregnant, he wanted me to end it.”
I said nothing.
“I refused.”
“Did he ever meet Ava?”
“Three times.”
My heart hurt.
“Only three?”
“The last time she was four.”
“Why?”
Rachel’s jaw tightened.
“She spilled juice on his car seat.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“He yelled.”
She looked at me.
“I told him to leave.”
“What happened after that?”
“He stopped coming.”
“Support?”
“Court ordered.”
“And Helen?”
Rachel’s expression changed instantly.
“You know about Helen.”
“Yes.”
“She offered me thirty thousand dollars to move away.”
My father shifted in the nearby chair.
I leaned forward.
“Did you take it?”
“No.”
“She said you did.”
Rachel smiled bitterly.
“Of course she did.”
“Did Helen threaten you?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“She said if I kept contacting Daniel, she would make sure he got custody.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It did to me at twenty-two.”
Rachel looked tired.
“She had money. Lawyers. Connections. I was a single mom waiting tables.”
“Why did you contact Daniel again later?”
“Ava got sick.”
I tensed.
“She’s okay now.”
“What happened?”
“Kidney infection. Hospitalized four days.”
Rachel looked down.
“She asked for him.”
That broke something in me.
“I called Daniel.”
“And?”
“He said he was busy.”
I felt sick.
Rachel pulled out her phone.
“There’s something you need to hear.”
She played a voicemail.
Daniel’s voice filled the space between us.
Rachel, stop using that kid to manipulate me. I have a real family now. If you contact Emily, I’ll make sure you regret it.
I closed my eyes.
A real family.
As if Ava were fake.
Rachel stopped the recording.
“There are more.”
“I need copies.”
“For court?”
“For everything.”
She studied me.
“Are you leaving him?”
“Yes.”
“No hesitation?”
I looked at her.
“He hit Lily.”
That answered it.
Rachel nodded slowly.
“Then I’ll help.”
Before we left, I asked the question I had been afraid to ask.
“Does Ava want to meet Lily?”
Rachel’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
I swallowed.
“I’d like that.”
“But not now.”
“Of course.”
“She’s been disappointed enough.”
“I understand.”
Rachel stood.
Then she stopped.
“There’s another reason Daniel wanted that second phone.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“He wasn’t only hiding me from you.”
“What else?”
Rachel looked at my father.
Then back at me.
“About six months ago, Daniel called me drunk.”
My skin prickled.
“He said he was going to lose the house.”
“What?”
“He said he needed money fast.”
I thought of the loans.
The forged signatures.
“What did he do with it?”
Rachel shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Then she said something worse.
“But he said if Helen couldn’t fix it, someone named Victor would.”
I had never heard that name.
“Who is Victor?”
“I don’t know.”
That night, I searched Daniel’s second phone again.
Victor appeared in twelve messages.
No last name.
No photo.
Just demands.
Friday. No excuses.
You are already late.
Your mother’s guarantee means nothing now.
Then the last message.
If you don’t pay, I start with the house.
I stared at the screen.
The house where Lily slept.
The house Daniel had secretly borrowed against.
My phone rang.
Caroline.
“Emily, we have a problem.”
“What?”
“Daniel filed his own emergency custody petition.”
My heart dropped.
“On what grounds?”
Caroline went silent for half a second.
Then she said, “He claims you are mentally unstable, violent, and planning to flee the state with Lily.”
I stood.
“He hit her.”
“I know.”
“There’s video.”
“I know.”
“So how can he—”
“People can file anything.”
I pressed my hand against the counter.
“What else?”
“He says your brother attacked him at the party and you encouraged it.”
“That’s a lie.”
“I know.”
Then Caroline’s voice hardened.
“But tomorrow, we stop reacting.”
I stared at Lily’s drawing on the refrigerator.
Me.
Her.
Grandma.
Freedom the dog.
May you like
Caroline continued.
“Tomorrow, Daniel gets to explain himself to a judge.”
