Chapter 6: The Family Secret
Daniel stared at Claire’s phone.
The message sat between us like a threat.
“You got this today?””
Claire nodded.
“Yes.””
“From who?””
“I don’t know.””
Daniel grabbed his jacket.
“We’re going to the police.””
Claire immediately reached for his arm.
“No.””
He looked at her.
“No?””
“If you go to the police, you don’t understand what happens next.””
“What happens next?””
Claire looked terrified.
“They expose everything.””
I felt a knot form in my stomach.
“Everything about what?””
Claire didn’t answer.
Daniel pulled away from her.
“I’m done protecting your secrets.””
“I’m not asking you to protect me.””
“Then tell the truth.””
Claire closed her eyes.
“My mother-in-law wasn’t helping me.””
Daniel froze.
“What did you just say?””
“She was using me.””
Nobody spoke.
I thought back to every family gathering.
Every time Daniel’s mother praised Claire.
Every time she talked about finally becoming a grandmother.
Something about it always seemed too intense.
Too perfect.
“What does your mother have to do with this?”” Daniel asked.
Claire looked at him.
“She knew I couldn’t have a baby before you did.””
Daniel’s face changed.
“How?””
“Because she found my medical records.””
I felt my heartbeat quicken.
“That’s impossible.””
Claire shook her head.
“She worked at the clinic.””
Daniel went completely still.
His mother had been a nurse at the same medical center where Claire claimed she had appointments.
“She knew,” Claire whispered.
“She knew everything.””
Daniel sat back down.
“What did she want?””
Claire looked at him.
“At first? A grandchild.””
“That’s not an answer.””
Claire’s eyes filled with tears.
“She said you were the last person in the family who could carry on the name.””
The words felt cruel.
Cold.
Like Daniel’s entire worth had been reduced to having a child.
“So she helped you fake a pregnancy?””
Claire nodded.
“She found the adoption papers for Melissa’s baby.””
“And she told you to lie?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Claire looked at me.
“Because she was afraid Daniel would leave.””
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“My own mother thought I would abandon my wife?””
“No.””
Claire’s voice dropped.
“She thought you would abandon her.””
The room became silent.
Then Daniel’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“What?””
I watched his face lose all color.
“Daniel?””
He didn’t answer.
He listened.
Then slowly stood.
“Where?””
A pause.
“I’ll be there.””
He hung up.
“What happened?””
He looked at us.
“That was my mother.””
Claire immediately looked terrified.
“What did she say?””
Daniel stared at his wife.
“She said she has proof.””
“Proof of what?””
His jaw tightened.
“That Claire never planned to keep the baby.””
Claire stood.
“That’s a lie.””
Daniel picked up his keys.
“She wants us to meet her.””
“Where?””
He looked at me.
“At the cemetery.””
My stomach dropped.
“Why there?””
Daniel looked toward the door.
“Because she said that’s where the truth about the baby started.””
And as he walked out, I noticed something in his hand.
The hospital document.
The one with Melissa’s name.
Except now there was something written on the back.
A note we hadn’t seen before.
May you like
Three words.
*The baby lived.*
