Chapter 11: The Betrayal From My Own Blood
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
“My father?””
Daniel didn’t respond.
I pulled the phone away from my ear.
Then placed it back.
“That’s impossible.””
“Sarah…”
“No.””
My voice shook.
“My father has nothing to do with your family.””
Daniel sighed.
“I know how it sounds.””
“Because it’s insane.””
I looked at Megan.
She was watching my face.
“What happened?”” she mouthed.
I couldn’t answer.
“Tell me everything.””
Daniel was quiet.
Then he said:
“Your father contacted my mother last year.””
The snow fell harder around me.
“Why?””
“I don’t know all of it.””
“Then what do you know?””
“He was angry.””
“At me?””
“Yes.””
I felt a sharp pain in my chest.
My father and I had never been especially close.
But I never imagined this.
“What did he say?””
Daniel hesitated.
“That you had become difficult.””
I closed my eyes.
The words sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
Evelyn.
Daniel.
Now my father.
Everyone had been telling the same story about me.
That I was the problem.
“What else?””
Daniel lowered his voice.
“He said you didn’t deserve what you had.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What does that mean?””
“He thought you had forgotten where you came from.””
I almost laughed.
My father was angry because I had built a life?
Because I had changed?
Because I had married someone?
The explanation made no sense.
“Why would he help you?””
Daniel paused.
“Because he wanted something.””
I waited.
“He wanted money.””
The answer was like ice water.
My father.
My own father.
Had traded information about me for money.
I turned away from Megan.
I didn’t want her to see my face.
“Where is he now?””
“I don’t know.””
“Daniel.””
“I swear.””
“You expect me to believe you?””
“No.””
His voice cracked.
“I don’t expect anything from you anymore.””
That surprised me.
For the first time, Daniel sounded like he understood he had lost me.
Not temporarily.
Not because I was angry.
Because something had changed.
“Sarah.””
I said nothing.
“I’m sorry.””
The words came quietly.
And somehow, they hurt more.
Because I had waited years to hear them.
But now they were too late.
“I need the documents.””
“What?””
“The ones proving my father was involved.””
Daniel was silent.
“Send them.””
“Sarah, if I do that…”
“Then what?””
He didn’t answer.
I ended the call.
An hour later, a message arrived.
A folder.
Inside were screenshots.
Bank transfers.
Emails.
My father’s name appeared repeatedly.
I stared at the dates.
The first payment came shortly after Daniel and I bought our house.
Then another after we announced our anniversary trip.
Then another after Daniel’s mother complained about me.
Megan sat beside me.
“This is bigger than you thought.””
I nodded.
“Yes.””
Because now I understood.
This wasn’t one person betraying me.
It was a group of people who had decided my life was something they could control.
I kept scrolling.
Then I saw something that made my blood run cold.
A message from my father.
Sent to Evelyn.
*She has no idea. Keep Daniel convinced.*
I stared.
No idea about what?
I opened the next message.
*Once the divorce is complete, the property issue will resolve itself.*
Property.
The house.
My house.
My future.
I felt sick.
Megan looked at the screen.
“They were after your assets.””
I nodded.
But something else bothered me.
I kept reading.
Another message.
This one from Evelyn.
*What about the child?*
My heart stopped.
Child?
I looked at the date.
Two months before Christmas.
I whispered:
“What child?””
Megan looked confused.
“I don’t know.””
I read the reply.
It was from Daniel.
*She doesn’t know yet.*
My entire body went cold.
I dropped the phone.
Megan grabbed it.
“Sarah?””
I couldn’t answer.
Because suddenly, the question wasn’t why they wanted to destroy my marriage.
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It was:
What had Daniel been hiding from me?
