Chapter 7: The Secret in the Message
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
The words on Mark’s phone blurred in front of my eyes.
*Mark, she can’t find out that Lily isn’t your biological daughter.*
I read it again.
And again.
As if somehow the sentence would change.
As if the letters would rearrange themselves into something less devastating.
But they didn’t.
I slowly lowered the phone.
“Lily isn’t your biological daughter?””
My voice didn’t sound like mine.
Mark’s face lost all color.
“Chloe…”
“No.””
I stepped away.
“Don’t say my name like that.””
“Let me explain.””
“Explain what?””
My hands started shaking.
“That my husband has been lying to me for five years?””
Mark opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
That silence hurt more than any confession.
Behind me, I heard Lily moving.
“Mommy?””
I turned immediately.
Her frightened eyes were watching us.
I forced my face to soften.
“Sweetheart, go with Aunt Zoe.””
“But—”
“Please, baby.””
She looked at Mark.
Then at me.
And slowly walked toward the door.
The second she left the room, I turned back.
“Start talking.””
Mark sat down.
For the first time since Thanksgiving, he didn’t look powerful.
He looked scared.
“I found out before Lily was born.””
My chest tightened.
“Found out what?””
“That there was a possibility.””
I stared at him.
“A possibility?””
He rubbed his hands together.
“Megan found messages.””
I frowned.
“Megan?””
“Yes.””
“Why would Megan have my private messages?””
He didn’t answer quickly enough.
And that told me there was another secret.
“What did she do?””
Mark looked away.
“She saw something on my old phone.””
“Your phone?””
“Yes.””
I laughed quietly.
A painful laugh.
“You’re telling me my sister-in-law discovered something about my pregnancy because she was going through your phone?””
“It wasn’t like that.””
“Then what was it like?””
Mark stood up.
“She thought she was protecting me.””
I stared at him.
“From your wife?””
“No.””
“From the truth.””
The room felt smaller.
“What truth?””
Mark swallowed.
“Before we got married… before Lily was born…”
I waited.
Then he said:
“There was a night you don’t remember.””
My heart dropped.
“What does that mean?””
“It means there are things you don’t know.””
I stepped closer.
“Mark, stop talking in riddles.””
He looked at me.
“Lily’s paternity test came back differently than expected.””
The air left my lungs.
“A paternity test?””
“Yes.””
“Why was there a paternity test?””
Silence.
Then:
“Because I asked for one.””
I stared at him.
“You tested our daughter without telling me?””
“I was scared.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You were suspicious.””
“I didn’t know what to believe.””
“And then?””
Mark’s eyes filled with something I couldn’t recognize.
Regret.
“Then I found out.””
“Found out what?””
“That I wasn’t her biological father.””
The words landed like a physical blow.
I grabbed the edge of the table.
“No.””
“It’s true.””
“No.””
I shook my head harder.
“That’s impossible.””
Mark looked down.
“Chloe…”
“No.””
My voice rose.
“You were there when she was born.””
“Yes.””
“You held her.””
“Yes.””
“You cried.””
His eyes closed.
“Yes.””
“Then how could you know something like this and say nothing?””
That was the question.
The only question that mattered.
Mark didn’t answer.
And suddenly I understood.
The custody battle.
The fake accusations.
The attack on Thanksgiving.
He wasn’t trying to protect Lily.
He was trying to punish me.
“You were going to take her away.””
His silence confirmed it.
“Why?””
Mark looked broken.
“Because I thought I was losing everything.””
“You were losing everything?””
I stared at him.
“I was the one who raised her.””
His voice cracked.
“I loved her.””
“Then why would you hurt her?””
“I wasn’t trying to hurt her.””
“You used her.””
The words made him flinch.
“You used our daughter as a weapon.””
Mark looked away.
Then his phone rang.
Again.
This time, Megan.
I answered before he could stop me.
“Hello?””
There was silence.
Then Megan’s voice.
“Chloe?””
“Yes.””
A sharp inhale.
“Give the phone to Mark.””
“No.””
Another pause.
Then Megan whispered:
“You found out.””
I felt cold.
“You knew.””
“Chloe, listen—”
“How long?””
“Please.””
“How long have you known?””
Megan didn’t answer.
And I realized something.
She wasn’t shocked.
She was afraid.
“Tell me the truth.””
Her voice became smaller.
“Since before Lily was born.””
I closed my eyes.
Five years.
Five years of lies.
Five years of smiling at family dinners.
Five years of calling this woman my sister.
“Why?”” I asked.
“Because I was trying to help my brother.””
I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Your brother?””
“Yes.””
“You destroyed my family to help your brother?””
“No.””
Her voice cracked.
“We were trying to protect Lily.””
I looked at Mark.
He looked away.
And that scared me.
Because if he had denied it…
If he had been angry…
If he had called her a liar…
Maybe there would have been a chance.
But he didn’t.
“Megan,” I whispered.
“What?””
“What else are you hiding?””
Silence.
Then she said:
“Chloe… you need to ask Mark who Lily’s biological father is.””
My heart stopped.
May you like
“What?””
But Megan had already hung up.
