Chapter 5: The Father Who Wasn’t Looking for His Daughter
Mark didn’t come inside.
That scared me more.
He simply stood there, staring.
Like he wanted us to know he had found us.
Rachel grabbed her folder.
“Go.””
“What?””
“Now.””
Zoe stood.
“Chloe, we’re leaving.””
We walked out the back door.
My heart pounded as we rushed through the alley.
I kept looking over my shoulder.
But Mark didn’t follow.
He didn’t have to.
He wanted me afraid.
Back at Zoe’s apartment, we locked every door.
Lily sat on the couch coloring.
She looked up.
“Mommy?””
I forced a smile.
“Yes, baby?””
“Are we moving?””
The question hurt more than anything else.
“Why would you ask that?””
She shrugged.
“Daddy said grown-ups sometimes leave when they’re angry.””
I looked at Zoe.
My face went pale.
“When did Daddy say that?””
“Yesterday.””
My stomach dropped.
“He talked to you?””
Lily nodded.
“On the phone.””
“What did he say?””
She looked confused.
“He asked if I wanted to live with him.””
I felt anger rise inside me.
He was already preparing her.
Already planting ideas.
Zoe sat beside Lily.
“Sweetheart, did Daddy say anything else?””
Lily thought.
“He said Mommy gets upset a lot.””
My hands curled into fists.
That was the story.
That was the plan.
Make me look unstable.
Make Lily afraid of me.
Make everyone believe I was the problem.
That evening, Rachel sent us another message.
A location.
A storage facility.
And one sentence:
“Mark kept everything there.””
The three of us went the next morning.
Rachel met us outside.
She looked nervous.
“He doesn’t know I still have access.””
Inside the storage unit were boxes.
Old files.
A laptop.
Photographs.
My hands shook as Rachel unlocked a metal cabinet.
Inside was a stack of folders.
The first one had my name.
I opened it.
Bank records.
Schedules.
Private information.
Things Mark should never have had.
“He was collecting evidence,” Zoe whispered.
“No,” Rachel said.
“He was collecting control.””
We opened another folder.
This one was labeled:
“Lily.””
My heart stopped.
Inside were photos of Lily.
From daycare.
From the playground.
From family events.
But then I saw something strange.
A photo from when Lily was three months old.
On the back was a handwritten note.
“She looks like Emily.””
I dropped the picture.
“What is this?””
Rachel closed her eyes.
“I was afraid you’d find that.””
I looked at her.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“Suspected what?””
Rachel reached into the box and pulled out another envelope.
“This.””
Inside was a DNA test.
But it wasn’t Lily’s.
It was Mark’s.
And another person’s.
I read the names.
My hands started shaking.
“Mark…”
Rachel nodded.
“He tested himself against Emily’s old medical sample.””
“Why?””
“Because he believed Emily’s baby didn’t die.””
I stared at the paper.
The result was hidden.
Sealed.
“Open it,” Zoe said.
I looked at her.
“What if we don’t want to know?””
Zoe’s voice was quiet.
“We already know Mark is hiding something.””
I opened the envelope.
My eyes scanned the page.
Then froze.
The result wasn’t about Lily.
It was about another child.
A child Mark had spent years searching for.
A child he believed was alive.
I looked at Rachel.
“Who is this?””
She took a deep breath.
Then whispered:
“Chloe… the child Mark was searching for was never missing.””
I stared at her.
“Then where were they?””
Rachel looked at the name printed on the paper.
May you like
Her face turned pale.
“Living in your house.””
