Chapter 8 — The Lie Daniel Told Chloe
The name stayed on my screen all night.
Evelyn Carter.
I searched every hospital record my attorney had obtained.
Nothing.
No nurse.
No doctor.
No administrator.
No patient.
No visitor.
No employee.
There was no Evelyn Carter.
And yet her signature was on the original verification record for my daughter.
At 3:18 a.m.
During the missing hours.
I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same thing.
A woman I had never met signing my daughter's identification record.
By morning, I had made a decision.
I was going to find Chloe.
Not by phone.
Not through messages.
In person.
My attorney insisted on coming with me.
I agreed.
There were too many lies around this story for me to walk into another one alone.
Chloe chose a small café on the other side of town.
Not somewhere Daniel would normally go.
Not somewhere either of us would be recognized.
When I arrived, she was already sitting in the corner.
She looked nothing like the woman I had imagined.
I had seen her name on Daniel's phone.
I had seen her photograph in his messages.
I had seen the money he sent her.
But sitting across from me, she looked exhausted.
Her hair was tied back.
Her face was pale.
Her hands were wrapped around a cup she wasn't drinking.
When she saw me, she stood.
“Jennifer.”
I stopped.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I sat down.
She slowly sat too.
My attorney took the chair beside me.
Chloe looked at her.
“You brought someone.”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
“I expected that.”
“Good.”
Chloe looked down.
“I don't blame you.”
“You should.”
She looked up.
“I know.”
The answer surprised me.
I had prepared myself for excuses.
For tears.
For accusations.
Instead, she simply accepted it.
I leaned forward.
“Tell me what Daniel told you.”
Her fingers tightened around the cup.
“About what?”
“Everything.”
She swallowed.
“Where do I start?”
“Start with me.”
She looked directly into my eyes.
“He told me your marriage was over.”
I felt nothing.
Not because it didn't hurt.
Because I had already heard variations of the lie.
“When?”
“Before we started seeing each other.”
“How long before?”
“Almost a year.”
My jaw tightened.
“A year?”
“Yes.”
“He told you we were separated?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“He said you lived together because of Lily.”
“Lily wasn't born yet.”
“He said you were already planning to separate after the baby.”
I stared at her.
“What else?”
“He said you didn't love him.”
I almost laughed.
“He said you had become cold.”
“He said you were interested in someone else.”
My stomach turned.
“Did he give you a name?”
“No.”
“He said you were staying because of money.”
My attorney glanced at me.
I ignored her.
“And he told you what?”
“That he was trapped.”
There it was.
The oldest lie.
The unfaithful husband pretending he was the victim of his own marriage.
I leaned back.
“What did you believe?”
Chloe looked ashamed.
“All of it.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed it.”
“He was convincing?”
“He cried.”
I said nothing.
“He told me he loved me,” she continued. “He said he'd loved me since college.”
My hands curled beneath the table.
“He said you were the woman he had chosen because he was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Losing his daughter.”
I frowned.
“Lily?”
“Yes.”
“But I was pregnant.”
“I know.”
“What did he say about the pregnancy?”
“He said you were using the baby to keep him.”
My attorney's expression hardened.
I felt something inside me crack.
“So he told you I was manipulating him.”
“Yes.”
“And you believed him.”
“Yes.”
I stared at her.
Then asked quietly:
“Did he tell you he was sending you money?”
She nodded.
“He said he was helping me because I was carrying his child.”
I looked at her.
“Was that true?”
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you he had taken the money from our joint account?”
Her face changed.
“No.”
“He didn't tell you?”
“No.”
“He told me it was his money.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course he had.
He had built a different version of himself for every person around him.
To his parents, he was the responsible son.
To his coworkers, he was the devoted husband.
To me, he was the overwhelmed provider.
To Chloe, he was the trapped lover.
And somehow, every version required somebody else to pay the price.
“Tell me about the night Lily was born.”
Chloe's face became pale.
“I don't remember everything.”
“You remember Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He came to my room after the baby was born.”
“At 3:06?”
She nodded.
“He looked terrified.”
“What did he tell you?”
“That there had been a mistake.”
“What kind?”
“The baby's identification.”
I leaned closer.
“Did he say your baby was in the wrong bassinet?”
“He didn't use those words.”
“What words?”
“He said, ‘They mixed up the records.’”
My heart pounded.
“What did you ask?”
“I asked whether my baby was okay.”
“And?”
“He said yes.”
“Then why were you afraid?”
“Because he told me something else.”
“What?”
Chloe looked at me.
“He said the hospital could take my baby.”
“Why?”
“He said someone was looking for her.”
“Who?”
“I asked him.”
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘Jennifer.’”
The room seemed to disappear around me.
My attorney leaned forward.
“He told you Jennifer was looking for the baby?”
Chloe nodded.
“He said you didn't know the whole story.”
“What story?”
“He wouldn't tell me.”
I whispered:
“Did he say I wanted to take your baby?”
“No.”
“Then why would he mention me?”
“He said you were the wrong person to know.”
My stomach twisted.
The exact phrase.
Laura had heard it too.
Jennifer was the wrong person.
I looked at my attorney.
Then back at Chloe.
“What happened after that?”
“He told me to sign something.”
“What?”
“A hospital form.”
“Which one?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you read it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I was bleeding. I was exhausted. I had just given birth.”
I softened despite myself.
“What did he tell you it was?”
“He said it was proof that the baby was mine.”
I stared at her.
“And you signed it?”
“Yes.”
“Did he take it?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever see it again?”
“No.”
My attorney wrote something down.
“Was there a name on the form?”
Chloe frowned.
“I remember a woman's name.”
“Which name?”
She closed her eyes.
“Evelyn.”
My heart stopped.
“Evelyn what?”
“I don't know.”
“Carter?”
Chloe's eyes opened.
“Yes.”
My entire body went cold.
“You're sure?”
“I think so.”
“Think.”
She pressed her fingers against her forehead.
“Yes.”
“Evelyn Carter.”
She nodded.
I couldn't breathe.
The impossible name had just appeared twice.
Once on Lily's hospital record.
Once in Chloe's memory.
But Chloe had never met Evelyn.
Neither had I.
So who was she?
My attorney asked the next question.
“What happened after Daniel left?”
Chloe looked down.
“He came back.”
“When?”
“About an hour later.”
“Why?”
“He said there was another problem.”
“What?”
“He said the hospital had discovered something about the baby.”
“What?”
“He wouldn't tell me.”
“Did he mention Jennifer?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”