Chapter 10 — The Family Secret
I didn't go alone.
I didn't even pretend I would.
The unknown message had asked me to come alone.
I ignored it.
My attorney sat beside me in the car while two private investigators waited several blocks away.
We never reached the location in the photograph.
The sender never gave us one.
Instead, another message arrived.
You don't need to come. You already know where to look.
Then an address.
My stomach tightened.
I recognized it immediately.
Daniel's parents' house.
I stared at the screen.
My attorney read the address.
“Do they know you're coming?”
“No.”
“Then let's find out what they're hiding.”
Daniel's mother opened the door.
The moment she saw me, she went pale.
Not surprised.
Afraid.
That told me everything.
“Jennifer.”
“May I come in?”
She looked behind me.
Then back at my face.
“I don't think that's a good idea.”
“I do.”
She didn't move.
I stepped closer.
“I know about Evelyn.”
Her fingers tightened around the door.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered:
“Who told you?”
That was enough.
I walked inside.
My attorney followed.
Daniel's mother closed the door.
His father was sitting in the living room.
He stood when he saw us.
His face hardened.
“What is this?”
I looked at him.
“Your son lied to me for years.”
He sighed.
“Jennifer—”
“No.”
My voice surprised even me.
“I don't want another explanation.”
I placed a folder on the table.
“I want answers.”
Daniel's mother stared at the folder.
“What answers?”
“Who is Evelyn Carter?”
Her face changed.
Her husband looked at her.
Then at me.
And in that tiny exchange, I understood.
They both knew.
My heart began pounding.
His mother sat down.
His father remained standing.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“Your son.”
She closed her eyes.
“He shouldn't have told you.”
“He didn't tell me enough.”
She looked at me.
“What do you know?”
“That Evelyn was connected to the hospital.”
Silence.
“That Daniel was listed as her guardian for a child seven years ago.”
Her husband looked away.
“That he changed my maternity records.”
His mother's eyes filled with tears.
“And that he told me Lily was never supposed to be mine.”
She covered her mouth.
I leaned forward.
“Now tell me the truth.”
She didn't answer.
Her husband did.
“Jennifer, there are things you don't understand.”
“Then explain them.”
“It isn't as simple as you think.”
“It never is when people lie.”
His wife whispered:
“George.”
He looked at her.
She shook her head.
“No more.”
I looked between them.
“No more what?”
She stood.
“Wait here.”
She disappeared upstairs.
Her husband didn't stop her.
I watched him.
“You knew.”
He looked at me.
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Not everything.”
“Enough.”
He lowered his head.
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“Did you know Daniel was involved with Chloe?”
“No.”
“Did you know he was sending her money?”
“No.”
“Did you know about the hospital?”
He hesitated.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“Before I married him?”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“What happened seven years ago?”
He didn't answer.
Then his wife returned.
She was holding an old envelope.
Brown.
Faded.
The edges were worn from age.
She placed it on the table.
I saw my name written on the front.
Jennifer.
My heart stopped.
“Why does this have my name on it?”
“Because it was meant for you.”
“When?”
“Not yet.”
I looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
She sat down.
“It means Daniel wasn't supposed to marry you.”
I felt the room go silent.
“What?”
“He was supposed to leave you alone.”
My stomach turned.
“Why?”
“Because of Lily.”
I stared at her.
“She wasn't born yet.”
“No.”
“Then what did you know?”
Her hands trembled.
“Daniel believed your pregnancy was connected to something that happened years before.”
“What?”
She looked at the envelope.
“I never understood all of it.”
“Then tell me what you did understand.”
She took a breath.
“Seven years ago, Daniel made a terrible mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“He helped someone.”
“Evelyn?”
She nodded.
“She came to our house one night.”
“Why?”
“She was frightened.”
“Of whom?”
“She wouldn't say.”
“What did she have?”
“A baby.”
I stopped breathing.
“Whose baby?”
“She said it wasn't hers.”
My attorney leaned forward.
“Then whose was it?”
“She didn't know.”
I stared at her.
“That makes no sense.”
“It didn't to us either.”
“Why did Daniel become involved?”
“Because he knew her.”
“How?”
“They had met through a family connection.”
“What family connection?”
She looked at me.
“That is the part I never understood.”
I felt anger rising.
“You're still protecting him.”
“No.”
“Then stop speaking in pieces.”
She flinched.
“You're right.”
She opened the envelope.
Inside were several documents.
The first was a photograph.
A newborn boy.
Dark hair.
Tiny face.
A pale blanket.
I stared at it.
The baby looked familiar.
Not because I had seen him before.
Because I had seen the same photograph in my dreams after reading Chloe's messages.
“Who is this?”
“Evelyn brought him to Daniel.”
“Seven years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She said someone was looking for him.”
“Who?”
“We never knew.”
I turned the photograph over.
There was handwriting on the back.
Protect him until she comes back.
“Who is she?”
“I don't know.”
“Evelyn?”
“No.”
My pulse quickened.
“Then who?”
“She wouldn't say.”
I looked at my attorney.
She was already photographing the documents.
I picked up the next page.
A guardianship agreement.
Daniel's name.
Evelyn's name.
The infant's identity was blacked out.
But one line remained visible.
Temporary placement pending maternal identification.
I looked at Daniel's mother.
“You knew about this.”
“Yes.”
“And you let me marry him?”
Her face crumpled.
“I thought it was over.”
“What was over?”
“The child.”
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“Daniel told us the baby had been placed with another family.”
“Which family?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why did you believe him?”
“Because he showed us paperwork.”
“Where is it?”
She looked down.
“I don't have it.”
My attorney asked:
“Did Daniel keep it?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
I looked at the photograph again.
Seven years.
A baby boy.
A woman named Evelyn.
A missing mother.
A secret placement.
And Daniel at the center.
Then something struck me.
“Why was the baby's sex hidden?”
His mother looked confused.
“What?”
“The record.”
I pointed.
“It says infant. No sex.”
She stared.
“I don't know.”
“Did you ever see the baby?”
“Yes.”
“Was it a boy?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
I felt a strange chill.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
I looked at the photograph.
A boy.
Then I remembered something Daniel had said.
The same one.
The child from seven years ago.
I whispered:
“Where is he now?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Does Daniel know?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he visited the family.”
My heart stopped.
“What family?”
“The family who took the baby.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“When?”
“Several times.”
My attorney asked:
“Recently?”
She shook her head.
“No. Years ago.”
“Then why is this connected to Lily?”
His mother looked at me.
“I don't know.”
“Then what was Daniel protecting?”
She looked away.
“Your husband believed someone was trying to find that child.”