Chapter 3: The Name My Wife Tried to Erase
Claire didn’t come inside immediately.
She stood in the doorway like she was waiting for someone to tell her she was allowed to enter her own home.
For the first time in seventeen years, my wife looked like a stranger.
“Ethan…”
I held up the letter.
“Who wrote this?””
She didn’t answer.
“Who wrote this, Claire?””
Her lips trembled.
“Where did you find it?””
“That’s your first question?””
She looked at Lily.
“Why did you show him?””
My daughter flinched.
And that was when something inside me snapped.
“Don’t.””
Claire looked at me.
“Don’t what?””
“Don’t make her feel guilty for telling me the truth.””
“She doesn’t understand what she’s doing.””
Lily stood up.
“I understand enough.””
Claire’s face softened.
“Sweetheart—”
“No.””
That single word from my daughter surprised all of us.
“I spent seven years protecting you.””
Claire went pale.
“Lily…”
“No, Mom. I did.””
The silence that followed was unbearable.
I looked at my wife.
“What happened in 2019?””
Claire closed the door slowly.
Then she walked into the kitchen.
She looked older somehow.
Not physically.
But emotionally.
Like the secrets she carried had finally become too heavy.
“I made a mistake.””
I laughed bitterly.
“A mistake?””
She looked at me.
“Yes.””
“You stole twenty thousand dollars.””
“I know.””
“You lied for years.””
“I know.””
“You involved our daughter.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I know.””
“Then tell me the truth.””
Claire sat down.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
Then she whispered:
“The money wasn’t for a debt.””
“I figured that out.””
“It was blackmail.””
My jaw tightened.
“By who?””
She looked at the floor.
“His name is Daniel.””
The name meant nothing.
But the way she said it did.
“Who is Daniel?””
Claire didn’t answer immediately.
“Claire.””
“He was someone from before.””
“Before what?””
She looked at me.
“Before you.””
The room went quiet.
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“Before me?””
“Yes.””
“And he came back?””
She nodded.
“When?””
“2019.””
The same summer.
The same year.
“What did he want?””
Claire covered her face.
“He knew something.””
“What?””
She looked at Lily.
Then at me.
“He knew the truth about Lily’s birth.””
Everything stopped.
The clock.
The refrigerator.
The sound of my own breathing.
“What did you just say?””
Lily’s face turned white.
“Mom…”
Claire started crying.
“Ethan, please.””
“No.””
My voice sounded unfamiliar.
“Say exactly what you mean.””
She shook her head.
“I never wanted you hurt.””
“You’re not answering me.””
She whispered:
“Daniel claimed he was Lily’s biological father.””
The room became completely silent.
I looked at my daughter.
My little girl.
The child I taught to ride a bike.
The child I held when she had nightmares.
The child who called me Dad before she could even say my name correctly.
She looked just as shocked as I was.
“Is that true?”” I asked.
Claire immediately shook her head.
“No.””
But the speed of her answer didn’t comfort me.
It terrified me.
“Then why was he blackmailing you?””
“Because he had evidence.””
“What evidence?””
She reached into her purse.
Her hands were shaking.
She pulled out an old photograph.
She placed it on the table.
I picked it up.
It was a picture of Claire.
A younger Claire.
Pregnant.
Standing beside a man I had never seen before.
On the back of the photo was a date.
Three months before Claire and I got married.
I felt like I was falling.
“You were pregnant before we got married?””
Claire cried harder.
“Yes.””
“Lily was born six months after our wedding.””
“I know.””
I stared at her.
“Claire.””
“I didn’t know what to do.””
“You had a child and never told me there was a chance she wasn’t mine?””
“She is yours.””
“How do you know?””
She looked up.
“Because Daniel disappeared before Lily was born.””
“That doesn’t answer my question.””
She wiped her tears.
“I had a test done.””
“When?””
“Years ago.””
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I was afraid.””
“Afraid of what?””
She whispered:
“Losing you.””
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to break something.
But then I looked at Lily.
She was crying silently.
And suddenly my anger had nowhere to go.
Because she was the innocent person in the room.
My daughter.
Or maybe…
I couldn’t even finish the thought.
“Where is Daniel now?”” I asked.
Claire looked away.
“He’s dead.””
The answer shocked me.
“When?””
“Two years ago.””
“Then why are you still paying someone?””
Her face changed.
A new fear appeared.
“What?””
“The twenty thousand dollars.””
Claire went completely still.
“I didn’t pay Daniel.””
My stomach tightened.
“Then who did you pay?””
She slowly looked at Lily.
Then at the hallway.
Then she whispered:
“Someone who knew what really happened.””
“Who?””
Claire opened her mouth.
Before she could answer, Lily’s phone buzzed.
She looked at the screen.
And all the color drained from her face.
“What is it?”” I asked.
She handed me the phone.
A message from an unknown number.
One sentence.
One name.
*Ask your father why he never checked the hospital records.*
May you like
And underneath it:
*Because the baby switched that night.*
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