Chapter 2 - THE OTHER BABY
“Nathan.”
Elaine’s voice cracked.
“Is the baby yours?”
Nathan looked around the ballroom.
Dozens of people were pretending not to stare.
He lowered his voice.
“This is not the place.”
Richard slammed his palm against the table.
“You made it the place when you brought seventy people here to celebrate yourself.”
Elaine flinched.
Nathan looked at me.
“Tell them to stop.”
“Why?”
“You started this.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You started this months ago.”
He stepped closer.
My mother immediately moved between us.
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“Seriously?”
Linda did not move.
Sophie remained asleep against her shoulder.
I was grateful.
I did not want my daughter waking to this.
Nathan’s brother, Michael, appeared from another table.
“What’s happening?”
Elaine answered without looking away from Nathan.
“Apparently your brother has another baby.”
Nathan snapped:
“I never said that.”
Michael stopped.
“Another baby?”
I pulled out another screenshot.
Vanessa:
He looks like you already.
Nathan:
Don’t send me pictures while I’m home. Claire checks the notifications sometimes.
A lie inside a lie.
I had never checked his notifications.
But apparently telling Vanessa I was suspicious helped justify his secrecy.
Michael read the messages.
Then looked at his brother.
“You’re unbelievable.”
Nathan’s voice rose.
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know enough.”
The banquet manager returned.
The unpaid bill had become almost comical.
Nathan finally handed over another credit card.
The manager disappeared.
Three minutes later, he returned.
Declined.
I did not smile.
I didn’t need to.
Nathan’s public image was collapsing without any help from me.
Elaine whispered:
“I’ll pay it.”
Richard turned.
“No.”
She stared at him.
“What?”
“He created this.”
“He’s our son.”
“He’s thirty-seven.”
Richard’s voice hardened.
“If he can finance two pregnancies, he can finance his own party.”
Nathan flinched.
That line traveled through the room.
I heard whispers.
Then my attorney arrived.
Nathan stared.
“You brought a lawyer?”
Her name was Rebecca Sloan.
She had waited in the hotel lobby because I wanted a witness available after I disclosed the petition.
Rebecca walked toward me.
“Claire?”
“I’m ready.”
Nathan looked between us.
“Ready for what?”
Rebecca handed him an envelope.
“You’ve been served.”
He did not take it.
She placed it on the table.
Petition for dissolution of marriage.
Temporary financial restraining request.
Request for exclusive use of certain accounts.
Temporary parenting schedule proposal.
Preservation notice regarding electronic and financial records.
Nathan stared at the envelope.
Then at me.
“You planned to serve me at Sophie’s baptism?”
“No.”
I pointed toward the hallway.
“I planned to serve you afterward.”
“Then why do this?”
“You told me everyone was watching.”
For the first time, a few people laughed openly.
Nathan’s face turned red.
The ballroom had shifted.
He was no longer controlling the audience.
He was trapped inside it.
Then his phone rang.
He looked down.
One name filled the screen.
Vanessa.
I saw it.
So did Elaine.
So did Richard.
Nathan declined the call.
Two seconds later, she called again.
He declined.
Again.
Again.
Finally Elaine reached for the phone.
“Answer it.”
Nathan pulled it away.
“Mom.”
“Answer.”
“No.”
Elaine’s entire body shook.
“ANSWER IT.”
People turned again.
Nathan hit accept.
“What?”
A woman’s voice came through.
Not on speaker.
But loud enough that I heard pieces.
“You said…”
“…tonight…”
“…come after…”
Nathan’s face changed.
“Vanessa, stop.”
I stared at him.
“Come after what?”
He hung up.
Elaine looked sick.
“Was she coming here?”
Nathan said nothing.
That answer was enough.
I realized the plan.
After the baptism.
After the relatives left.
After I paid the remaining bill.
Nathan intended to meet Vanessa.
Maybe at the hotel.
Maybe somewhere else.
The perfect father would finish posing for pictures with one baby and then go visit another.
My stomach turned.
Rebecca touched my arm.
“We can leave.”
I nodded.
I wanted Sophie away from the room.
Nathan blocked my path.
“You’re not taking her.”
Every sound around us disappeared.
I looked at him.
“Move.”
“She’s my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t get to disappear with her because you’re angry.”
Rebecca stepped forward.
“Mr. Bennett, nobody is disappearing.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Stay out of this.”
“She is counsel.”
“I don’t care.”
My mother tightened her hold on Sophie.
Nathan moved toward her.
Richard stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Nathan stared at his father.
“Get out of my way.”
“No.”
“I’m taking my daughter home.”
I said:
“Which home?”
He froze.
I continued.
“The one where you’ve been messaging another woman from your office?”
Silence.
“Or Vanessa’s apartment, where the bank statements say you’ve been paying rent?”
Nathan’s face hardened.
Then Rebecca spoke.
“Mr. Bennett, the petition proposes that Sophie remain with Claire tonight and that parenting arrangements be addressed promptly through counsel.”
“I’m her father.”
“No one is disputing that.”
Nathan looked toward me.
Something calculating appeared behind his eyes.
Then he said:
“Maybe you should.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Dispute it.”
He gave a strange smile.
“You’re so confident about everything else.”
Elaine whispered:
“Nathan, stop.”
He ignored her.
“Maybe before you destroy a family, Claire, we should make sure Sophie is even mine.”
The cruelty was deliberate.
He wanted a wound.
He wanted me off balance.
For half a second, it worked.
Then I looked at my three-month-old daughter.
And something inside me became very calm.
“Fine.”
Nathan blinked.
“What?”
“Get the test.”
He stared.
“You heard me.”
I stepped closer.
“Test her.”
My voice stayed steady.
“And while we’re testing children…”
Nathan’s smile disappeared.
“…test Vanessa’s too.”
For the first time, I watched doubt cross his face.
Not about Sophie.
About the baby he had spent almost forty thousand dollars pretending was his.
May you like
And suddenly I knew something Nathan did not.
Vanessa had never shown him a paternity test.
