CHAPTER 10 — THE PERSON WHO KNEW THE TRUTH
For a moment, I thought I had heard him wrong.
“My mother?”
The words came out quietly.
Almost like I was asking him to repeat something impossible.
Daniel nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
Because my mother had been the one person who stood beside me through everything.
The one person who held my hand when Daniel was working late.
The one person who stayed with me after Lily was born.
The one person who told me I deserved a husband who valued me.
And now Daniel was telling me she had been involved in the night that changed everything.
“No.”
I shook my head.
“That’s not possible.”
Daniel looked guilty.
“I didn’t say she did anything.”
“Then why are you bringing her up?”
He looked away.
Because even now, he was choosing his words carefully.
Trying to protect himself.
Trying to protect someone else.
I stepped closer.
“Daniel.”
My voice became firm.
“What happened?”
He took a deep breath.
“The night Lily was born, after I came back from seeing Chloe…”
I felt my chest tighten.
“I saw your mother outside your room.”
I frowned.
“That’s normal.”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“But she wasn’t alone.”
The hallway became quiet again.
“Who was she with?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Chloe.”
The name hit me like a shock.
I stepped back.
“No.”
“I saw them.”
“You’re lying.”
Daniel looked hurt.
“Jennifer, I wish I was.”
I shook my head.
Because my mind refused to accept it.
My mother.
The woman who protected me.
The woman who hated the way Daniel treated me.
With Chloe?
It didn’t make sense.
“What were they doing?”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“I don’t know everything.”
“Of course you don’t.”
My voice became colder.
“You were too busy keeping secrets.”
He looked down.
But he continued.
“They were arguing.”
“About what?”
“I don’t know.”
I stared at him.
“Daniel.”
He finally looked at me.
“The only thing I heard was your mother saying…”
He stopped.
“Say it.”
His voice lowered.
“She said, ‘You promised this would never reach Jennifer.’”
My heart dropped.
The hallway disappeared.
Because those words were familiar.
Too familiar.
A promise.
A secret.
Something everyone knew except me.
I looked at Rachel.
“Can you find my mother?”
She nodded.
“Immediately.”
Daniel looked nervous.
“Jennifer, maybe we should wait.”
I turned toward him.
“Why?”
He didn’t answer.
“Why should I wait?”
“Because we don’t know what happened.”
I looked at him.
“That never stopped you before.”
The guilt on his face returned.
Because it was true.
He had made decisions about my life without me.
Now he was afraid of someone else doing the same thing.
A few minutes later, my mother answered the phone.
Rachel put it on speaker.
“Jennifer?”
Her voice sounded surprised.
“Where are you?”
I looked at Daniel.
Then answered:
“At the hotel.”
A pause.
Then my mother asked:
“Is everything okay?”
Nobody spoke.
Because the question itself felt painful.
Everything okay?
Nothing had been okay for months.
“Mom.”
My voice shook.
“I need to ask you something.”
“Of course.”
“Did you see Chloe the night Lily was born?”
Silence.
Not a normal pause.
A heavy silence.
The kind that carried an answer.
My mother stopped breathing for a second.
“Jennifer…”
My heart sank.
“Mom.”
Another pause.
Then she whispered:
“Yes.”
The hallway went silent.
Daniel closed his eyes.
Rachel watched carefully.
I felt like the floor disappeared beneath me.
“Why?”
My mother’s voice broke.
“Because she came to the hospital.”
“Why would she come there?”
“She said she needed to talk.”
“About what?”
Silence again.
This time longer.
“Mom.”
She finally spoke.
“About Lily.”
My hands went cold.
“What about Lily?”
My mother didn’t answer.
“Mom.”
I repeated.
“What about my daughter?”
Then she said the words I never expected.
“Jennifer, before Lily was born…”
She paused.
“Daniel and Chloe believed something was wrong.”
I looked at Daniel.
He looked away.
My mother continued.
“They thought the baby might not be Daniel’s.”
The pain of hearing it again was almost unbearable.
But this time, something was different.
Because my mother had known.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her voice cracked.
“Because Daniel begged me not to.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He told me you were already stressed.”
“He said you were scared.”
“He said knowing would hurt you.”
I laughed quietly.
But there was no humor.
“So everyone decided to protect me by lying to me?”
Nobody answered.
Because that was exactly what happened.
My mother.
My husband.
Another woman.
Everyone had information about my child.
Everyone had opinions.
Everyone made choices.
Except me.
The mother.
I looked at Daniel.
“You asked my mother to keep a secret from me.”
He whispered:
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt more than another lie.
“Why?”
He looked broken.
“Because I was afraid.”
Again.
Fear.
The excuse behind every betrayal.
I walked away from him.
Because I could no longer stand hearing that word.
My mother continued speaking.
“Jennifer, there is something else.”
I stopped.
“What?”
Her voice became shaky.
“The reason Chloe was so certain something was wrong…”
A pause.
“She showed me a document.”
Rachel immediately stepped forward.
“What document?”
My mother answered:
“A DNA report.”
Everyone froze.
Daniel looked shocked.
“A DNA report?”
My mother continued.
“Yes.”
My heart started racing.
“Mom.”
“What did it say?”
Silence.
Then my mother whispered:
“It said Daniel was not the biological father.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The world became completely still.
I looked at Daniel.
His face was completely pale.
“No.”
He shook his head.
“That’s impossible.”
Rachel immediately asked:
“Was it an official test?”
My mother hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
The question hung there.
Because suddenly, the entire foundation of the mystery changed.
Chloe may have lied.
The hospital records may have been altered.
Daniel may have been manipulated.
But there was still one terrifying possibility.
Someone had created evidence.
Someone had convinced everyone.
Someone had made Daniel believe he was not Lily’s father.
I looked at him.
“Did you ever see that report?”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
My heart sank.
“When?”
He looked ashamed.
“Two days before Lily was born.”
I stared at him.
“And you still came into that delivery room?”
His eyes filled with regret.
“I didn’t know what to believe.”
I whispered:
“But you believed her enough to betray me.”
Daniel looked down.
And that was the truth.
The DNA report had not only created doubt.
It had given Daniel permission to do things he already wanted to do.
Then Rachel’s phone suddenly rang.
She answered.
Listened.
And her expression changed.
“What happened?”
She looked at me.
“The laboratory that issued the DNA report…”
She paused.
“They don’t exist anymore.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
Rachel continued.
“The address is fake.”
“The doctor who signed it has no medical license.”
“And the test number…”
She looked at Daniel.
“Was never registered.”
The hallway went silent.
Daniel whispered:
“So Chloe lied.”
Rachel shook her head.
“Maybe.”
Then she looked at all of us.
“But someone helped her.”
My blood ran cold.
Because that meant the truth was even worse.
Chloe was not acting alone.
Someone had created a fake DNA report.
Someone had changed hospital records.
Someone had been controlling the story from the beginning.
And suddenly, the question was no longer:
Was Lily Daniel’s daughter?
The real question was:
May you like
Who wanted Daniel to believe she wasn’t?
And why?
