CHAPTER 4 — THE SECRET BEHIND CHLOE’S BABY
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The hallway remained frozen.
The message on my phone felt heavier than the folder I had carried into the baptism party.
Because the folder contained proof of Daniel’s betrayal.
But this message suggested something else.
Something I had never considered.
Something even Daniel seemed afraid to confront.
I looked at him.
“What is this?”
Daniel’s eyes moved toward my phone.
The moment he saw the picture, his expression changed.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Fear.
Real fear.
“You know her?”
I asked.
Daniel didn’t answer.
That was all I needed.
Because silence was becoming his favorite confession.
“Daniel.”
My voice was steady.
“Why does someone think I need to know the truth about Chloe’s baby?”
He rubbed his face.
“I don’t know.”
A bitter smile appeared on my lips.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
“You knew her pregnancy.”
“You paid her bills.”
“You went to her appointments.”
“You planned to leave me for her.”
I stepped closer.
“And now you don’t know?”
Daniel looked frustrated.
“Jennifer, listen to me.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“For once, you listen.”
His mouth closed.
I looked at the picture again.
Chloe standing outside a hospital.
A newborn baby in her arms.
The date on the image was only two weeks after Lily was born.
My heart tightened.
Because while I was recovering from childbirth…
While I was learning how to become a mother…
Daniel had been living another life.
His mother looked at him.
“Daniel.”
Her voice was full of disappointment.
“What is happening?”
He looked away.
“I need to explain.”
“Then explain.”
But before he could speak, another voice interrupted.
“Jennifer?”
I turned around.
My attorney, Rachel Morgan, was standing at the end of the hallway.
I had hired her four months earlier.
The moment I discovered the affair.
She was not here because I needed protection.
She was here because I needed someone who understood the law.
Someone who would make sure Daniel couldn’t erase what he had done.
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“You brought your lawyer?”
I looked at him calmly.
“Yes.”
His face changed.
“You planned all of this?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I prepared for the truth.”
Rachel walked toward us.
“Jennifer, are you okay?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
Then she looked at Daniel.
“Mr. Carter.”
Daniel immediately became defensive.
“This is a private family matter.”
Rachel didn’t react.
“No.”
Her voice was calm.
“This became a legal matter when marital funds were transferred without your wife’s knowledge.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“You don’t know the whole situation.”
Rachel looked at him.
“Actually, I know enough.”
The silence returned.
Because Daniel had always been good at convincing people he was in control.
But lawyers did not care about his charm.
They cared about documents.
Facts.
Evidence.
Rachel turned to me.
“I received the additional information you sent.”
Daniel looked confused.
“Additional information?”
I didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t need to know everything yet.
There was a reason I had stayed silent.
A reason I had waited.
Daniel thought he was the only one hiding secrets.
He was wrong.
Rachel handed me an envelope.
“I think you should see this now.”
I opened it.
Inside were printed documents.
Bank records.
Medical records.
And one report.
A DNA test request.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
Daniel noticed.
“What is that?”
I looked at him.
“You tell me.”
His face went pale.
“I don’t know.”
Rachel studied him.
“Then maybe you should ask Chloe.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“What does that mean?”
I pulled out the document.
It was not a final DNA result.
It was a request.
A request made by Chloe’s former husband.
The name caught my attention.
Michael Bennett.
Her ex-husband.
The man Daniel told me had abandoned her.
The man Daniel said was the reason Chloe needed help.
But the document revealed something else.
Michael had requested a paternity test before their divorce was finalized.
The reason?
He claimed Chloe’s timeline did not match.
I looked at Daniel.
“You told me Chloe was pregnant after her divorce.”
Daniel remained silent.
“She was still married.”
His face changed.
“Jennifer…”
“No.”
I held up my hand.
“I’m not done.”
The message.
The picture.
The documents.
Everything was connecting.
But not in the way I expected.
Chloe had not just entered Daniel’s life.
She had entered it with a story.
A story Daniel believed.
A story that made him feel like her hero.
But what if the story was false?
His mother looked confused.
“Are you saying…”
I looked at her.
“I’m saying we don’t know the truth about Chloe.”
Daniel became angry.
“Don’t start blaming her.”
I stared at him.
There it was.
The instinctive defense.
Even now.
Even after everything.
“You still protect her.”
Daniel looked away.
“No.”
“Yes.”
My voice lowered.
“You don’t even know if she told you the truth.”
He didn’t answer.
Because somewhere deep inside, he knew.
That possibility terrified him.
The man who destroyed our marriage because he believed Chloe needed saving suddenly realized he might have been manipulated.
Then my phone vibrated again.
Another message.
Same unknown number.
This time, there was no picture.
Only words.
“If you want to know why Daniel chose Chloe over you, ask him about the night Lily was born.”
I froze.
Daniel noticed immediately.
“What did they send?”
I looked at him.
The night Lily was born.
The night I thought was the happiest moment of our lives.
The night Daniel held our daughter and cried.
The night he told me:
“You gave me everything I ever wanted.”
But now someone was telling me there was another truth.
A truth about that night.
I slowly lowered my phone.
“Daniel.”
He looked at me.
“What happened the night Lily was born?”
His face changed.
Just slightly.
But enough.
Enough for me to know.
He was hiding something.
Again.
The hallway suddenly felt smaller.
His mother looked between us.
Rachel watched carefully.
And Daniel whispered:
“Jennifer…”
His voice cracked.
“Please don’t ask me that.”
My heart sank.
Because I finally understood.
The affair with Chloe was only the first betrayal.
The real secret…
May you like
Was waiting at the beginning of Lily’s life.
And Daniel had been hiding it since the day our daughter was born.
