Chapter 5: The Child Who Thought I Hated Her
Mia drove because my hands would not stop shaking.
When we reached the little blue house from the photograph, Claire opened the door before we knocked.
“You look exactly like he described you,” she said.
“How did he describe me?”
“Cold.
Wealthy.
Unable to forgive.”
A little girl watched us from behind the hallway wall.
She had Daniel’s dark eyes and a pink ribbon tied around one wrist.
“Is that Lily?”
Claire nodded.
Lily stepped into the room.
“Are you Karen?”
“Yes.”
“Daddy said you know about me now.”
“I only found out tonight.”
She looked down at her shoes.
“Are you going to make me leave?”
My knees nearly gave way.
Mia caught my elbow, but it was Lily’s frightened face that broke the last of my strength.
“No, sweetheart.
None of this is your fault.”
“Then why was I a secret?”
I knelt in front of her.
“That is a question your father should have answered a long time ago.”
Claire sat beside Lily and wrapped an arm around her.
“My sister Rachel was Lily’s mother.
She and Daniel were together for almost a year during your marriage.”
“Where is Rachel now?”
“She passed away seven months ago.”
Lily pressed closer to Claire.
“Mom told me not to be angry with Karen because Karen didn’t know.”
I covered my mouth.
Mia knelt beside me, and tears rolled down her face.
“Rachel knew about me?”
“She learned the truth when Lily was two,” Claire said.
“Daniel promised to tell you.
He never did.”
A car door slammed outside.
Claire stood.
“He wasn’t supposed to know you were here.”
Daniel entered without knocking.
“Lily, pack a bag.”
The child clutched Claire’s sleeve.
“No.”
Daniel pointed toward the stairs.
“Now.”
I moved between them.
“She isn’t going anywhere until you explain what you’re doing.”
“She is my daughter.”
“She is not a piece of property.”
“You met her five minutes ago.
Don’t pretend this is concern.”
Claire lifted a folder from the mantel.
“Rachel named me as Lily’s guardian.”
Daniel grabbed for it, but Claire pulled it against her chest.
“You surrendered day-to-day care in writing,” she said.
“That agreement was temporary.”
“You visited six times in seven months.”
Daniel turned to me.
“Karen, come home.
I can fix our accounts, and we can raise Lily together.”
Lily flinched.
“You told me Karen didn’t want me.”
“I said she needed time.”
“You said she would send me to boarding school.”
“Lily, you misunderstood.”
“No, she didn’t,” Claire said.
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“If you keep interfering, Claire, I’ll sell this house and seek full custody.
You’ll never see her again.”
The front door opened behind him.
An older woman walked in carrying a grocery bag.
It was Evelyn, Daniel’s mother—the woman who had defended him through every argument in our marriage.
“Step away from that child, Daniel.”
He stared at her.
“Mom, stay out of this.”
“I stayed out of it too long.”
Evelyn set the bag down and held out her arms.
Lily ran into them.
“You knew?” I asked.
Evelyn nodded, then removed a small recorder from her coat pocket.
“I knew about Lily.
But until this afternoon, I didn’t know what Daniel had done with your money.”
Daniel’s face drained of color.
Evelyn pressed the recorder’s button.
His voice filled the room.
“Once I get Rachel’s signature, Karen’s inheritance will cover the house.
She’ll never know where the money went.”
