Chapter 3 - WHOSE BABY WAS CHLOE CARRYING?
Daniel put the phone facedown.
Jennifer’s mother rose from beside Lily’s bassinet.
She had stayed silent until then.
“Daniel.”
He did not look at her.
“What baby?”
Jennifer felt the entire room narrow around that question.
She had asked herself the same thing every night.
Chloe had been pregnant.
Daniel had attended appointments.
Daniel had paid hospital bills.
Daniel had written about “our future” in several messages.
But Jennifer had never found a direct statement that the child was his.
She had refused to assume what she could not prove.
That mattered now.
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“Chloe’s baby has nothing to do with this.”
Jennifer finally stood.
“Then say who the father is.”
Daniel looked at her.
“I don’t know.”
His mother stared.
“You spent tens of thousands of dollars on a pregnant woman and you don’t know who fathered her child?”
Daniel snapped.
“She was going through a difficult divorce.”
Jennifer’s father-in-law spoke.
“So you decided to become her husband?”
Daniel turned.
“Dad.”
“No.”
His father’s voice remained low.
“You brought us here today.”
“You stood in front of everyone and talked about responsibility.”
“Answer the question.”
Daniel looked around the ballroom again.
The remaining guests were no longer pretending not to listen.
Jennifer hated that part.
Not because Daniel was embarrassed.
Because Lily’s baptism had become the stage where all of this was happening.
Jennifer had wanted one peaceful day for her daughter.
Daniel had made that impossible months ago.
She took a breath.
“My attorney asked the same question.”
Daniel’s eyes snapped toward her.
“What attorney?”
There it was.
Real panic.
Jennifer’s mother slowly smiled without humor.
“My daughter’s divorce attorney.”
Daniel stared at Jennifer.
“You filed?”
“Not yet.”
His shoulders loosened almost imperceptibly.
Jennifer noticed.
Then she finished.
“My attorney advised me to secure the financial evidence first.”
The relief disappeared.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“You’ve been planning this?”
“For four months.”
His face changed.
Four months.
He began calculating.
The headaches.
The polite dinners.
The doctor appointments.
The nights Jennifer claimed she was too tired to argue.
Every moment he had mistaken for ignorance.
Jennifer saw the realization happening.
Daniel whispered.
“You knew before Lily was born.”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Jennifer looked at Lily.
“Because I was six months pregnant.”
“Because I needed to protect my daughter.”
“And because I wanted to know exactly how far you were willing to go when you thought I wasn’t watching.”
His mother slowly sat down.
Daniel stared at Jennifer as if she were a stranger.
Then the ballroom doors opened.
A woman stood there.
She wore a cream coat over a green dress.
Her hair was damp from the rain outside.
And she was carrying a baby carrier.
Daniel went completely still.
Jennifer recognized her immediately.
Chloe.
Chloe looked across the room.
Her eyes landed on Daniel.
Then Jennifer.
Then the open folder.
“Oh my God.”
Daniel moved quickly.
“Chloe, leave.”
His mother stood.
“No.”
Everyone looked toward her.
She pointed toward the empty chair across the table.
May you like
“She stays.”
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