Chapter 9 - The Baby Daniel Betrayed Us For
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Noah slept peacefully in his carrier.
He had Daniel’s dark hair.
Or maybe I had only assumed that because I knew the story.
Chloe wiped her eyes.
“My ex-husband, Andrew, is Noah’s father.”
I stared at her.
“You’re certain?”
“The lab repeated the test.”
She removed an envelope from her bag.
“Daniel demanded one before the baptism.”
Rachel examined the results.
“Probability of paternity for Daniel Mercer is excluded.”
She turned the page.
“And Andrew Bennett?”
“99.99 percent.”
I sat back.
The cruelty of it would have been almost poetic if Lily and I had not paid the price.
Daniel had betrayed his pregnant wife.
He had spent our savings.
He had lied during my labor.
He had built a secret future with Chloe.
And the child he claimed justified all of it was not even his.
But the paternity result did not absolve Chloe.
I looked at her.
“When did you learn?”
“Yesterday morning.”
“Before the baptism?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t tell me.”
“No.”
“Did you tell Daniel?”
Her face tightened.
“Yes.”
My pulse jumped.
“When?”
“Yesterday afternoon.”
“What did he say?”
Chloe looked down.
“He said it changed nothing.”
I stared.
“What?”
“He said Noah’s paternity didn’t matter anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because by then he cared about the trust more.”
The room went colder.
Chloe continued.
“He told me we had gone too far to turn back.”
“What did that mean?”
“He said if I stayed quiet, he would still take care of Noah.”
“Using Lily’s money.”
She nodded slowly.
Rage moved through me with startling clarity.
Daniel had reduced both babies to numbers.
Lily had become an inheritance.
Noah had become leverage.
Chloe had become an accomplice he thought he could control.
And I had become an obstacle.
Rachel inserted the flash drive into an isolated computer.
A list of audio files appeared.
Chloe pointed to the most recent.
“It was recorded three nights ago.”
Daniel’s voice filled the conference room.
“You’re panicking over nothing.”
Chloe’s recorded voice followed.
“If Noah isn’t yours, everything changes.”
“No.”
“It changes everything for me.”
“For you.”
Daniel laughed softly.
“But not for me.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means Jennifer is already halfway out.”
My stomach tightened.
“She hired a lawyer?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then how is she halfway out?”
“Because I’ve been building the record for months.”
Rachel glanced at me.
The recording continued.
“What record?”
“That she’s unstable.”
“You said those medical records were real.”
A pause.
Then Daniel sighed.
“They’re real enough.”
Chloe’s voice sharpened.
“What does that mean?”
“It means a court sees paper before it sees truth.”
My mother gasped.
Daniel continued.
“Once Jennifer loses primary custody, I become Lily’s representative.”
“What about the trustee?”
“I have ways around the trustee.”
“You can’t just take her money.”
“I don’t need to take it.”
He sounded amused.
“I need access to expenses.”
Housing.
Education.
Security.
Transportation.
Family support.
“All things a wealthy child is entitled to.”
Chloe was silent.
Then she asked.
“And the baptism?”
“That’s tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“She’ll pay the balance.”
“What if she doesn’t?”
Daniel laughed.
“She always does.”
My fingers curled.
Then Daniel said the line that made everyone look at me.
“Jennifer would rather swallow glass than embarrass herself in front of a room full of people.”
The recording continued.
“After the party, I’ll tell my parents about Noah.”
“But he may not be yours.”
“No one needs to know that yet.”
“That’s insane.”
“Chloe.”
His tone hardened.
“Do you want me to keep helping you or not?”
Silence.
“You know what Andrew will do if he learns you let me play father.”
Chloe’s breath caught.
“Don’t threaten me.”
“I’m explaining reality.”
“You promised.”
“I promised when I believed Noah was mine.”
“Daniel.”
“Now I need loyalty.”
The audio ended.
Chloe looked sick.
“He knew how afraid I was of my ex trying to take Noah.”
“Was Andrew dangerous?”
“No.”
She closed her eyes.
“That’s the worst part.”
“Then why were you afraid?”
“Because Daniel convinced me Andrew would destroy me in court for having an affair.”
I stared at her.
“And you believed him?”
“I had just gone through a terrible marriage.”
She whispered.
“I wanted someone to rescue me.”
I almost laughed.
“He doesn’t rescue women.”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“I understand that now.”
Rachel opened another recording.
This one was older.
Two weeks before Lily’s birth.
Daniel and Chloe were arguing in what sounded like a car.
“You can’t declare someone incompetent because she cries during pregnancy.”
Chloe said.
“I didn’t say crying.”
Daniel answered.
“I said documentation.”
“What documentation?”
“Appointments.”
“Medication.”
“Witnesses.”
“You’re frightening me.”
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“What if she finds out?”
“She won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Jennifer trusts me.”
I closed my eyes.
The words hurt more than I expected.
Not because they were cruel.
Because they were true.
I had trusted him.
Daniel continued.
“She won’t look for anything until I’m ready.”
Rachel paused the recording.
“This is extremely useful.”
I looked at her.
“Useful?”
“For proving premeditation.”
My mother whispered.
“He planned to make you look mentally ill.”
“Yes.”
“And Robert knew?”
Margaret shook her head.
“I don’t believe so.”
Rachel looked at her.
“We will determine what everyone knew.”
Chloe leaned toward me.
“There’s something else.”
I almost laughed from exhaustion.
“There’s always something else.”
She nodded.
“Daniel has another phone.”
“What kind?”
“A cheap Android.”
“Where?”
“He keeps it in his car.”
“How do you know?”
“He used it when he didn’t want messages connected to his normal account.”
“Does he still have it?”
“I think so.”
“What’s on it?”
“Messages with someone named R.”
Margaret’s face changed.
I noticed.
“You know who R is?”
“No.”
“You reacted.”
She looked away.
“Margaret.”
Robert’s wife swallowed.
“Rebecca.”
The notary from the fraudulent deed.
Rachel’s eyes narrowed.
“Rebecca Sloan?”
Margaret nodded.
“She used to work with Daniel.”
“At Caldwell & Pierce?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of relationship?”
Margaret hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
Chloe interrupted.
“I do.”
Everyone turned.
“I saw messages.”
“About what?”
“Documents.”
“What documents?”
“The deed.”
My pulse accelerated.
“And the postnuptial agreement?”
“I think so.”
“Did Rebecca know they were forged?”
Chloe’s face was grim.
“Yes.”
Rachel immediately began typing.
“We need to locate her.”
Marcus called from across the room.
“I already did.”
We turned.
He had been searching quietly.
“What did you find?”
“Rebecca Sloan left Illinois three days ago.”
“Where did she go?”
“Booked a flight to Miami.”
Rachel frowned.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
Marcus looked up.
“She didn’t use her own credit card.”
“Whose?”
He turned his laptop.
The flight had been purchased through a Mercer Strategic Solutions corporate account.
Daniel paid for it.
Chloe stared.
“He sent her away.”
“Maybe.”
Rachel said.
Marcus kept typing.
Then stopped.
“That’s not the strange part.”
“What is?”
“Rebecca didn’t board the flight.”
I leaned forward.
“Then where is she?”
“Nobody seems to know.”
A knock sounded at the conference room door.
Rachel’s assistant entered.
Her face was tense.
“Sorry.”
“What is it?”
“There are two detectives downstairs.”
My pulse jumped.
“For Daniel?”
The assistant looked directly at me.
“No.”
“They’re here for Jennifer.”
I stood.
“Why?”
“They say someone filed a complaint alleging financial fraud.”
The room went silent.
Rachel’s expression became cold.
“Who filed it?”
The assistant swallowed.
May you like
“Daniel Mercer.”
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