Chapter 3 - The Lie Daniel Had Mourned
Daniel drove three blocks before pulling over.
Claire had not said a word.
She sat rigidly in the passenger seat, one hand pressed lightly against her swollen cheek.
Daniel turned off the engine.
“I didn’t know.”
Claire stared through the windshield.
“I know.”
“You believe me?”
“I believe you didn’t know a seven-year-old was upstairs.”
That distinction hurt.
Daniel looked down at his hands.
“When Lauren told me she lost the baby, I…”
His voice failed.
Claire finally looked at him.
“You never told me she was pregnant.”
“It lasted less than two weeks. At least that’s what I thought.”
“You told me she left because the relationship fell apart.”
“It did.”
“That’s not the same story.”
Daniel flinched.
Claire wasn’t accusing him of fathering a child during their marriage.
She was accusing him of deciding which pieces of his past she deserved to know.
He had no defense for that.
“I should’ve told you.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
Claire looked toward the road.
“Take me home.”
Their house was ten minutes from his parents’ mansion but felt like another country.
Once inside, Claire went upstairs and closed the bedroom door.
Daniel did not follow.
He called a family-law attorney recommended by a colleague and explained the situation as clearly as he could.
No promises.
No dramatic answers.
The attorney told him the obvious first step was independent DNA testing performed through a reputable accredited laboratory, followed by a legal discussion if paternity was confirmed.
Then Daniel called Lauren.
She answered immediately.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize yet. Tell me what happened.”
Lauren was quiet.
“Your father came to see me after I left Chicago.”
Daniel gripped the kitchen counter.
“When?”
“About a month before Owen was born.”
“He knew you were still pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I contacted him first.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Why him?”
“Because you weren’t answering me.”
“I never got anything from you.”
Lauren did not respond.
Daniel straightened.
“What did you send?”
“Emails. Two letters. I called your office.”
“I was in London.”
“I know.”
Daniel had spent fourteen months opening the European office of Harper Development after Lauren left.
His father had controlled his schedule, mail, assistant, and nearly every professional contact during that period.
Daniel remembered Robert telling him distance was healthy after a broken engagement.
Start clean.
Build something new.
He had believed him.
Lauren continued.
“Your dad said you didn’t want contact.”
“He lied.”
“I know that now.”
“Why didn’t you find me yourself?”
“I was twenty-six, pregnant, unemployed, and scared. Robert told me you’d instructed him to handle it.”
Daniel sat down.
“What did he offer you?”
Lauren’s silence answered before her words did.
“Rent. Medical expenses. Then money for Owen.”
“In exchange for what?”
“Staying away.”
Daniel shut his eyes.
Upstairs, he heard Claire moving around the bedroom.
He thought of Robert standing in the dining room pretending the place was inappropriate for answers.
Then something else occurred to him.
“Lauren.”
“Yes?”
“You said my father told you I didn’t want contact.”
“He did.”
“Did he ever show you anything from me?”
Another pause.
“One email.”
Daniel stopped breathing normally.
“What email?”
Lauren spoke quietly.
May you like
“One saying you wanted nothing to do with me or the baby.”
Daniel had never written it.
