Chapter 7 - The Daughter Nobody Told Me About
I stared at the picture on my phone until my vision became blurry.
The little girl standing beside my brother looked so much like him.
The same eyes.
The same smile.
The same small scar above her eyebrow.
A scar I remembered because Jason got it when we were kids.
My brother was gone.
But somehow, a part of him was still alive.
And nobody had told me.
Not Diane.
Not Jason’s wife.
Not anyone.
“Daddy?”
Lily’s voice pulled me back.
I quickly turned off the screen.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“Are you mad?”
The question broke me.
Because my daughter had learned to read anger before she learned to read books.
“No.”
I knelt beside her.
“I’m not mad at you.”
“Are you going to leave?”
My heart shattered.
“What?”
She looked down.
“Grandma said people always leave.”
I pulled her into my arms.
“I’m not leaving you. Ever.”
But deep down, I knew something.
Someone had been lying to us for years.
And I needed the truth.
That night, after the kids went to sleep, I called the number attached to the document.
The phone rang three times.
Then someone answered.
A woman’s voice.
“Hello?”
I froze.
I knew that voice.
“Emily?”
Silence.
Then:
“Who is this?”
“It’s me.”
Another pause.
“Daniel?”
Hearing my name from her mouth felt strange.
Like opening a door to a room I had forgotten existed.
“Why did you try to take my daughter from school?”
Her breathing changed.
“You know about Lily?”
“No.”
I looked at the photo.
“I know about your daughter.”
The line went completely quiet.
Then she whispered:
“Diane told you.”
“No. Diane gave me documents.”
A shaky breath.
“Of course she did.”
“What does that mean?”
Emily didn’t answer.
“Emily, what is going on?”
Finally, she spoke.
“Jason wasn’t killed in an accident.”
My body went still.
“What?”
“He was running from someone.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not good enough.”
Her voice cracked.
“I was scared, Daniel.”
“Scared of what?”
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“Your family.”
I looked toward the hallway where my children were sleeping.
“My family?”
“Diane knew about Jason’s daughter. She knew about everything.”
“Then why hide her?”
“Because Jason left something behind.”
“What?”
A long pause.
Then Emily whispered:
“Proof.”
“Proof of what?”
She lowered her voice.
“Proof that Diane and another person were stealing money from your father’s estate.”
My heart started pounding.
“That’s impossible.”
“Is it?”
I couldn’t answer.
Because suddenly, everything made sense.
The fake custody papers.
The surveillance.
The lies.
The fear.
Someone wasn’t trying to hurt my children.
Someone was trying to control my family.
“Where is Jason’s daughter now?”
Emily hesitated.
“She’s with me.”
“Then why did you come for Lily?”
“I didn’t.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“The woman at the school wasn’t me.”
The room went cold.
“What are you saying?”
Emily’s voice trembled.
“Someone used my name.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Who?”
Then I heard a sound.
A door opening.
Emily suddenly became quiet.
“Emily?”
Nothing.
“Emily, answer me.”
A whisper came through.
May you like
“He found me.”
The call ended.
