Chapter 14 - THE LAST LIE
I thought Daniel was trying to manipulate me.
I was wrong.
Ryan had taken a DNA test after the baptism scandal.
He was not Chloe’s son’s father.
Neither was Eric.
Neither was Daniel.
Chloe had lied to all three men.
The biological father was eventually identified as a married doctor she had been seeing during her divorce.
Daniel told me this as if it somehow reduced what he had done.
“It means Chloe used me.”
I stared at him.
“And?”
“And none of it was real.”
I laughed.
“Our bank statements were real.”
“Jennifer—”
“The messages were real.”
“I know.”
“The life insurance change was real.”
He looked down.
“The custody recordings were real.”
“I made mistakes.”
“You made plans.”
That shut him up.
He looked at me desperately.
“She lied to me.”
“And you lied to me.”
“But she knew exactly what she was doing.”
“So did you.”
He had no answer.
For the first time, I understood why Daniel had been so desperate to prove Chloe was worse than him.
If she was the villain, he could become another victim.
But two people can betray each other at the same time.
Chloe had used Daniel.
Daniel had used me.
And I was done carrying either one of them.
The criminal financial investigation lasted months.
Daniel eventually admitted to unauthorized transfers and forged documents as part of a settlement that kept the case from becoming even uglier.
His company fired him.
He sold his car.
Then his investment property.
Much of the recovered money went toward repaying the business, his parents, and marital accounts.
The judge ordered repayment of the money taken from Lily’s savings.
That mattered more to me than anything.
The divorce itself was brutal but simple.
Daniel no longer had the financial power he once used to intimidate me.
He agreed to a custody schedule that slowly increased his time with Lily after parenting counseling.
I didn’t want to destroy his relationship with her.
I wanted it to be safe.
There is a difference.
Margaret apologized to me one afternoon.
We were sitting in my backyard while Lily slept.
“I used to think you were too hard on him.”
I smiled sadly.
“I used to think I wasn’t hard enough.”
She cried.
“I should have seen who he was.”
“He made sure nobody saw.”
She nodded.
Then she said,
“I’m sorry I called you emotional at the party.”
I looked at her.
“You didn’t.”
“I thought it.”
“That counts less.”
For the first time in months, we both laughed.
Chloe disappeared from our lives.
Her child’s biological father was eventually pulled into a legal case of his own.
Eric finalized his divorce.
Ryan stopped speaking to Daniel.
And Daniel moved into a small apartment fifteen minutes from his parents.
The man who had once spent thousands throwing parties to impress people now lived quietly.
He lost almost everyone whose admiration had mattered to him.
But the strangest thing happened.
Once the pretending stopped, Daniel became a better father.
Not immediately.
Not magically.
But slowly.
He learned how to change Lily without calling his mother.
How to prepare bottles.
How to sit through pediatric appointments.
How to show up without applause.
One evening, almost a year after the baptism, he brought Lily back after his weekend.
She was sleeping against his shoulder.
He handed her to me carefully.
“She has a little cough.”
“I’ll check her temperature.”
He nodded.
Then looked toward the living room.
“Jennifer?”
“Yes?”
“I finally understand something.”
I waited.
“That party wasn’t for Lily.”
I said nothing.
“It was for me.”
“Yes.”
“I wanted everyone to think I was a good father instead of actually being one.”
That was the first apology he ever gave me that didn’t ask for anything back.
“I’m glad you understand.”
He nodded.
Then left.
I closed the door.
I thought the story had finally ended.
Then I noticed an envelope sitting inside Lily’s diaper bag.
My name was written across the front.
May you like
Not in Daniel’s handwriting.
In Chloe’s.
