Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW THE TRUTH
I called Chloe that afternoon.
It was the first time I had ever spoken to her.
She answered on the fourth ring.
“Hello?”
“Chloe, this is Jennifer Carter.”
Silence.
Then a tiny inhale.
“Jennifer.”
“You know who I am.”
“Of course.”
“Good. That saves time.”
She tried to recover.
“Is something wrong?”
I almost admired the nerve.
“Is your son Daniel’s?”
Another silence.
Longer this time.
“You should talk to your husband.”
“I’m talking to you.”
“I don’t know what Daniel has told you—”
“I asked a simple question.”
Her voice hardened.
“This is inappropriate.”
I looked at the DNA result in front of me.
“You know what’s inappropriate? Letting a married man empty his daughter’s savings because you told him your baby was his.”
“That is not what happened.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Then explain it.”
She exhaled.
“Daniel wanted to help.”
“Because he thought the child was his.”
“He made assumptions.”
I laughed.
“You let him.”
“I never forced Daniel to send money.”
That answer told me everything.
“You knew.”
Silence.
“You knew the baby wasn’t his.”
“I didn’t know for sure.”
“But you knew it might not be.”
She snapped,
“My personal life is none of your business.”
“My husband spent my money on it. That made it my business.”
“Take that up with him.”
“Oh, I will.”
She became quiet.
Then softer.
“Jennifer, listen. Daniel told me your marriage was basically over.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course he did.
“He said you were staying together for appearances.”
“We were planning Lily’s nursery.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“You knew I was pregnant.”
“He said it was complicated.”
“It wasn’t complicated. He was married.”
She didn’t answer.
I almost hung up.
Then she said,
“There’s something else you should know.”
I waited.
“Daniel told me he planned to file for custody.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“He told you that?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly did he say?”
“He said after you gave birth, you were becoming unstable.”
My stomach turned.
“He said he was documenting things.”
“What things?”
“Arguments. Times you cried. Times you got angry.”
I remembered Daniel standing in the kitchen with his phone on the counter during arguments.
Recording.
I had thought he was checking messages.
Chloe continued.
“He said he needed proof you weren’t handling motherhood well.”
I felt sick.
Then angry.
Then perfectly calm.
“Thank you.”
She sounded surprised.
“That’s it?”
“No.”
I looked at the baptism invitation beside me.
“Stay away from my daughter.”
I hung up.
That evening, Daniel came home cheerful.
He carried champagne.
“Tomorrow’s going to be amazing.”
I studied him.
He had no idea I knew the baby wasn’t his.
No idea Chloe had admitted he was preparing a custody attack.
No idea my attorney had already drafted divorce papers.
He poured two glasses.
“To our family.”
I didn’t touch mine.
He smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re acting weird.”
“I’m tired.”
He nodded like he had just been handed evidence.
“There it is again.”
“What?”
“The mood swings.”
I stared at him.
He realized he had said too much.
Then smiled.
“Postpartum stuff. Totally normal.”
I looked at the phone lying face down beside his hand.
“Are you recording me?”
His smile disappeared.
“What?”
I reached for the phone.
He grabbed it first.
Too fast.
Too defensive.
And that was when I knew Chloe had told the truth.
Daniel stood.
“Why would I record you?”
I smiled.
“You tell me.”
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then said,
“You need sleep.”
I watched him walk upstairs.
May you like
The next day, in front of eighty people, he would learn that while he was collecting recordings of my weakest moments…
I had been collecting evidence of his worst ones.
