Chapter 7 - THE SECRET ABOUT LILY
Daniel noticed it immediately.
The way Vanessa looked at Lily.
Not like a stepmother looking at her child.
Like someone looking at a secret.
A dangerous secret.
Daniel stepped in front of his daughter.
“Why are you looking at her like that?”
Vanessa didn’t answer.
“Vanessa.”
Her eyes moved back to Daniel.
“You really don’t remember anything, do you?”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“Remember what?”
She looked around the hidden room.
“This entire nightmare started because Sarah found out the truth about Lily.”
Daniel felt his stomach drop.
“Don’t bring my daughter into this.”
“I’m not bringing her into anything.”
Vanessa pointed toward the letter.
“She already is.”
Lily held onto Daniel’s arm.
“Dad…”
He looked down.
“It’s okay, sweetheart.”
But he knew it wasn’t.
Nothing was okay.
Not anymore.
Daniel turned toward Emma.
“You knew about Lily?”
Emma looked away.
That was the answer.
“Tell me.”
Emma’s eyes filled with guilt.
“Sarah found out before she disappeared.”
“Found out what?”
Emma swallowed.
“The truth about Lily’s birth.”
Daniel froze.
“What are you talking about?”
Vanessa walked closer.
“Lily isn’t the person you think she is.”
Daniel’s anger exploded.
“Stop.”
The word came out like a warning.
“You don’t get to stand here after everything you’ve done and talk about my daughter.”
Vanessa’s expression softened slightly.
“You love her.”
“Of course I love her.”
“Even if she isn’t your biological daughter?”
The room went silent.
Lily looked up.
“Dad?”
Daniel immediately turned to her.
“Don’t listen to her.”
Vanessa continued.
“Sarah was pregnant before she met you.”
Daniel stared.
“No.”
“She never told you.”
“No.”
“She was afraid.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You’re lying.”
Emma whispered:
“She wasn’t.”
Daniel looked at Emma.
His heart sank.
Because Emma wasn’t defending Vanessa.
She was confirming it.
“Sarah told me everything.”
Daniel stepped back.
The memories started rushing through his mind.
The day he met Sarah.
The way she protected Lily.
The way she always said:
“She needs someone who chooses her.”
Daniel had always thought Sarah meant emotionally.
Not literally.
“What am I supposed to believe?”
Vanessa reached into a drawer inside the hidden room.
She pulled out a small envelope.
Inside was a DNA test.
Daniel looked at the paper.
His eyes moved across the results.
He couldn’t breathe.
Because the name at the top was his.
Daniel Carter.
The child was listed as:
Lily Carter.
Probability of paternity:
0%.
Daniel dropped the paper.
“No.”
Lily started crying.
“Dad…”
He immediately picked her up.
“No matter what this says, you’re my daughter.”
Vanessa watched silently.
For a moment, Daniel thought he saw regret in her eyes.
Then it disappeared.
“Sarah was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
Vanessa looked toward the old passage.
“From the man who destroyed your family.”
Daniel looked at the DNA test.
Then at Vanessa.
“Who?”
Vanessa whispered:
“Your father.”
Daniel froze.
Again.
The same name.
The same person.
Every secret led back to him.
“My father died.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Not before he made sure nobody could expose him.”
Suddenly, Emma rushed toward the door.
“Wait!”
Everyone turned.
She pointed toward the hallway.
“He’s coming.”
Daniel frowned.
“Who?”
Emma’s face turned white.
“The person who has been cleaning up every secret your father left behind.”
A shadow appeared outside the hidden room.
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Calm.
Confident.
Then a familiar voice spoke.
“You should have left the wall broken.”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
May you like
Because that voice belonged to someone he trusted.
TO BE CONTINUED...
