Chapter 2 - THE BABY THAT WASN’T HIS
Daniel stared at the paternity report.
For the first time that day, he forgot there was an audience.
“What is that?”
“You know what it is.”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“That’s impossible.”
I looked toward the ballroom entrance.
A woman stood there in a pale green dress.
Chloe.
She looked terrified.
Daniel turned.
The color vanished from his face.
“Why are you here?”
Chloe gripped her purse.
“Jennifer invited me.”
Diane stood so fast her chair scraped the floor.
“You?”
Chloe looked down.
“I’m sorry.”
Daniel moved toward her.
“What did you tell her?”
“The truth.”
“You said the baby was mine.”
“I thought he might be.”
“Might be?”
His voice rose.
People at nearby tables stopped pretending not to listen.
Chloe’s eyes filled.
“I was separated from Mark. You knew that.”
“You told me you hadn’t been with him in months.”
“I told you it was complicated.”
“You let me pay for everything.”
“You offered.”
Daniel looked at me.
“This is your setup.”
“No.”
“You brought her here to humiliate me.”
“I brought her here because you used our daughter’s money to support a baby that isn’t yours.”
Robert picked up the paternity report.
“Is this real?”
Chloe nodded.
“The test was done last week.”
Daniel stared at her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“You blocked me.”
He stopped.
I knew why.
Two weeks earlier, Chloe had begun asking questions about the money.
She had discovered transfers from our joint account instead of Daniel’s personal account.
When she threatened to tell me, he cut her off.
That was when she found me first.
The entire story had cracked open.
Daniel had not just been having an affair.
He had been planning an exit.
He promised Chloe a condo.
He promised to “handle” me.
He told her I was emotionally unstable.
He told her I would never get custody because I worked too much.
And then there was the line that made me hire a lawyer immediately.
Once Jennifer signs the refinance papers, I’ll have everything I need.
Daniel looked at me.
“What refinance papers?”
I smiled.
“The ones you left on my desk three weeks ago.”
His face changed.
“You signed them.”
“No.”
“I saw your signature.”
“You saw what I wanted you to see.”
I pulled another document from the folder.
A forensic copy of the refinance packet.
My signature had been forged.
The notary stamp was fake.
And the refinance would have placed our home and my inherited investment account as collateral for a $600,000 business loan.
Robert looked at his son.
“You forged her name?”
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“It was temporary.”
The words came out before he could stop them.
Diane stepped back.
I saw something break in her face.
For months, she had defended him.
Jennifer worries too much.
Jennifer is too controlling.
Daniel needs space.
Now she was seeing what “space” had paid for.
Daniel turned on me.
“You set me up.”
“No.”
“I documented you.”
He pointed toward Lily.
“You’re doing this at our daughter’s baptism.”
I looked at him.
“You used her baptism money to hide an affair.”
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Then a hotel manager approached quietly.
“Mrs. Cole?”
“Yes?”
“There’s another issue with the account.”
Daniel snapped.
“What now?”
The manager held out a tablet.
“The deposit card was declined.”
I looked at Daniel.
He went pale.
May you like
Because I had frozen the joint account that morning.
And that was only the first account I had frozen.
