Chapter 2 — The Baby Daniel Swore Was His
Chapter 2 — The Baby Daniel Swore Was His
Three days after the baptism party, Daniel came to my apartment.
He didn't come alone.
His lawyer was with him.
That was the first sign that he was afraid.
The second was the way he looked at Lily.
Not like a father looking at his daughter.
Like a man looking at a problem he desperately needed to solve.
I stood behind the door.
“You have five minutes.”
Daniel swallowed.
“Jennifer, please.”
“Four minutes.”
His lawyer stepped forward.
“Mrs. Carter, we would like to discuss temporary custody arrangements.”
I almost smiled.
“Temporary custody?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting.”
Daniel frowned.
“What?”
“You still think you get to decide what happens next.”
“I am Lily's father.”
I looked at him.
“Are you?”
The words stopped him cold.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Daniel's lawyer looked at him.
Daniel's face changed.
“Jennifer…”
“You said she was yours.”
“She is.”
“You sounded very certain at the baptism.”
“She is my daughter.”
“Then prove it.”
His lawyer immediately interrupted.
“There is no reason to question paternity.”
I looked at him.
“Then you won't object to a DNA test.”
Silence.
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Why are you doing this?”
I answered quietly.
“Because I found the $42,000.”
His face went completely white.
His lawyer looked at him.
“What $42,000?”
Daniel didn't answer.
I smiled.
“That's what I thought.”
The lawyer pulled Daniel aside.
They whispered.
I watched every movement.
Finally, the lawyer turned toward me.
“Mrs. Carter, financial matters and paternity are separate issues.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Unless you have evidence connecting the payment to a paternity issue—”
“I have the payment.”
“That doesn't prove anything.”
“Then Daniel won't mind a DNA test.”
Again, silence.
I looked directly at my husband.
“Will you?”
He stared at me.
“Yes.”
The answer came too quickly.
“Yes.”
His lawyer looked surprised.
Daniel continued.
“I know Lily is my daughter.”
“Good.”
“When the test proves it, you'll look ridiculous.”
I nodded.
“Maybe.”
He smiled for the first time.
A small, arrogant smile.
“You're doing this because you're angry.”
“No.”
“Then why?”
I looked at Lily.
“Because I'm her mother.”
His smile disappeared.
The DNA test was scheduled for the following morning.
Daniel insisted on using a private laboratory.
I agreed.
But I brought my own attorney.
And my own witness.
The nurse collected samples from Lily first.
Then Daniel.
The entire process took less than twenty minutes.
Before leaving, Daniel leaned close to me.
“You're going to regret humiliating me.”
“I didn't humiliate you.”
“You dragged our private life into public.”
“You brought our private life into a hotel ballroom.”
He looked away.
“Once the results come back, this ends.”
I said nothing.
He walked away.
Sarah watched him leave.
“You don't believe he's her father.”
“I don't know.”
“Why?”
I looked at the paperwork.
“Because of that clinic.”
Sarah nodded.
“We'll find out.”
That afternoon, she called.
“Jennifer.”
Her voice sounded different.
“What happened?”
“I found something.”
“What?”
“The fertility clinic.”
My stomach tightened.
“Tell me.”
“The $42,000 payment wasn't for Chloe.”
I closed my eyes.
“Then who?”
“We don't know.”
“What do you mean?”
“The clinic won't release records without a court order.”
“Then get one.”
“We're working on it.”
“Sarah.”
“I know.”
“There's more.”
“What?”
“The payment wasn't made for a normal fertility procedure.”
I stood.
“What was it?”
“An embryo transfer.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Whose embryo?”
“We don't know.”
“Can you find out?”
“Possibly.”
“Then do it.”
That night, I couldn't sleep.
Lily was in her crib beside my bed.
I watched her tiny chest rise and fall.
I remembered the day she was born.
Daniel had cried.
He had held her.
He had kissed her forehead.
He had whispered:
“My little girl.”
I had believed him.
I had believed every word.
Then another memory returned.
Three days before Lily's birth.
Daniel had told me he needed to travel for a “business meeting.”
He had been gone overnight.
I had called him twice.
He didn't answer.
When he came home, he had brought flowers.
I hadn't questioned him.
I had trusted him.
Now I wondered where he had really been.
The next morning, Sarah arrived with a second folder.
She placed it on my kitchen table.
“This is preliminary.”
I opened it.
Inside were corporate records.
The company that received the $42,000 was called Morgan Medical Consulting.
Not Chloe.
Not Daniel.
A medical intermediary.
I frowned.
“Why would Daniel use an intermediary?”
“To protect the patient's identity.”
“Whose?”
Sarah looked at me.
“That's what we don't know.”
I turned the page.
There was a date.
Three days before Lily's birth.
Another page.
An authorization form.
Another.
A reference number.
Then I saw something.
A handwritten note.
Recipient embryo — J.C.
My heart stopped.
J.C.
Jennifer Carter.
My initials.
I stared at the page.
“No.”
Sarah leaned forward.
“What?”
“This can't be me.”
“Why?”
“I never used a fertility clinic.”
“I know.”
“I never had an embryo.”
“I know.”
“Then why are my initials here?”
Sarah didn't answer.
I turned another page.
There was a second notation.
Genetic material: J.C.
My hands began trembling.
“Sarah…”
“I know.”
“This says genetic material.”
“Yes.”
“But I never gave them genetic material.”
Sarah looked at me.
“Maybe you did.”
“When?”
She paused.
“Before Lily was born.”
My mind raced.
Hospital paperwork.
Pregnancy tests.
Blood samples.
Prenatal screenings.
Medical examinations.
Then I remembered.
During my pregnancy, Daniel had insisted on arranging an additional genetic screening.
He had said it was routine.
I had signed the forms.
I had never questioned them.
My blood suddenly ran cold.
“What if he used my genetic material?”
Sarah said nothing.
“What if he created an embryo?”
“Jennifer—”
“With whose sperm?”
That was the question neither of us wanted to ask.
The laboratory called that afternoon.
The DNA results were ready.
I went alone.
Daniel was already there.
He stood when I entered.
His face looked confident.
“I told you.”
I said nothing.
The technician placed the sealed envelope on the table.
“Both parties must be present.”
We signed.
The envelope was opened.
I watched Daniel's eyes move across the page.
Then mine.
I read the first line.
Probability of paternity: 99.9998%.
Daniel laughed.
“I told you.”
I looked at him.
He smiled.
“She is mine.”
I nodded.
The result was clear.
Daniel was Lily's biological father.
Or so I thought.
I looked again.
Something was wrong.
“Wait.”
The technician frowned.
“What?”
“This test only compares Daniel and Lily.”
“Yes.”
“Not me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“You requested a paternity test.”
I looked at Daniel.
His expression changed.
“Jennifer…”
I turned to the technician.
“I want a maternity test.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“That isn't necessary.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
He didn't answer.
My heart began pounding.
“Why isn't it necessary?”
His lawyer stepped in.
“Mrs. Carter, this is becoming unreasonable.”
I ignored him.
I looked at Daniel.
“Did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That I might not be Lily's biological mother?”
His face went completely still.
I had my answer.
The room seemed to tilt.
I grabbed the edge of the table.
Daniel's lawyer spoke quickly.
“This is absurd.”
I looked at him.
“Did you know?”
He didn't respond.
“Daniel?”
He stared at the floor.
I felt something inside me crack.
“Tell me.”
He whispered:
“I didn't know for certain.”
“Not for certain?”
“I was told there was a possibility.”
“By whom?”
He didn't answer.
“By whom?”
His eyes finally met mine.
“Chloe.”
My blood ran cold.
I walked out of the laboratory.
Daniel followed.
“Jennifer, wait.”
I kept walking.
“Listen to me.”
I turned.
“Did you know before Lily was born?”
He hesitated.
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Not long.”
“How long?”
“About a month.”
I stared at him.
“A month?”
“I wasn't sure.”
“You knew there was a possibility that the baby I carried wasn't biologically mine…”
He looked ashamed.
“…and you said nothing?”
“I was afraid.”
“You were afraid?”
“Yes.”
“Of what?”
“Losing you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You already lost me.”
He reached toward me.
I stepped away.
“Don't touch me.”
“Jennifer—”
“Why did you let me believe she was mine?”
“Because you loved her.”
I stared at him.
“That was your excuse?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
He looked desperate.
“I didn't know how to tell you.”
“You could have told me the truth.”
“I thought the results would prove everything was fine.”
“What results?”
He didn't answer.
I suddenly understood.
“The fertility clinic.”
His silence confirmed it.
“What did you do?”
“I didn't do anything.”
“Then why did you pay them?”
“Because Chloe asked me.”
“For what?”
He looked away.
“I don't know.”
“Daniel.”
“I swear.”
I stepped closer.
“Who is J.C.?”
He froze.
I knew.
He didn't need to answer.
“You used my genetic material.”
“No.”
“Then why is my name on the record?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear I'm not.”
I stared into his eyes.
For the first time, I didn't see a husband.
I saw a stranger.
That night, I went to the hospital where Lily was born.
I requested my complete medical records.
The hospital administrator refused.
I showed my attorney's authorization.
He still hesitated.
“There are certain records that require a court order.”
“Which ones?”
He looked at the file.
“Embryology records.”
I froze.
“Embryology?”
“Yes.”
“I never had fertility treatment.”
He looked confused.
“That's what the record says.”
I took a breath.
“Show me.”
He opened the file.
There was a patient number.
My name.
My date of birth.
My signature.
I stared at it.
The signature looked exactly like mine.
But I had never signed that form.
Then I saw the date.
Two weeks before my wedding.
I remembered that day.
Daniel had asked me to sign “insurance paperwork.”
He had been smiling.
I had trusted him.
The administrator turned another page.
“Mrs. Carter?”
“Yes?”
“There's something unusual.”
“What?”
“The embryo transfer was performed under a different patient's identification number.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
He pointed to the page.
Chloe Morgan.
I couldn't breathe.
Chloe.
My husband's mistress.
The woman carrying a baby.
The woman he had secretly paid.
The woman whose name had appeared in his hidden messages.
And somehow…
my genetic material had been used in an embryo transferred to Chloe.
I stared at the page.
“Whose baby was born?”
The administrator looked confused.
“I don't understand.”
“Was Lily born from that embryo?”
He checked the dates.
His face changed.
“I can't confirm that.”
“Why?”
“Because the records were sealed.”
“By whom?”
He looked at the authorization.
“Your husband.”
I walked out of the hospital in a daze.
Sarah was waiting outside.
I handed her the papers.
She read them.
Then looked at me.
“Jennifer…”
“I know.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“What?”
“This means something else.”
“What?”
She pointed to the paperwork.
“If your genetic material was used to create an embryo…”
She looked toward me.
“…then Chloe's baby may be genetically yours.”
I stared at her.
“And Lily?”
“We don't know.”
The world seemed to stop.
I had spent months thinking Chloe's baby was the threat.
Now I was terrified of something much worse.
What if the baby I had carried…
wasn't biologically mine?
What if the baby Chloe had carried…
was?
At 2:00 a.m., my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Jennifer?”
“Who is this?”
“Don't trust Daniel.”
My heart raced.
“Who are you?”
“I worked at the fertility clinic.”
“What happened?”
“I can't talk for long.”
“Tell me.”
There was a pause.
Then:
“Your embryo was never supposed to go to Chloe.”
I stopped breathing.
“What?”
“It was supposed to be implanted in you.”
“Then why wasn't it?”
“Because someone changed the records.”
“Who?”
The woman sounded terrified.
“I don't know.”
“Please.”
“I only know one thing.”
“What?”
“The baby you carried…”
She stopped.
“Was not the embryo you were supposed to receive.”
My hands went cold.
“Then whose baby did I carry?”
The line went dead.
I called back.
The number didn't exist.
I sat on the edge of my bed.
Lily slept peacefully beside me.
I looked at her tiny face.
I wanted to believe she was my daughter.
I needed her to be.
But now there was a question between us that I could no longer ignore.
And somewhere in the city, Chloe was carrying a secret that could destroy all three of us.
I picked up the phone.
There was only one person who might know the entire truth.
Daniel.
But before I could call him, a message appeared.
Unknown Number:
If you want the truth about Lily, meet Chloe tomorrow. Alone.
I stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
And don't tell Daniel.
I looked at my sleeping daughter.
For the first time since she was born, I was afraid to say the words aloud.
What if Lily wasn't the baby I was supposed to have?
May you like
And worse…
What if Chloe was raising the child who was actually mine?
