Chapter 4 — The Secret of the Baby
Chapter 4 — The Secret of the Baby
The first thing Marcus did after the phone call ended was check the number.
Unknown.
No name.
No location.
Nothing.
Just a voice that had disappeared before giving him the one thing he needed most.
The truth.
“She was trying to replace her.”
The words repeated inside his head.
Again.
And again.
Marcus looked through the hospital room window.
Khloe was sleeping.
One hand rested protectively over her stomach.
Over their daughter.
The daughter Isabella had asked about.
The daughter Isabella believed belonged to her.
Marcus had spent years convincing himself Isabella was simply someone from his past.
A painful chapter.
A mistake.
But now he understood something terrifying.
The past had never ended for Isabella.
She had been living inside it.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
Detective Grant entered.
“You look like you just heard something you didn’t want to believe.”
Marcus looked at her.
“I received a call.”
“From?”
“I don’t know.”
He explained everything.
The woman.
The warning.
The final sentence.
Detective Grant listened carefully.
When he finished, she remained silent.
“What?”
She opened her file.
“Maybe this explains why Isabella asked about the baby.”
Marcus immediately focused.
“What did you find?”
Detective Grant placed a document on the table.
A medical record.
Old.
Very old.
“Six years ago.”
Marcus frowned.
“That was when Isabella and I were together.”
“Yes.”
He looked closer.
Then froze.
The patient name was:
Isabella Moretti.
His breathing changed.
“What is this?”
Detective Grant watched his reaction.
“A pregnancy record.”
Marcus stared at the page.
No.
That was impossible.
“Isabella never told me she was pregnant.”
Detective Grant nodded.
“That is why we are investigating.”
Marcus slowly sat down.
Six years.
A secret hidden for six years.
“What happened?”
Detective Grant looked uncomfortable.
“She lost the pregnancy.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
A painful memory surfaced.
The night Isabella disappeared for two days.
The night she told him she needed space.
The night she refused to explain.
“I thought she was leaving me.”
Detective Grant nodded.
“Maybe she thought you left her.”
Marcus looked up.
“What does that mean?”
Before Detective Grant could answer, the door opened.
Dr. Alexander Hale walked in.
His expression was serious.
“Marcus.”
Something about his tone made Marcus stand.
“What happened?”
Alexander looked at the detective.
Then back at Marcus.
“There is something you need to know.”
An hour later, Marcus sat in a private consultation room.
Alexander closed the door.
“Isabella came to the hospital before.”
Marcus looked confused.
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
His face changed.
“What?”
Alexander sighed.
“She came asking about genetic testing.”
Marcus felt a chill.
“Why?”
“She claimed she needed information about a previous pregnancy.”
Marcus stared.
“She thought…”
Alexander nodded slowly.
“She believed the child she lost might have been yours.”
Silence.
Marcus felt like the entire world had shifted.
Because there was one question he could not ignore.
“Was it?”
Alexander did not answer immediately.
And that silence terrified him.
“Uncle Alex.”
The doctor looked at him.
“Back then, Isabella never allowed a paternity test.”
Marcus swallowed.
“Why?”
“Because she said she already knew the answer.”
Marcus stood.
“Then why is she asking now?”
Alexander’s expression hardened.
“Because she saw something.”
“What?”
“The announcement of your daughter’s birth.”
Marcus remembered.
The article.
The family photograph.
Khloe smiling.
His hand on her shoulder.
Their happy life.
A life Isabella no longer had.
That evening, Khloe woke.
Marcus sat beside her.
She immediately noticed his expression.
“What happened?”
He hesitated.
He hated bringing more pain into her recovery.
But secrets were what had brought them here.
No more secrets.
“Isabella had a pregnancy before.”
Khloe stared at him.
“With you?”
Marcus nodded.
“I didn’t know.”
Khloe looked away.
Processing.
Then she asked quietly:
“Do you think she believes our daughter is hers?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Because he was afraid the answer was yes.
Khloe closed her eyes.
“That’s why she asked.”
“What?”
“She wasn’t asking if the baby was yours.”
Khloe looked at him.
“She was asking if the baby belonged to the life she lost.”
Marcus felt a cold wave move through him.
Meanwhile…
Across the city…
Isabella sat in a luxury apartment.
Her lawyer Victor stood beside the window.
“You should stop.”
She looked at him.
“Stop what?”
“This obsession.”
Isabella laughed softly.
“Obsession?”
She looked at the photograph on the table.
Marcus.
Khloe.
The unborn child.
“They stole everything from me.”
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
“They moved on.”
Her eyes became darker.
“That was supposed to be my family.”
Victor looked at her carefully.
“And if the child isn’t yours?”
The room became silent.
Isabella slowly turned.
“She is.”
“How do you know?”
A small smile appeared on Isabella’s face.
Because she had prepared this answer.
“Because I made sure.”
Victor frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Isabella walked toward a locked drawer.
She opened it.
Inside was a folder.
A thick folder.
Medical records.
Photos.
Documents.
At the top was one word:
HALE.
Victor stared.
“What did you do?”
Isabella closed the drawer.
“Something Marcus should have done years ago.”
“What?”
She smiled.
“Remembered that I existed.”
The next morning, Marcus received another call.
This time from the laboratory.
A genetic testing center.
“Mr. Hale?”
“Yes?”
“There is a matter regarding a DNA request.”
Marcus frowned.
“What request?”
The woman hesitated.
“A request connected to your family.”
His heart began racing.
“Who submitted it?”
A pause.
Then:
“Isabella Moretti.”
Marcus gripped the phone.
“What did she request?”
The answer came quietly.
“A comparison test.”
“With your unborn daughter.”
Marcus felt the room disappear.
Because suddenly the truth became clear.
Isabella was not trying to destroy his marriage.
She was trying to prove something.
Something that could change everything.
And Marcus realized the most dangerous secret was not what Isabella had done.
May you like
It was what she believed.
End of Chapter 4
