Chapter 2 - THE NAME ON THE RECORD
The police arrived twenty minutes later.
By then, Margaret had changed her story three times.
First, she claimed Claire attacked her.
Then she said she had only grabbed Claire because Claire was trying to leave with the baby.
Finally, she stopped talking altogether.
Ethan stayed beside Claire while an officer photographed the marks on her scalp.
“You need medical attention,” the officer said.
“I’ll go,” Claire whispered.
Ethan took her hand.
“I’m coming with you.”
Margaret suddenly spoke.
“If you leave this house with her, Ethan, you will regret it.”
He turned.
“You attacked my wife.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“You nearly killed her.”
Margaret’s eyes hardened.
“You still don't understand.”
Claire flinched.
Ethan noticed.
That was enough.
He took Claire downstairs.
At the hospital, a doctor examined her and confirmed a concussion but no skull fracture.
Ethan sat beside her bed until sunrise.
Neither of them spoke for a long time.
Finally Claire said, “I should have told you before we got married.”
“About Daniel Vale?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
Claire looked toward the window.
“He was the father of the child I lost.”
Ethan frowned.
“Lost?”
“I was pregnant when I was twenty-two.”
She swallowed.
“Daniel was dangerous. He had money, connections, and a temper. When I tried to leave him, he told me he would take the baby.”
“What happened?”
Claire closed her eyes.
“I ran.”
She explained that she had gone into labor unexpectedly at a small clinic. The baby survived, but Claire was told there were complications and that the infant had been transferred.
She never saw the child again.
“I spent years searching,” she said. “Then I met you.”
“And Nora?”
Claire’s expression changed.
“Nora came through an adoption agency.”
Ethan stared.
“You adopted our daughter?”
Claire nodded.
“I couldn't have children after the complications. When the agency called, I thought it was a miracle.”
“But you said Nora was ours.”
“She is ours.”
Her voice broke.
“I never meant genetically. I meant in every way that matters.”
Ethan felt a painful mixture of anger and compassion.
“Why did you hide this?”
“Because I was afraid you'd think I was broken.”
“I would never.”
“You say that now.”
He looked down.
Claire continued.
“Three days before Nora was born, Margaret came to the hospital.”
Ethan's head lifted.
“What did she want?”
“She asked about my medical history.”
“Why?”
“I didn't know.”
Claire reached beneath the blanket and pulled out a small envelope.
“I found this in my hospital bag.”
Inside was a photograph.
A young Claire stood beside a man Ethan had never seen.
Daniel Vale.
But the photograph had been altered.
Someone had cut another person out.
Ethan turned it over.
On the back was a date.
October 14, eighteen years ago.
His face went cold.
That was the date his mother had always claimed Ethan's father died.
“Claire,” he whispered, “why is Daniel's picture dated the same day my father died?”
Claire shook her head.
“I don't know.”
His phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
LOOK AT YOUR FATHER'S DEATH CERTIFICATE.
Ethan stared at it.
Then another message arrived.
May you like
HE DIDN'T DIE IN AN ACCIDENT.
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