The lawyer's office occupied the third floor of an old brick building downtown.
His name was Samuel Reed.
I had expected someone elderly.
Instead, a man in his fifties opened the door.
He looked at the photograph in my hand.
Then at me.
“You're Daniel's wife.”
“Yes.”
His expression tightened.
“I wondered when you'd come.”
That sentence immediately made me distrust him.
“How many people were expecting me?”
“Not many.”
“Who knew?”
He stepped aside.
“Come in.”
I remained in the hallway.
“Is Emma here?”
His face changed.
“No.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“I haven't seen her in years.”
“Then why did Daniel send me here?”
“Because he believed I had something you would eventually need.”
I entered.
His office was cluttered with legal files and old boxes.
He closed the door.
“You have the birth certificate.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know Daniel wasn't Lily's biological father.”
“I know.”
“You also know the biological father was Marcus Vale.”
“Yes.”
Samuel sat down.
“You don't know why.”
“No.”
“Then I'll tell you.”
He opened a file.
“Lily's mother, Emma, was married to Marcus.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“They married very young.”
“Daniel told me she was never married.”
“Daniel protected Lily from the truth.”
Samuel pulled out another document.
Emma had filed for divorce.
The paperwork was incomplete.
Marcus had disputed the separation.
There were accusations of financial misconduct.
Threats.
Missing records.
And one statement from Emma.
“She is not safe with him.”
I looked at the document.
“She meant Lily.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Marcus knew about the child.”
I frowned.
“Then why did he let Daniel raise her?”
“He didn't know where she was.”
“Daniel hid her.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Through a temporary guardianship arrangement.”
I remembered Daniel asking me to become Lily's guardian.
He had been preparing for this long before I understood.
“Why didn't he tell me?”
“Because the less you knew, the safer you were.”
I laughed bitterly.
“I'm beginning to hate that sentence.”
Samuel didn't smile.
“You should.”
He opened another file.
“This concerns your husband.”
I looked at him.
“What did he have to do with Emma?”
“He helped Marcus establish one of the companies.”
My stomach dropped.
“So my husband was involved.”
“At first.”
“At first?”
“He later discovered what the company was being used for.”
“Money laundering?”
Samuel hesitated.
“I can't confirm every allegation.”
“But?”
“There were fraudulent insurance arrangements.”
I remembered the increased policy.
“Was my husband going to expose him?”
“Yes.”
“Did Marcus kill him?”
Samuel looked directly at me.
“I don't know.”
“Daniel believed he did.”
“Daniel suspected.”
“What's the difference?”
“Proof.”
I looked down.
“Did my husband know Lily?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He met Emma through the business.”
I swallowed.
“Did he know she was pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“Did he know Lily was his partner's child?”
Samuel's expression changed.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Your husband believed Marcus had no children.”
I stared at him.
“That makes no sense.”
“It didn't to Daniel either.”
Samuel opened another document.
It was a letter.
Marcus had written it years earlier.
He referred to Emma.
He referred to “the child.”
And he threatened to take the child away if Emma spoke about the company's finances.
I felt sick.
“Why would he claim Lily was his if he knew she was Emma's daughter?”
“He didn't know she wasn't his.”
The room went silent.
I looked at the birth certificate.
Then at Samuel.
“You said Marcus was the biological father.”
“Yes.”
“Then he knew.”
“He knew Lily existed.”
“But he didn't know?”
Samuel shook his head.
“He believed Lily was someone else's child.”
I stared at him.
“Whose?”
He hesitated.
Then he said, “Your husband's.”
Everything inside me stopped.
I couldn't speak.
My husband.
The man I had loved.
The man whose child I had lost.
Could Lily's mother have been carrying his child?
Could Daniel have known?
I thought about the birth certificate.
The father's name was Marcus.
But what if the record was false?
“What does the original record say?”
Samuel opened another folder.
“The original test results.”
My hands began to shake.
“There was a paternity test?”
“Yes.”
“Between whom?”
“Marcus and Lily.”
“And?”
“Negative.”
I stared at him.
“Then Marcus isn't her father.”
“No.”
“Then why is his name on the birth certificate?”
“Because the birth certificate was altered.”
I stood.
“Who altered it?”
Samuel looked toward the window.
“That's what Daniel was trying to prove.”
The office suddenly felt too small.
“Who is Lily's biological father?”
Samuel slid another envelope toward me.
I didn't touch it.
“Open it.”
I did.
Inside was a laboratory report.
The father's name was listed.
My husband's name.
I stopped breathing.
I read it again.
The result showed a biological relationship.
My husband was Lily's father.
I sat down.
The room blurred.
“No.”
Samuel said nothing.
“My husband had another child?”
“Yes.”
“Before Josie?”
“Yes.”
“Did he know?”
“We don't know.”
“Daniel knew.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
I thought about the hospital.
Daniel had looked at me and said he loved me.
He had known I had lost Josie.
He had known Lily was my husband's biological daughter.
And he had still asked me to raise her.
My anger returned.
“Why did Daniel never tell me?”
Samuel's answer was quiet.
“Because he believed you would see Lily as a reminder of the betrayal.”
I looked up.
“What betrayal?”
“Your husband had an affair with Emma.”
I closed my eyes.
Everything inside me broke open.
My husband.
Emma.
Lily.
Josie.
The accident.
Daniel.
It all connected.
Or seemed to.
Then Samuel said the sentence that changed the entire story again.
“Daniel was wrong about one thing.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“Your husband wasn't Lily's father.”
I stared.
“You just showed me the test.”
“I showed you a test.”
“What are you saying?”
“The test was later proven fraudulent.”
My heart sank.
“Then who is her father?”
Samuel opened a final file.
Inside was a DNA report.
This one was newer.
The name at the top was Daniel's.
I stopped breathing.
“No.”
Samuel nodded.
“Daniel was Lily's biological father.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: Daniel’s Name Was on the Final DNA Report, and the Truth About Lily’s Birth Explained Why He Had Chosen Me Before He Ever Asked
The Little Girl in Room 412 Asked Me for a Simple Favor, and I Had No Idea Her Father Was About to Change the Rest of My Life
Part 10 of 12
