Chapter 4
I found Lila in Ethan’s room, sitting on the edge of his bed, looking at his art supplies scattered across the desk. Leo was asleep on the pillow, wrapped in Ethan’s old college hoodie.
“He talked about this room all the time,” she said, running a finger over the paint-stained desk. “Said it was the only place he ever felt like he could breathe.”
I sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into me, crying softly.
“I’m so sorry about Richard,” I said. “He’s… he’s spent his whole life thinking success is only one thing. Pre-med, law school, a big house. He never understood that Ethan’s art was worth more than any of that.”
Lila wiped her eyes. “Ethan never hated him, you know. He just wanted him to be proud. He used to practice showing his dad his paintings. Said one day he’d make something so good Richard would have to notice.”
My chest ached. All those years, Richard had been so busy pushing Ethan to be what he wanted, he’d never seen the amazing young man his son already was.
That night, after Lila and Leo were asleep, I went down to the basement. Ethan had stored a bunch of his old things there when he moved out—boxes of sketchbooks, his high school art awards, the old guitar he’d taught himself to play.
At the bottom of one box, tucked under a stack of canvases, I found it.
An old flip phone. The one Ethan had had in college, before he’d gotten a new one. I’d thought he’d thrown it away.
I plugged it in. It turned on, the screen lighting up dimly.
There were hundreds of texts. All to Lila.
I scrolled through them, my tears falling on the keypad.
Got the ultrasound pic. He has my nose. I can tell.
Dad threatened to cut me off today. I don’t care. I have you and the baby. That’s all I need.
Gonna tell Mom tomorrow. I’m finally gonna do it. She’s gonna love you both so much.
I’m gonna be a dad, Lila. Can you believe it? I’m gonna be the kind of dad mine never was.
The last text was sent at 2:17 PM. The exact time the police said Ethan’s car had crashed.
On my way to get Mom. Be there in ten. Love you both more than anything.
I sank to the basement floor, sobbing until my ribs hurt.
He’d been so happy. So close to having everything he’d ever wanted.
And in a second, it was all gone.
I carried the phone upstairs, slipping it into my pocket. I’d show it to Richard tomorrow. Maybe, just maybe, it would make him see.
The next morning, I came down to the kitchen to find Richard already there. He was sitting at the table, a stack of papers in front of him. His face was pale, his eyes red-rimmed like he hadn’t slept.
He looked up when I walked in.
“I want a DNA test,” he said, his voice rough. “If that baby really is Ethan’s… I need to know for sure.”
I stared at him. “You think Lila would lie about this? After everything she’s been through?”
“I need to be sure,” he repeated, slamming his hand on the table. “I won’t have some stranger taking advantage of my wife’s grief.”
Before I could answer, Lila walked into the kitchen, Leo in her arms. She’d heard every word.
She didn’t get angry. She just reached into her pocket, pulling out a crumpled envelope. She slid it across the table to Richard.
“I already did one,” she said quietly. “Three weeks ago. I kept Ethan’s old hairbrush. The one he left at my place. The results are in there.”
Richard stared at the envelope for a long moment. Then, with shaking hands, he tore it open.
He read the paper inside. His face went whiter than I’d ever seen it. He dropped the paper on the table, like it had burned him.
99.97% chance of paternity.
He looked up at Lila, then at Leo, who was blinking sleepily at him.
For a second, I thought he’d apologize. That he’d finally see.
Instead, he stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor.
“It doesn’t prove anything,” he lied, his voice cracking. “She could have gotten the hair from anywhere.”
He walked out of the house, slamming the door so hard the windows rattled.
Lila looked at me, her eyes full of tears. “I should go. I’m just causing more problems.”
May you like
“No,” I said, taking her hand. “You’re not going anywhere. He’ll come around. I know he will. For Ethan’s sake, he has to.”
But as I watched Richard’s car pull out of the driveway, I wasn’t so sure.
