Chapter 3
I woke up the next morning with puffy eyes and a throat raw from crying.
My mom had left a glass of water and two aspirin on my nightstand, along with a note that said I don’t have to talk about it until you’re ready.
I stared at the ceiling for an hour, replaying every second of the wedding in my head.
The kids’ faces. Daniel’s white skin. Clara’s voice.
A knock on the door made me jump.
“Charlotte?” It was Daniel. His voice was rough, like he’d been crying too.
I froze.
“Go away,” I called out.
“Please, baby, just let me explain,” he said. “Clara’s lying. She’s a scammer, she’s trying to ruin me—”
I got up and yanked the door open.
He stood there in his wrinkled suit from yesterday, his hair a mess, his eyes red.
“Get off my mom’s porch,” I said, cold.
“Charlotte, I love you,” he said, reaching for my hand. “You have to believe me. Those kids aren’t mine. She faked the paternity test—”
A soft voice from behind him made us both freeze.
“Lily drew you a picture.”
Clara stood at the end of the walkway, holding Lily’s hand. Milo was on her hip, half-asleep.
Lily held up a crumpled crayon drawing. It was three stick figures—two big, one small—holding hands.
“She said you looked like a princess,” Clara said, quiet. “She wanted you to have it.”
Daniel spun around. His face twisted with anger.
“What are you doing here?” he snarled. “I told you to stay away from me—”
“Daniel, stop,” I said.
I walked past him, down the steps, to where Clara and the kids stood.
Lily held the drawing out to me. Her eyes were still puffy from crying yesterday.
“For you,” she said. “I’m sorry we ruined your party.”
My throat tightened so bad I could barely speak.
I knelt down so I was eye level with her.
“You didn’t ruin anything, honey,” I said. I took the drawing. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “Thank you. It’s perfect.”
Milo lifted his head from Clara’s shoulder. He stared at me, then at Daniel.
“Are you our new mommy?” he asked, sleepy.
I flinched.
Clara’s face went red. “Milo, baby, no—”
“It’s okay,” I said. I looked up at her. “Can we talk? Inside?”
She nodded.
I glanced back at Daniel. He was standing on the porch, his fists clenched, his face dark.
“Leave,” I said to him. “Or I’m calling the cops.”
He stared at me for a long second, then turned and stormed to his car. He peeled out so fast gravel flew.
I led Clara and the kids inside. My mom made them hot chocolate, extra marshmallows for Milo.
At the kitchen table, Clara opened the manila folder and pushed it across to me.
Paternity tests, dated two years ago, signed by three different labs.
Text messages from Daniel, telling her to keep the kids quiet, threatening to take them if she talked.
Bank records.
My blood ran cold when I saw the amounts.
$500 a week, every week, for two years.
Transferred from the joint savings account I’d put my entire $20,000 inheritance into.
The money I’d given Daniel to “invest” for our house.
He’d been stealing from me to pay her to stay away.
I stared at the numbers, my hands going numb.
“I didn’t know it was your money,” Clara said, soft. “I swear. He said it was his. I would never have taken it if I’d known.”
I believed her.
I looked over at the kids. Lily was showing my mom her crayons, chattering about her favorite cartoon. Milo was asleep on the couch, his thumb back in his mouth.
They were just kids.
They didn’t ask for any of this.
Daniel had used all of us.
Me, for my money and my perfect little life.
Clara, for his secret family.
His own kids, as pawns.
A cold, hard anger settled in my chest.
It burned hotter than the heartbreak.
“I’m going to help you,” I said, looking back at Clara.
Her eyes went wide.
“What?”
“I’m going to help you,” I repeated. “He can’t get away with this. Not with my money. Not with your kids.”
I had no idea what I was getting into.
May you like
But I knew one thing for sure.
Daniel was going to pay for every lie he’d ever told.
