Chapter 3 — The Name on the Paternity Test
Chapter 3 — The Name on the Paternity Test
I stared at the name.
I read it once.
Then again.
Then a third time, hoping the letters would somehow rearrange themselves into something I could understand.
They didn’t.
Daniel Brooks.
My best friend.
My business partner.
The man who had stood beside me at my wedding six years earlier and given a speech about how lucky I was to have Claire.
My hand started shaking.
“Daniel?”
Claire nodded.
I looked at her.
“You’re telling me my wife is pregnant with my best friend’s child?”
“I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“How long have you known?”
She looked down.
“Two weeks.”
“And you waited until now?”
“I was scared.”
I laughed.
It came out empty.
“You were scared?”
“Yes.”
“You should have been scared six weeks ago.”
“I know.”
“You should have told me before you started acting like you suddenly loved me again.”
Her face tightened.
“I did love you.”
“Did?”
“I still do.”
I stepped away from her.
“Don’t say that.”
She began crying.
“I never wanted this to happen.”
“Then why did it?”
She didn’t answer.
I pointed at the test.
“Tell me everything.”
Claire wiped her face.
“It started before you moved into the guest room.”
“How long?”
She hesitated.
“About four months.”
Four months.
I closed my eyes.
Four months ago, Claire had already stopped wanting me.
Four months ago, she had started coming home late.
Four months ago, she had suddenly become protective of her phone.
Four months ago, I had asked her if there was someone else.
And she had looked me in the eyes and told me I was being paranoid.
I opened my eyes.
“Where?”
“What?”
“Where did it happen?”
She looked away.
“Claire.”
“At first, at the office.”
I felt something twist inside my chest.
Daniel and I owned a small construction consulting company together.
Our office was fifteen minutes from home.
“How many times?”
She didn’t answer.
“How many?”
“Several.”
I nodded slowly.
“Did he know?”
“Yes.”
“Did he know you were married?”
“Yes.”
I laughed again.
“He gave a speech at our wedding.”
“I know.”
“He called me his brother.”
“I know.”
“And you were sleeping with him?”
Claire’s shoulders shook.
“I know what I did.”
“No.”
I looked at her.
“You know what you did now.”
She stared at me.
“You didn’t know what you were doing when you did it?”
“I thought our marriage was already over.”
I felt my jaw tighten.
“Because I asked you for affection?”
“Because I felt disconnected from you.”
“So you slept with Daniel?”
“It wasn’t supposed to become serious.”
“But it did.”
She nodded.
“When I found out I was pregnant, I panicked.”
I looked at the test again.
“And that’s when you suddenly decided to fix our marriage.”
She didn’t answer.
I already knew.
“You thought the baby might be mine.”
“Yes.”
“And when you found out it wasn’t?”
“I wanted to tell you.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You wanted to make sure I wouldn’t leave first.”
She looked at me.
“I didn’t want to lose you.”
“You already did.”
The words hung between us.
Claire sat down.
I remained standing.
Then I remembered something.
“The test.”
She looked up.
“What about it?”
“You said you took a DNA test last week.”
“Yes.”
“With me?”
“No.”
I frowned.
“Then how did they compare the baby’s DNA to mine?”
She froze.
I saw it.
That tiny hesitation.
“Claire.”
She looked down.
“I didn’t use your sample.”
“Then what did you use?”
Silence.
I stepped closer.
“What did you use?”
She whispered,
“The sample from your fertility test.”
My stomach dropped.
“You had access to it?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I asked the clinic.”
“You had no right.”
“I know.”
I stared at her.
“You scheduled my fertility test, got access to my medical sample, and then secretly used it for a paternity test?”
“I was desperate.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You were planning.”
She started crying again.
“I needed to know.”
“You needed to know whether you could convince me the baby was mine.”
She didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
I turned toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Out.”
“Caleb, please.”
I stopped.
She stood behind me.
“I know I betrayed you.”
“You did.”
“But Daniel isn’t who you think he is.”
I turned around.
“What does that mean?”
Claire hesitated.
“He didn’t tell me everything.”
“About what?”
“About why he wanted to be with me.”
I stared at her.
“Why would he want to be with you?”
She looked terrified.
“Because of you.”
I didn’t understand.
“What does Daniel have to do with me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Claire.”
She swallowed.
“He asked questions about your company.”
My anger shifted into something colder.
“What questions?”
“Your father’s old accounts.”
My father had died when I was twenty-three.
His company had been dissolved shortly afterward.
I hadn’t thought about those accounts in years.
“Why would Daniel care about my father’s accounts?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve been sleeping with him for four months and you don’t know?”
“He never talked about business when we were together.”
“Then how do you know he asked about my father?”
“Because I heard him talking to someone.”
“Who?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
I stared at her.
“What exactly did you hear?”
She looked toward the window.
“He said, ‘Once Caleb signs, everything changes.’”
My stomach tightened.
“Signs what?”
“I don’t know.”
“What does Daniel want me to sign?”
“I don’t know.”
I walked toward the kitchen counter.
My phone was there.
I opened my messages.
There were several from Daniel.
The latest one was from that morning.
Call me when you get a chance. We need to discuss the Henderson account.
I stared at it.
Then another message arrived.
And Caleb… don’t make any decisions about Claire until we talk.
I showed it to Claire.
Her face went pale.
“He knows.”
“What?”
“He knows you’re here.”
I looked at her.
“How?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
My phone rang.
Daniel.
I stared at the screen.
Claire whispered,
“Don’t answer.”
I answered.
“Daniel.”
There was silence.
Then his voice came through.
“Caleb, where are you?”
“Home.”
Another pause.
“Are you alone?”
I looked at Claire.
“No.”
Daniel exhaled.
“I was afraid of that.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Listen to me carefully.”
His voice had changed.
No confidence.
No friendliness.
Just urgency.
“You need to leave that house.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because someone is coming.”
“Who?”
“I can’t explain over the phone.”
“Try.”
“Caleb, your father left something behind.”
My entire body went still.
“What?”
“A file.”
“What file?”
“The Henderson file.”
I looked at Claire.
She had gone completely pale.
“How do you know about my father’s file?”
“Because I’ve been looking for it.”
“Why?”
“Because it contains something that could destroy both of us.”
The call went silent for a second.
Then I heard a faint sound behind Daniel.
A door closing.
“Daniel?”
No answer.
“Daniel?”
His voice returned, barely above a whisper.
“Don’t trust Claire.”
I looked at my wife.
She was staring at me.
“Why?”
“Because she isn’t the one who planned this.”
My blood ran cold.
“Then who did?”
Daniel took a breath.
“Your wife was told to get pregnant.”
Claire’s face collapsed.
“What?”
I put the phone on speaker.
Daniel continued.
“She was supposed to make you believe the baby was yours.”
I stared at Claire.
“Who told her?”
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said,
“The person who has been controlling your company for the last six months.”
I frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It will.”
“Who?”
Daniel whispered one name.
“Your father.”
I almost dropped the phone.
“My father has been dead for twelve years.”
“I know.”
“Then stop playing games.”
“I wish I were.”
The line suddenly went dead.
I stared at the screen.
Claire was crying.
“I didn’t know.”
I looked at her.
“Didn’t know what?”
“That Daniel was investigating your father.”
“And you?”
“I only knew he wanted information about your business.”
“What information?”
She shook her head.
“I swear, I don’t know.”
A loud knock came from the front door.
Three slow knocks.
Claire froze.
I didn’t move.
Another three knocks.
Then a man’s voice came through the door.
“Caleb?”
I recognized it.
Daniel.
I looked at Claire.
She whispered,
“He can’t be here.”
I walked toward the front door.
“Daniel?”
“Open the door.”
I reached for the handle.
Then my phone buzzed.
A new message.
From Daniel’s number.
Do not open the door.
I stopped.
The man outside knocked again.
“Caleb, it’s me.”
I looked through the window.
A dark SUV was parked at the curb.
The man standing on my porch looked exactly like Daniel.
But my phone was still displaying his message.
Do not open the door.
Then another message appeared.
That’s not me.
My heart began pounding.
I slowly stepped away from the door.
The man outside smiled.
As if he could see me through the glass.
Then he raised his hand.
In it was an old photograph.
A photograph of my father.
And on the back, written in black ink, were four words:
Ask Claire about the hospital.
I turned around.
Claire was staring at the photograph.
And from the expression on her face, I knew immediately.
She knew exactly what hospital he meant.
