Chapter 3 - THE OTHER MOTHER AT THE DOOR
Chloe hadn't come to confess.
She hadn't come to apologize.
She had come because Daniel told her there was a family celebration at the hotel and that she should meet him afterward.
He had apparently forgotten to explain which family.
She stood in the doorway with a newborn sleeping in the carrier, staring at one hundred people who had suddenly gone silent.
Daniel took a step toward her.
“Chloe, not now.”
Her expression tightened.
“What do you mean, not now?”
I looked at the baby.
He was tiny.
Wrapped in a pale yellow blanket.
For an instant, I felt an unexpected ache.
Whatever Chloe had done, that little boy hadn't chosen any of this.
Neither had Lily.
Daniel moved closer to her and lowered his voice.
“Go downstairs. I'll call you.”
Chloe looked past him.
Her eyes found me.
Then Lily.
Her face changed.
“Jennifer?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
For several seconds, she seemed unable to speak.
Then she looked toward Daniel.
“You told me she knew.”
The words landed heavily.
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Chloe.”
“You told me the marriage was over.”
I looked at him.
“That must be the plan you mentioned.”
She stared.
I continued, “The one where you handled your pregnant wife while you played house with someone else.”
Chloe looked down.
A woman near the back whispered something cruel.
I turned sharply.
“Don't.”
Everyone looked at me.
I held Lily a little closer.
“There are two babies in this room. Neither of them deserves an audience enjoying their parents' mistakes.”
The woman lowered her eyes.
I looked back at Chloe.
“You should take your child somewhere quiet. He's not part of this argument.”
She seemed startled by my tone.
Then nodded slowly.
“Thank you.”
Daniel looked between us as though he couldn't understand why we weren't screaming at each other.
Perhaps he'd imagined a fight that would let him stand in the middle and call us irrational.
I wasn't giving him one.
I handed Lily to my mother and approached Chloe near the entrance.
“Can I ask you something?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Did Daniel tell you he was using our daughter's savings?”
Her eyes widened.
“What?”
“He transferred money from the account we established for Lily's birth and emergencies.”
Chloe's face went pale.
“He told me it was his personal money.”
I studied her.
“Are you telling me you didn't know?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
I didn't know whether to believe her.
Not yet.
But the panic on her face looked real.
She glanced toward the infant carrier.
“I thought he was helping me because he wanted to.”
I kept my voice steady.
“He was giving you money while telling me we couldn't afford postpartum help.”
Chloe covered her mouth.
Daniel hurried toward us.
“Jennifer, stop manipulating her.”
I looked at him.
“I'm not manipulating anyone.”
He reached for my elbow.
“Enough.”
I stepped away.
“Don't touch me.”
His hand stopped in the air.
For the first time, I saw him recognize that I wasn't frightened of embarrassing him anymore.
Chloe began crying.
“Daniel, whose money paid my hospital bills?”
He looked trapped.
“I was handling things.”
“Whose money?”
He didn't answer.
She stared at him.
Then said, very quietly, “You told me you were separating your finances.”
Daniel looked away.
I took a slow breath.
The truth was becoming clearer.
Chloe had known Daniel was married.
She had participated in a relationship that hurt me.
But he had also been lying to her about money, marital status, and what he intended to do next.
That didn't make us friends.
It made us two women discovering that the same man had treated us as separate problems to manage.
By seven thirty, most of the guests had left.
The hotel staff began clearing tables.
Daniel stood with Robert near the cashier's desk, arguing about the balance.
Patricia had gone home after promising to call me the next morning.
My mother waited beside the elevator with Lily.
Chloe had already left with her baby.
I retrieved my handbag.
Then Daniel blocked my path.
“You planned this.”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
He seemed startled by the answer.
“You wanted to destroy me.”
“No.”
“You humiliated me in front of my clients.”
“I told the truth in front of people you invited to witness your performance.”
His expression hardened.
“You think you're going to take my daughter?”
The words made my stomach turn.
I looked directly at him.
“Lily isn't something either of us gets to own. Our parenting arrangements will be decided based on her needs and the applicable legal process.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“You've rehearsed this.”
“Yes,” I said. “Because unlike you, I knew I needed a plan before I made decisions affecting a child.”
He stared.
Then looked toward the folder.
“What else do you have?”
I said nothing.
His face changed.
“Jennifer.”
I stepped toward the elevator.
He followed.
“What else?”
I pressed the button.
Then looked back at him.
“Enough to know that the missing savings isn't the only account you've been hiding.”
May you like
His eyes widened.
And the elevator doors opened before he could respond.
