Rebecca did not answer immediately.<\/p>\n
I could hear a machine humming on her end of the line, then a soft electronic beep. Hospital sounds. Lily was still there.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura,\u201d she said at last, \u201cMichael wasn\u2019t Lily\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n
My grip tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou called her his daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI called her the dead man whose daughter received my son\u2019s heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo correct me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca exhaled slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael was my husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gathered that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Lily wasn\u2019t his biological child.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pressure began building behind my eyes.<\/p>\n
I sat on the hallway floor beside Daniel\u2019s old business files, the newspaper clipping still in my lap.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaleb wrote that Lily was Daniel\u2019s biological daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas he wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was so quiet that I nearly missed it.<\/p>\n
For several seconds I heard only my own breathing.<\/p>\n
Then I said, \u201cSay it clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel was Lily\u2019s biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hallway tilted.<\/p>\n
I rested my head against the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did my husband sleep with you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed once, without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not insult me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Daniel fathered your daughter, then at some point\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d Rebecca\u2019s voice sharpened. \u201cHe never slept with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
There are moments when confusion is worse than pain because pain, at least, tells you where to look.<\/p>\n
I stared at the photograph of Daniel and Michael standing outside their first office.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019d better explain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will. But not on the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not driving to the hospital so you can decide what version of the truth I\u2019m allowed to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I\u2019ll come to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily\u2019s stable right now. Give me forty-five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThirty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThirty.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ended the call.<\/p>\n
Then I sat among Daniel\u2019s papers and tried to imagine a world in which a man could father a child without sleeping with the child\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
The obvious possibilities came to me.<\/p>\n
Artificial insemination.<\/p>\n
Fertility treatment.<\/p>\n
Donation.<\/p>\n
Then another thought followed so quickly that I felt physically cold.<\/p>\n
Michael.<\/p>\n
By the time Rebecca knocked on my front door, I had moved every file from the hallway to the dining table.<\/p>\n
She stepped inside wearing jeans and a gray cardigan. There were purple shadows beneath her eyes.<\/p>\n
She looked past me toward the dining room.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found the company records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of them that weren\u2019t missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression changed slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s missing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. Caleb had some things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca removed her coat but did not sit.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe destroyed a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was there when he did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sentence made me point toward the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca sat.<\/p>\n
I remained standing.<\/p>\n
She looked at the photograph of Daniel and Michael, then touched one corner of it with two fingers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey met in college,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were inseparable for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not how Daniel described him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew what he told me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Daniel told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed again.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo my husband discussed his lies to his wife with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca absorbed the accusation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently not enough to stop lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The plainness of that answer disarmed me.<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked down at the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael and Daniel started the consulting company together. Michael was better with people. Daniel was better with numbers. They fought constantly, but they trusted each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael got sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe clipping says car accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat came later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca folded her hands tightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael had Hodgkin lymphoma when he was twenty-six.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe survived?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
Treatment had worked, Rebecca explained. But before radiation and chemotherapy began, doctors warned Michael that fertility could be affected.<\/p>\n
Michael wanted children desperately.<\/p>\n
Rebecca did too.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo they froze sperm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the first shape of the truth forming.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe samples were destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA storage failure at the clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s voice remained controlled, but her face had gone pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey lost almost everything. Michael didn\u2019t find out until months later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he couldn\u2019t father children after treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that have to do with Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked straight at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel offered to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood before she finished.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe offered to be a donor.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t like what you\u2019re thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019m thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael knew. Michael asked him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re telling me your husband asked mine to father your child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBiologically. Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Daniel agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca hesitated.<\/p>\n
That hesitation mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore you and Daniel were married.\u201d<\/p>\n
The anger shifted but did not disappear.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Daniel and I had been serious after six months.<\/p>\n
By a year, we had already discussed marriage.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he made this decision while planning a future with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Michael knew about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood and walked to the window.<\/p>\n
The street outside was quiet.<\/p>\n
A cyclist passed.<\/p>\n
A woman pushed a stroller.<\/p>\n
I wondered how many people lived in houses containing entire second histories.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it done through a clinic?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there are records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe clinic closed years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut records exist somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel tried to find them.\u201d<\/p>\n
That caught my attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s eyes lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause later he wanted proof of what everyone had agreed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he need proof?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her silence stretched.<\/p>\n
I turned fully toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened, Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase was vague enough to anger me.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople change. Be specific.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Lily was born, he couldn\u2019t handle knowing Daniel was her biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he asked Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe chose it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael loved Lily more than anything. That was part of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she was a baby, he was wonderful. But as she got older, people started noticing things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat things?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had Daniel\u2019s eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople said she looked like him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot directly. Most people didn\u2019t know Daniel well enough. But Michael saw it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery expression became evidence to him. Every feature. Every habit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvidence of what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat she wasn\u2019t really his.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt a pulse of disgust.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was his.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe chose to be her father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s voice cracked for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut shame doesn\u2019t always listen to logic.\u201d<\/p>\n
She told me Michael began drinking.<\/p>\n
At first privately.<\/p>\n
Then heavily.<\/p>\n
His business relationship with Daniel deteriorated.<\/p>\n
He accused Daniel of taking advantage of the situation.<\/p>\n
Daniel, according to Rebecca, responded badly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does badly mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe became defensive. Angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n
I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Almost.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said things neither could take back,\u201d she continued. \u201cMichael accused him of wanting Lily. Daniel accused Michael of punishing everyone for a decision he had made himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Daniel want Lily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs his daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca answered without hesitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loved her. But he never tried to replace Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI expect you to understand there\u2019s a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about Caleb.<\/p>\n
Daniel had never treated our son as though one child were insufficient.<\/p>\n
But secrets distort memory.<\/p>\n
Suddenly I was replaying every business trip, every unexplained expense, every afternoon Daniel arrived home late.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat were the payments?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly for Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy secretly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause after Michael died, Daniel felt responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n
My attention sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cResponsible for the car accident?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked away.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The thing Caleb had meant.<\/p>\n
The terrible thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Daniel do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe and Michael fought that night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Lily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere they together?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were at the office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s voice grew quieter.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael had been drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt dread spreading through me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Daniel let him drive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried to stop him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t the same as causing an accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at the old photograph again.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael threatened to tell you everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
My breath stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew who I was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Daniel didn\u2019t want me to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was terrified you\u2019d leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer hurt precisely because I could believe it.<\/p>\n
Daniel hated conflict that threatened permanence. He could confront clients, partners, strangers. But anything that endangered the people he loved made him evasive.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey argued. Michael said Daniel had destroyed his family. Daniel said Michael was destroying it himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca rubbed her palms together.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDrunk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Daniel let him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took Michael\u2019s keys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relief came too early.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how did he drive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a spare.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did Caleb write that he did something terrible?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Daniel followed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe saw Michael pull out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have called police.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if Michael was arrested, there would be questions. The fight. Lily. The business.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Daniel protected his secret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the risk of Michael\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s chin trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel followed for several miles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael was driving too fast. Daniel flashed his headlights. Michael accelerated.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could picture it.<\/p>\n
Two young men.<\/p>\n
Years of resentment between them.<\/p>\n
Dark road.<\/p>\n
One drunk.<\/p>\n
One terrified.<\/p>\n
Both too proud.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael went around a curve and lost control.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pressed both hands flat against the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long before Daniel called for help?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
That answer frightened me more than everything before it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEight minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cEight minutes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut didn\u2019t call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe panicked.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pushed my chair backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cEight minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe regretted it every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael could have been dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Daniel sat there protecting himself?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was twenty-eight years old and terrified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo was Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know!\u201d<\/p>\n
The force of Rebecca\u2019s answer filled the room.<\/p>\n
She covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Then she sank back into the chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d she repeated, softer.<\/p>\n
Silence settled between us.<\/p>\n
My anger could not decide where to go.<\/p>\n
Toward Daniel.<\/p>\n
Toward Rebecca for keeping his secret.<\/p>\n
Toward Caleb for discovering it.<\/p>\n
Toward death itself for leaving me with questions and no one I truly wanted to punish alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel called 911. Michael died before they could get him to surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey concluded Michael had been drinking and lost control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel never told them he had followed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know immediately?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca wiped her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me after the funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you protected him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I had a newborn daughter. No income. No husband. And I was terrified.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words were not excuses.<\/p>\n
That made them harder to dismiss.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Daniel offer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt disgust again.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe bought your silence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what it sounds like.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe offered to support Lily because biologically she was his responsibility and because Michael had died after their fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSame difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could have destroyed him, Laura.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something in her tone stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had letters. Messages. I had enough to tell you everything. I had enough to make his life miserable. I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Michael loved him once.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the photograph again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I didn\u2019t want Lily growing up inside that story.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood that more than I wanted to.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Daniel paid for school, medical bills, things like that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he see her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow often?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo or three times a year when she was little. Less later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I never knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCaleb never knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil recently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood and walked toward the kitchen.<\/p>\n
I needed distance from Rebecca.<\/p>\n
I filled a glass with water and drank half of it.<\/p>\n
When I returned, she was looking at Caleb\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else is missing?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe story.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve told you the important part.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You\u2019ve told me why Daniel paid you. You haven\u2019t told me why Caleb cared enough about Lily to make her transplant part of his final plans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey became friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot for Caleb.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s expression became guarded again.<\/p>\n
I noticed immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCaleb found something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
My body stiffened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked me questions I couldn\u2019t answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of questions?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Daniel. About Michael. About the clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
The clinic.<\/p>\n
I sat slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted dates. Names. Records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered Caleb saying, Lily knows more than Rebecca realizes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Lily know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCaleb wrote that she knows more than you realize.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
Fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose were his exact words?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stood immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to talk to Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca reached for her coat.<\/p>\n
I stepped between her and the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat aren\u2019t you telling me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes met mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Michael was sick,\u201d she said, \u201cDaniel wasn\u2019t the first person he asked to be the donor.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Caleb was trying to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how do you know there was someone else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause years ago, Michael told me there had been another sample.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat sample?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked almost afraid to say it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother donor sample.\u201d<\/p>\n
The implication took a moment to settle.<\/p>\n
Then I understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re saying Daniel might not be Lily\u2019s biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s lips parted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what Caleb started to wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca did not answer immediately. I could hear a machine humming on her end of the line, then a soft electronic beep. Hospital sounds. Lily was still there. \u201cLaura,\u201d she … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7729"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7749,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7729\/revisions\/7749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}