Chapter 7
The envelope arrived at the penthouse two days after the trial.
It was plain brown, no return address, postmarked from a small town two hours outside the city. Clara opened it while she was eating breakfast, and her coffee went cold in her hand.
Inside were three photos.
The first: Daniel, his arm around a young blonde girl, kissing her on the cheek. The photo was dated two years earlier, six months after Clara and Daniel’s wedding.
The second: the same girl, holding a newborn baby boy, Daniel leaning over them both, smiling. Dated 14 months earlier.
The third: a paternity test. 99.99% probability that Daniel Carter was the father of Aiden James Miller.
Clara stared at the photos for a long time.
She felt the blood drain from her face. Her hands started shaking. The baby was 14 months old. Which meant Daniel had gotten this girl pregnant when Clara was in the hospital, recovering from the miscarriage she’d never told anyone about.
The miscarriage Evelyn had mocked her for, calling her barren.
The miscarriage Daniel had held her through, crying, saying “it’s okay, we’ll try again.”
He’d gotten another woman pregnant while Clara was still bleeding, still grieving, still thinking they were in it together.
She picked up the phone and called Elias. Her voice didn’t sound like her own.
“Find out who she is,” she said. “Everything. Her name. where she lives. how long they’ve been together. everything.”
Elias called back three hours later.
“Her name is Sophie Miller,” he said. “24 years old. Grew up in a small town outside the city. Works as a receptionist at Daniel’s old company. They started seeing each other about two and a half years ago. The baby, Aiden, was born last June. Daniel has been paying her rent and child support under the table this whole time. Money he told you was for ‘business expenses.’”
He paused.
“Clara? You still there?”
“Evelyn knew,” Clara said. It wasn’t a question.
Elias sighed. “Yeah. She knew. She visited Sophie twice in the hospital after the baby was born. She’s been helping Daniel keep it a secret. That’s why she was in such a hurry to get you out of the house. They wanted you gone so Sophie and the baby could move in. The whole fight that day? It wasn’t about you disrespecting her. It was about her picking a fight on purpose, so Daniel would have an excuse to throw you out.”
Clara dropped the phone.
All the pieces fell into place.
The constant comments about her being barren. The hints that Daniel “deserved better.” The way Evelyn had smiled when Daniel hit her. The rush to get her out of the house, to take everything she owned.
It had all been planned.
Every single second.
She drove to Sophie’s apartment that night. It was a small, run-down building on the wrong side of town, paint peeling off the walls, a broken swing set in the courtyard. Clara parked across the street and watched.
An hour later, Daniel showed up. He had a diaper bag slung over his shoulder, a smile on his face. He knocked on the door, and Sophie opened it. She was pretty, young, with long blonde hair and big scared eyes. She held the baby in her arms. Daniel kissed her, took the baby, held him up in the air, laughing.
They looked like a family.
A real family.
Clara felt her heart break into a thousand tiny pieces.
She got out of her car and walked to the door. She knocked before she could change her mind.
Sophie opened it. Her face went white when she saw Clara.
“Who are you?” she said, clutching the baby tighter.
Daniel appeared behind her. His face went from happy to terrified in half a second.
“Clara,” he said. “What are you doing here? How did you find us?”
Clara didn’t look at him. She looked at Sophie.
“I’m Clara,” she said. “Daniel’s wife. Ex-wife, now.”
Sophie gasped. She looked at Daniel, her eyes filling with tears. “Wife? You told me you were divorced! You told me she was crazy, that she was in a mental hospital! You said you were waiting for the divorce to be final!”
Daniel grabbed her arm. “Sophie, don’t listen to her. She’s lying. She’s—”
Clara pulled the paternity test out of her purse, held it up.
“I’m not lying,” she said. “We were married three years. Divorced two days ago. He never told you about me, did he? Never told you he was living in a $3 million mansion I paid for, letting his mother spend $10,000 a month of my money, while you were stuck here in this dump with his baby.”
She turned to Daniel.
“You told me I was barren,” she said, her voice breaking. “You held me while I cried after the miscarriage, told me we’d try again. And all the time, you had a son. A son you hid from me. A son you were paying for with my money.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks.
“Why?” she whispered. “Why did you marry me at all?”
Daniel looked at her, and for the first time, he didn’t lie.
“Because you had money,” he said quietly. “Because I was broke, and my mom was on my back to marry someone rich, and you were sweet and stupid and you loved me. I married you for your money, Clara. I never loved you. Not once. Not for a single second.”
Sophie let out a sob. She pushed Daniel away, stepping back into the apartment.
“Get out,” she said to him. “Get out of my house. Get out of my life. I never want to see you again.”
“Sophie, wait—”
“Get out!”
Daniel stumbled out of the apartment, not looking at Clara. He got in his car and drove away, tires squealing.
Clara stood in the doorway, looking at Sophie, who was now sitting on the floor, crying, the baby sleeping in her arms.
Clara knew she should leave. She knew she’d done enough.
But she didn’t.
She stepped inside, closed the door, and knelt down next to the girl her husband had cheated on her with.
“It’s okay,” Clara said softly. “He’s gone. He can’t hurt either of us anymore.”
Sophie looked up at her, her eyes red and swollen.
“Why are you being nice to me?” she whispered. “I helped him cheat on you.”
Clara looked at the sleeping baby, so small and innocent.
“Because you didn’t know,” she said. “Because he lied to you too. Because I know what it’s like to believe his lies. To think he loves you, while he’s using you for everything you’re worth.”
She paused.
“We’re not the enemy, Sophie. He is.”
May you like
Outside, the sun had gone down. The streetlights flickered on, one by one.
And for the first time in a long time, two women who’d been played by the same man looked at each other, and realized they weren’t alone.
