Chapter 6: The Person Who Ordered the Test First
For a moment, I thought I'd misunderstood.
"Who ordered it first?"" I asked.
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
He took the new document from the envelope that had just been delivered to his phone, enlarged the photograph, and studied the signature at the bottom.
Darla reached for it.
He pulled it away.
"Don't," he said.
My mother's face hardened.
"You have no right to show that to her.""
Marcus looked at her with something close to pity.
"She's your daughter. She has every right to know.""
He turned the screen toward me.
At the bottom of the document was a name.
*Darla Bennett.*
I looked up.
"You ordered the test?""
My mother pressed her lips together.
"Yes.""
"Before Cole contacted Marcus?""
"Yes.""
"Before the affair?""
She hesitated.
That hesitation told me more than her answer could have.
"How long before?"" I asked.
Darla sat down slowly.
"Seven months ago.""
The room seemed to narrow around me.
Seven months ago, I'd been newly pregnant, still afraid to tell people because I had miscarried once before. I'd spent nights watching the tiny digital clock beside our bed, waiting for the nausea to settle enough for me to sleep.
My mother had called me every evening.
She had asked whether I was eating, whether I was taking my vitamins, whether Cole was being attentive.
And while she asked those questions, she had been investigating my unborn child's parentage.
"Why?"" I whispered.
Darla stared at the screen.
"Because Marcus contacted me.""
Marcus shook his head.
"That's not what happened.""
My mother turned on him.
"You sent the letter!""
"I sent a letter explaining what my sister's will said. You called me the next day.""
"Because you threatened to expose everything!""
"I told you the truth could affect an inheritance. I never threatened you.""
Cole interrupted.
"Can we stop arguing about who called whom? The important thing is that we need to protect Amara from this becoming public.""
I looked at him.
"Public?""
He gestured toward the living room.
"Your family is here. People are going to notice something happened. We need to be careful about what we say.""
I stared at him in disbelief.
"My mother betrayed me. You secretly tested my baby. You've admitted taking money from Marcus. And you're worried about what our relatives will think?""
"I'm worried about you.""
"No, you're worried about your reputation.""
His mouth tightened.
"That's not fair.""
"Neither is any of this.""
Aunt Denise stepped forward.
"Amara is right. Everyone needs to stop deciding what she can handle.""
Cole looked at her.
"This doesn't concern you.""
"It concerns me when my niece is standing here eight months pregnant while the two people she trusts most lie to her face.""
He looked away.
I turned back to my mother.
"What did you discover in that letter from Dad?""
Darla clasped her hands.
"Your father wrote that he had always wondered whether Marcus might be your biological father. He said he never wanted the question to come between us.""
"Did he ask for a DNA test?""
"No.""
"Did he want me to know?""
She swallowed.
"He wrote that you should be told when you were old enough to decide what the information meant to you.""
I felt tears gather in my eyes.
"He trusted you to tell me.""
"Yes.""
"And you waited thirty-two years.""
She covered her face.
"I was afraid.""
I shook my head.
"You keep saying that. Every terrible thing you've done seems to come back to how afraid you were.""
My mother's shoulders trembled.
"I know I can't undo it.""
"No, you can't.""
For a moment, I wanted her to reach for me. I wanted her to say something that would make the room feel like home again.
But when she lifted her hand, I stepped away.
Her fingers fell.
I hated how much that hurt.
I hated even more that I couldn't make myself comfort her.
Marcus placed the document on the counter.
"The first agreement requested a confidential prenatal DNA test and a review of any potential inheritance rights. It was signed seven months ago, before Cole was involved.""
I looked at him.
"Then why did you accept the second agreement?""
"Because I believed Cole was acting on behalf of your household. I didn't know he was concealing the test from you.""
Cole gave a humorless laugh.
"You accepted the money too.""
"I returned the portion that wasn't used for documented expenses.""
I turned sharply.
"What?""
Marcus opened another file on his phone.
"Twenty thousand dollars was transferred to Cole. He was supposed to provide documentation of legal and testing expenses. He never provided the full accounting.""
Cole's face reddened.
"I told you I was handling it.""
"You told me many things.""
Marcus showed me a transaction record.
My husband had received the money through a private account.
I recognized the last four digits.
It was the account Cole used for our household emergency fund.
The fund I had contributed to every month.
The fund we were supposed to use if I needed extra medical care or if he lost his job.
My hands began to tremble.
"Did you use our savings account?""
Cole shook his head.
"Not exactly.""
I closed my eyes.
"Please stop saying that.""
He took a breath.
"I moved some of the money.""
"How much?""
He didn't answer.
"How much, Cole?""
"Thirty-eight thousand dollars.""
Aunt Denise gasped.
I gripped the counter.
Thirty-eight thousand dollars.
Our savings had never been enormous, but we had built them carefully. I had taken extra shifts at work before my maternity leave. Cole had promised that we were financially prepared for Sophie.
I had believed him.
"Where is it?"" I asked.
He looked down.
"Some of it went toward expenses.""
"And the rest?""
He remained silent.
Marcus spoke quietly.
"The account linked to the agreement received additional transfers after the first test was scheduled.""
Cole glared at him.
"Stop.""
Marcus continued.
"I don't know what those transfers were for. But they weren't included in the expenses Cole provided.""
I turned toward my husband.
"Did you take money from our emergency fund to pay for a secret test?""
"I was going to replace it.""
"When?""
"After everything was resolved.""
"After you found out whether our daughter was worth more to you alive in our family or connected to Marcus's inheritance?""
Cole flinched.
"That's not what this is about.""
"Then tell me what it's about!""
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
I stared at him, waiting for the explanation that would somehow make all of this less monstrous.
It never came.
Instead, my mother spoke.
"Amara, there's something else.""
I turned toward her.
"What now?""
She wiped her cheeks.
"When I first contacted Marcus, I wasn't trying to get money.""
I laughed weakly.
"Then why did you sign the agreement?""
"Because I believed your father had left another letter. One that might explain what happened before you were born.""
Marcus frowned.
"You told me you had found only one.""
"I lied.""
The room went still.
Darla looked at me.
"There were two letters. The first was the one I showed you. The second disappeared before I could read it completely.""
"Disappeared how?""
She looked toward Cole.
My husband went rigid.
I felt my heart begin to pound.
"Why are you looking at him?""
Darla swallowed.
"Because he told me he had found it.""
I turned slowly toward Cole.
He backed away from the counter.
"Amara, listen—"
"You found my father's second letter?""
"I found a document.""
"Where is it?""
He said nothing.
I stepped toward him, stopping when my back began to ache.
"Where is it, Cole?""
His eyes moved toward the pantry.
The same pantry where I'd found him kissing my mother.
The same pantry where the first message had shattered everything I thought I knew.
I followed his gaze.
"You hid it in there?""
"No.""
"Then why are you looking at the pantry?""
He clenched his jaw.
"Because you need to understand something before you read it.""
"What?""
He stared at me, and for the first time since the confrontation began, his expression held something other than guilt.
It held fear.
"Your father didn't just suspect Marcus was your biological father," Cole whispered.
He swallowed hard.
"He knew who your biological father was.""
I stared at him.
"Then why would he leave a second letter?""
Cole closed his eyes.
"Because the letter wasn't about Marcus.""
He opened them again.
"It was about your mother.""
Darla let out a broken cry.
Marcus went completely still.
And before I could ask another question, my husband reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, folded piece of paper.
My father's handwriting was visible across the front.
Cole held it between two trembling fingers.
"I was going to destroy this," he whispered.
I stared at the letter.
Then I looked at my mother.
"What does it say?""
She began shaking her head.
"Amara, please don't read it.""
I held out my hand.
Cole hesitated.
"Give it to me.""
He placed the letter in my palm.
I unfolded it carefully.
The first line was written in my father's familiar, slanted handwriting.
*Darla, if Amara ever becomes pregnant, you must tell her the truth about the night she was conceived.*
My breath caught.
I read the line again.
Then I looked up at my mother.
May you like
She was crying so hard she could barely stand.
And for the first time, I understood that the secret hidden inside my family was far older—and far more dangerous—than a kiss in a pantry.
