Chapter 8 - MARGARET FINALLY ADMITTED ITMargaret agreed to meet.
Lawyers present.
No Sophie.
No Daniel.
Just me.
She looked exhausted.
I asked:
“Did you know Adrian was Daniel’s biological father?”
“Yes.”
The word came quickly.
Too quickly.
My stomach turned.
“How long?”
“Since Daniel was four.”
Before Adrian wrote to me.
She had arranged a private test.
She knew.
Then:
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You would’ve left.”
“Maybe.”
“You would’ve changed everything.”
“Maybe.”
She started crying.
“I couldn’t lose my family.”
So she kept Daniel’s parentage secret.
Then when Adrian contacted me, she intercepted some correspondence.
Not all.
That explained gaps I never understood.
She thought I had no evidence.
For decades, we both kept different pieces of the same secret.
Two people protecting the family by lying to it.
Then I asked:
“Why Sophie?”
Margaret’s face collapsed.
“I panicked.”
“No.”
I leaned forward.
“You dragged a six-year-old into a room.”
Silence.
“You hit a staff member.”
Nothing.
“You pressed a filthy towel over Sophie’s mouth.”
She cried.
“I panicked.”
I stared at her.
“Panic explains the speed.”
Then:
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“It doesn’t explain the choice.”
She had no answer.
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