Chapter 6: The Test She Hid
Marcus stared at the second envelope.
For a moment, nobody moved.
It felt impossible that a single family could carry this many secrets.
But there we were.
Standing beside a pink cake.
Holding evidence that my entire future might have been built on lies.
“Where did you get that?”” Marcus asked Daniel.
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“She knows.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“Daniel, stop.””
“No.””
His voice was calm.
But firm.
“You had years to tell him.””
Marcus looked between them.
“Tell me what?””
Daniel handed him the envelope.
Marcus didn’t open it.
Not immediately.
Instead, he looked at his mother.
“Mom.””
Evelyn wiped her tears.
“I made one mistake.””
Marcus stared.
“One?””
The pain in his voice was worse than anger.
“One mistake?””
She lowered her eyes.
“I thought I was protecting my family.””
“You keep saying that.””
He held the first test.
“But every piece of this says you were protecting yourself.””
I stood beside Marcus.
I wanted to comfort him.
But I was hurt too.
Because while everyone focused on Marcus’s family history, I was still holding my own question.
Why was my baby involved?
Daniel looked at me.
“Nia, there’s something else.””
I turned.
“What?””
Marcus immediately stepped between us.
“No.””
Daniel looked surprised.
“She deserves to know.””
“She’s my wife.””
“And she’s the mother of your child.””
That sentence stopped him.
The baby.
Everything came back to the baby.
The reason this nightmare began.
Evelyn looked at me.
“Nia, I never wanted to hurt you.””
I almost laughed.
“You put cake in my face.””
Her expression fell.
“I know.””
“Then explain.””
She looked at the ground.
“I thought you were lying.””
“About what?””
She looked at my belly.
And whispered:
“About the baby’s father.””
The words were so cruel that they almost didn’t feel real.
Marcus immediately reacted.
“Mom!””
“No,” Evelyn said.
“Let me finish.””
She looked at me.
“I thought the test would prove you were hiding something.””
My chest tightened.
“So you secretly tested my baby?””
“I was afraid.””
“Afraid of what?””
Evelyn looked at Marcus.
“Of losing my son.””
Marcus stared at her.
“You thought my wife was going to betray me?””
“I thought someone was trying to repeat the past.””
“What past?””
Nobody answered.
Again.
But this time, Marcus didn’t wait.
He opened Daniel’s envelope.
Inside was a document.
Older.
Yellowed.
Not recent.
Marcus unfolded it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he looked up.
“DNA test?””
Daniel nodded.
Marcus kept reading.
“This is between…”
He stopped.
His face changed.
“Claire?””
Daniel said nothing.
Marcus looked at his mother.
“You tested Claire?””
Evelyn’s silence confirmed it.
I watched Marcus slowly understand.
Years of family history.
Years of pain.
Years of unanswered questions.
His mother had been searching for proof.
But of what?
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“Who is Claire’s mother?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
Evelyn did.
“Your father’s first love.””
Marcus blinked.
“My father had another family?””
“No,” Evelyn said quietly.
“He had another child.””
The sentence sat there.
Heavy.
I looked at Marcus.
His entire identity seemed to be shifting beneath him.
Then Daniel said something that made all of us freeze.
“Claire wasn’t the only person your father left behind.””
Marcus looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel stared at the paper.
“It means your father had a daughter before he disappeared.””
Marcus frowned.
“That’s what you just said.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
He looked directly at him.
“I said he had a daughter.””
A pause.
Then:
“I didn’t say Claire was the only one.””
Evelyn’s face went white.
Marcus saw it.
And suddenly, he understood.
“Mom…”
She didn’t respond.
“How many siblings do I have?””
The question was barely a whisper.
Evelyn looked away.
And that was when I realized something.
The DNA results weren’t just about my baby.
They were about a family history nobody wanted uncovered.
Marcus looked down at the paper again.
Then his phone buzzed.
A new message.
From his father.
One sentence.
*Ask your mother who your sister really is.*
May you like
Marcus slowly raised his eyes.
And looked at Evelyn.
