The Report That Turned Him Against Me

Marcus read the note three times.

Each time, his expression became harder to recognize.

The first time, he looked confused.

The second time, he looked angry.

The third time, he looked at me as though the woman standing in front of him had suddenly become capable of anything.

“Who wrote this?”” he asked.

Diane pressed her fingertips together.

“I don't know.””

“You said you found it in our bedroom.””

“I found the paper there. I didn't write the note.””

“How did it get into our bedroom?””

“I assume Nia put it there.””

I stared at her.

“You assume I put a note about Lily's paternity in my own bedroom?””

Diane shrugged.

“You tell me.””

Marcus placed the paper on the table.

“Nia, I need you to answer one question honestly.””

I felt Lily's small fingers curl around mine.

“Ask me.””

“Is there any possibility that Lily isn't my biological daughter?””

The room seemed to tilt.

I had expected him to ask about the report, the dates, the access code. I had expected questions about Diane's behavior and the mysterious phone call.

I had not expected him to look at me and ask whether I had betrayed our marriage.

“No,” I said.

“There is no possibility.””

He studied my face.

“Then why would someone write this?””

“Because they want you to believe it.””

“Who?””

I looked directly at Diane.

“Your mother.””

She stood so abruptly that her coffee tipped over, spilling dark liquid across the table.

“How dare you!””

Marcus caught the paper before it became wet.

“Mom, sit down.””

“I will not sit here while she accuses me of destroying your marriage!””

“You brought us that note.””

“Because I thought you deserved to know the truth!””

“Then help us find it.””

Diane stared at him.

“I have spent my entire life protecting you.””

“And right now, I need you to tell me why a report dated before Lily's birth is sitting in my house.””

For a few seconds, she seemed unable to find an answer.

Then she picked up her handbag.

“I won't be interrogated in my own son's home.””

“Mom.””

She turned toward the hallway.

Marcus followed her.

I remained beside the couch, rocking Lily and listening to their voices grow louder in the next room.

“You're not leaving until we settle this,” Marcus said.

“Don't you dare order me around.””

“Did you change the hospital report?””

“No!””

“Did you use your access code?””

“I may have accessed the portal, but I never changed anything.””

The admission stopped me cold.

Marcus went silent.

“You accessed the hospital portal?””

Diane's voice became defensive.

“I was listed as an authorized family contact. I had every right to check the records.””

“Did you download the report?””

“I don't remember.””

“How can you not remember?””

“Because I was trying to help you!””

I heard a door open.

Then Marcus returned to the living room alone.

His face had gone pale.

“She admitted she accessed the records,” he said.

I adjusted Lily's blanket.

“That doesn't prove she changed anything.””

“No. But she lied about accessing them.””

He sat beside me, leaving a careful distance between us.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then he reached toward Lily.

“Can I hold her?””

I hesitated.

Not because I thought he would hurt her, but because I didn't know what he believed anymore.

Finally, I placed Lily in his arms.

He held her awkwardly at first, supporting her head as I had taught him in the hospital. When she opened her eyes, his face softened.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he whispered.

“It's Dad.””

Lily blinked at him.

He brushed one finger against her cheek.

“I should have been there for you.””

My eyes filled with tears.

I wanted to believe the tenderness on his face meant he understood what he had done to me.

But tenderness wasn't the same as trust.

And trust had been the first thing he threw out when Diane handed him that report.

“Marcus,” I said quietly, “I need you to listen to me.””

He looked up.

“I have never been unfaithful to you. I have never lied about Lily. And I will not spend the rest of my life proving my innocence every time your mother decides she doesn't like something.””

“I know.””

“Do you?””

He looked down at the baby.

“I want to.””

The honesty of that answer hurt more than a denial would have.

Before I could respond, my phone rang.

The hospital's number appeared on the screen.

I answered immediately.

“Mrs. Carter?”” the same employee asked.

“We have completed the initial review of the audit logs. Are you able to speak privately?””

I glanced at Marcus.

“Yes. My husband is here.””

“That's fine. We have verified that the original result was accurate and that the later document was modified. We have also identified the account used to make the change.””

My heartbeat quickened.

“Whose account?””

“The account belongs to Diane Carter.””

Marcus closed his eyes.

I heard him exhale slowly.

The employee continued.

“However, there is an additional issue. The altered document was not simply a copy of the original result. It appears that a second set of identifying information was inserted into the report.””

“What does that mean?”” I asked.

“It means the discrepancy may involve more than a single incorrect entry. Our compliance team is investigating whether another patient's record was used.””

Marcus leaned toward the phone.

“Can you tell us whose record it was?””

“Not without completing the appropriate authorization process. But I can tell you that the second record was accessed through the same account.””

“Diane's account?”” I asked.

“Yes.””

A cold sensation spread through my chest.

The note. The impossible date. The altered report.

None of it was a simple misunderstanding.

Someone had taken information belonging to another patient and used it to make my husband question his daughter's paternity.

“Can you send us the original report?”” Marcus asked.

“We will provide the authorized records through the hospital's secure process. We also recommend that both parents attend a meeting with our compliance officer. Please do not rely on any unofficial copies of the report until the review is complete.””

“Thank you,” I said.

After the call ended, Marcus carefully placed Lily in my arms.

Then he stood and walked to the window.

Outside, rain streaked the glass, blurring the garden Diane had insisted on redesigning the previous summer.

“My mother has access to our financial accounts,” he said.

I looked up.

“What?””

“She helped manage Dad's estate after he died. She knows the family lawyer, the accountants, the people at the bank. I never thought twice about it.””

“Why are you telling me this?””

“Because of what she said about the family losing everything.””

He turned toward me.

“My father left a trust. It was designed to protect the family business and provide for his grandchildren.””

I felt my stomach tighten.

“Grandchildren?””

“Any biological child of mine is entitled to a share under the trust.””

I looked at Lily.

“And if someone could make you believe she wasn't yours?””

Marcus didn't answer immediately.

Then he whispered, “They could keep her from inheriting.””

The room became painfully still.

I thought of Diane's pearl earrings, her expensive clothes, the way she treated every family gathering as though she were the person who decided who belonged.

“Who else knows about the trust?”” I asked.

“My mother. The family lawyer. Me.””

“And anyone who might benefit if Lily were excluded?””

Marcus looked at the paper again.

“I don't know.””

A noise came from the hallway.

We both turned.

Diane stood near the stairs, her handbag hanging from one arm.

She had apparently returned without our noticing.

“I heard enough,” she said.

Marcus faced her.

“Did you alter the report?””

She looked at him for a long moment.

Then she did something that made my skin prickle.

She smiled.

“You're asking the wrong question.””

Marcus took a step toward her.

“What is the right question?””

Diane reached into her handbag and removed a small photograph.

She placed it on the table beside the altered report.

It showed a hospital room.

A woman lay in a bed, holding a newborn wrapped in a pale yellow blanket.

I recognized the room immediately.

It was the room next to mine.

The woman in the photograph was someone I had never met.

Diane tapped the picture with one manicured fingernail.

“This is the baby whose information was used in Lily's report.””

Marcus stared at the photograph.

“Who is she?””

Diane's smile widened.

“Her name is Rebecca Shaw.””

I looked at the baby in the photograph.

Then I looked at the date printed in the corner.

The picture had been taken on the same day Lily was born.

Diane leaned closer to Marcus.

“And if you want to know why her records ended up mixed with your daughter's, you need to ask your wife what she was doing in the hospital nursery at two in the morning.””

I stopped breathing.