Chapter 2: The Secret My Family Hid
The drive home was silent.
Not peaceful silence.
The kind of silence where your mind is screaming so loudly that you can barely hear the person sitting beside you.
Emma slept in her car seat behind us, exhausted from crying. Every few minutes, I looked in the rearview mirror just to make sure she was breathing.
James kept both hands on the steering wheel.
He didn’t say anything.
Neither did I.
Finally, halfway home, I whispered, “What did my father mean?””
James glanced at me.
“I don’t know.””
“But he knew something.””
“Yes.””
I looked out the window at the Christmas lights passing by.
“My family knew something about my baby, and nobody told me?””
James’s expression hardened.
“That’s what worries me.””
When we arrived home, James carried Emma inside while I stood in the doorway for a moment.
Our house felt different.
Safer.
At least it was supposed to.
I placed Emma in her crib and watched her tiny chest rise and fall.
“She looks so small,” I whispered.
James stood behind me.
“She’s stronger than everyone thinks.””
I turned around.
“What did you mean when you told Lauren she’d never touch her again?””
James looked surprised.
“I meant it.””
“No, I mean… you sounded like you already knew something.””
He hesitated.
That hesitation scared me.
“James.””
He sighed.
“While I was overseas, your father sent me a message.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What message?””
“He told me Lauren had been asking questions about Emma.””
“What kind of questions?””
James walked to the kitchen counter and picked up his phone.
“Questions about her birth. Her hospital records. Whether you had ever considered adoption.””
I stared at him.
“Why would she ask that?””
“I didn’t know.””
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because your father asked me not to.””
I laughed once, but there was no humor in it.
“My father asked you to keep secrets from me?””
James looked down.
“He said he wanted to explain everything himself.””
I shook my head.
“My family always does this.””
“Does what?””
“Decides what I can handle.””
The next morning, my phone rang before sunrise.
It was my father.
I almost didn’t answer.
But I needed the truth.
“Dad.””
There was a pause.
“Claire, I’m sorry.””
I sat on the edge of the bed.
“For what?””
“For letting things go this far.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“What did you mean last night?””
Another pause.
Then he said, “Lauren has been acting strangely since before Emma was born.””
My heart started beating faster.
“Explain.””
“When you were pregnant, Lauren asked your mother if she ever regretted having only two children.””
I frowned.
“That’s a weird question, but not exactly a crime.””
“No.””
His voice dropped.
“But then she asked what it would have been like to raise a baby girl.””
I stood.
“Dad.””
“I thought she was joking.””
“And now?””
“Now I’m not sure.””
I walked into the nursery.
Emma was awake, playing with the stuffed rabbit James bought her when he came home.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I thought I was protecting you.””
I closed my eyes.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
“Claire—”
“No. I need you to understand something. Protecting me doesn’t mean hiding things from me.””
My father was quiet.
Then he said, “There’s something else.””
I felt a chill.
“What?””
“When Lauren came to the hospital after Emma was born…”
I waited.
“She asked to hold Emma before anyone else.””
I swallowed.
“She’s her aunt.””
“I know.””
“Dad, you’re making this sound worse than it is.””
“I’m trying to tell you that she didn’t want to hold her like an aunt.””
I froze.
“What does that mean?””
My father exhaled.
“She held Emma and whispered something.””
“What?””
“I couldn’t hear everything.””
“Dad.””
“But I heard one sentence.””
The room suddenly felt too quiet.
“What sentence?””
My father’s voice became barely audible.
“She said, ‘You should have been mine.’”
I stopped breathing.
A memory flashed through my mind.
Lauren standing in my hospital room.
Lauren staring at Emma.
Lauren crying.
At the time, I thought she was just overwhelmed.
I thought she was happy.
I thought she loved my daughter.
“Claire,” Dad said softly.
“There’s another reason I finally told you.””
“What?””
“I found something in Lauren’s room yesterday.””
My stomach dropped.
“What did you find?””
“A folder.””
“What was inside?””
“I don’t know everything.””
“Dad, please.””
His voice shook.
“But the first page had Emma’s name written on it.””
I gripped the phone.
“What kind of folder?””
Before he answered, I heard another voice in the background.
My mother.
“Richard, don’t tell her.””
My father went silent.
Then I heard him whisper:
May you like
“Claire, you need to know the truth about why Lauren wanted your baby.””
The call ended.
