Chapter 9: The Lie Behind Her Smile
The name on Margaret’s phone screen burned into my mind.
*Emily Carter.*
My name.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The woman who had spent months criticizing my cooking, my cleaning, my attitude, and my choices was now standing in my living room with my name glowing on her phone.
Jason stared at his mother.
“Mom?””
Margaret’s fingers tightened around the phone.
“It’s not what you think.””
I almost laughed.
That sentence.
The favorite sentence of every person caught hiding something.
I stepped closer.
“Then tell us what it is.””
Margaret looked at everyone.
At Jason.
At Samantha.
At Claire.
Then finally at me.
And something strange happened.
Her anger disappeared.
The confidence disappeared.
She looked old.
Tired.
Like she had been carrying a secret for years.
“I was trying to protect my son.””
Jason shook his head.
“Protect me from what?””
Margaret didn’t answer immediately.
That was the first time I saw fear in her eyes.
Not guilt.
Fear.
Daniel stepped forward.
“The file access wasn’t just about the DNA test.””
Margaret looked at him.
“Stay out of this.””
“No,” Daniel said calmly.
“Not anymore.””
I looked at her.
“What did you do?””
Margaret sat down slowly.
“I didn’t change the result.””
Nobody moved.
“But you accessed it,” Daniel said.
She looked down.
“Yes.””
Jason’s voice cracked.
“Why?””
Margaret looked at him.
“Because I was afraid.””
The answer surprised everyone.
She continued.
“When Emily became pregnant, I started noticing things.””
I frowned.
“What things?””
Margaret looked at me.
“You were happier.””
I blinked.
That was not what I expected.
“You were different from the women Jason usually surrounded himself with.””
Jason looked uncomfortable.
Margaret continued.
“You challenged him.””
A bitter smile appeared on her face.
“And I knew my son didn’t like that.””
Nobody spoke.
Because she was right.
I remembered every time Jason dismissed my opinions.
Every time he told me I was making things complicated.
Margaret looked at her son.
“I knew you were hiding something from her.””
Jason looked away.
“So you decided to investigate?””
She nodded.
“I found Claire.””
Claire’s face changed.
“You knew about me?””
Margaret closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
Claire looked devastated.
“You knew I was searching for him?””
“I knew.””
“And you did nothing?””
Margaret whispered:
“I was ashamed.””
The room became quiet.
Then I asked the question I had been waiting to ask.
“Why the DNA test?””
Margaret looked at me.
“Because I thought if Jason wasn’t the father…”
She stopped.
I waited.
“If you left him, maybe he would finally understand what he had done.””
I stared at her.
“You tried to destroy my marriage to teach your son a lesson?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I thought I was forcing him to face reality.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
My voice became colder.
“You were using me.””
She didn’t deny it.
Because she knew.
Jason looked at his mother.
“You almost destroyed my family.””
Margaret looked at him.
“No, Jason.””
She whispered.
“I exposed the family you were already destroying.””
Nobody spoke.
Because that was the truth neither of us wanted to admit.
The problem was never just Margaret.
She was cruel.
She was controlling.
But Jason was the person who allowed it.
Jason was the person who watched.
Jason was the person who stayed silent.
I touched my stomach.
The baby moved again.
A reminder that my choices were no longer just about me.
Daniel gathered his papers.
“There’s something else Emily should know.””
I looked at him.
“What now?””
He handed me a final document.
“This is the corrected DNA report.””
My hands shook.
“I thought the sample was changed.””
“It was.””
I looked up.
“Then how do you know?””
Daniel glanced at Jason.
“Because Jason submitted another sample himself this morning.””
Everyone looked at Jason.
“You did?””
He nodded.
His voice was barely audible.
“I needed to know.””
I stared at him.
“And?””
Jason’s eyes filled with tears.
“The baby is mine.””
The words should have comforted me.
They should have made me feel relieved.
Instead, they hurt.
Because the question was never whether he was the father.
The question was whether he deserved to be.
Jason stepped toward me.
“I’m sorry.””
I looked at him.
“For what?””
His face fell.
“For everything.””
I shook my head.
“An apology doesn’t erase years.””
“I know.””
“An apology doesn’t bring back trust.””
“I know.””
“An apology doesn’t make you the man you promised to be.””
He looked down.
“I know.””
For the first time, he wasn’t defending himself.
And somehow, that hurt more.
Then my phone rang.
A hospital number.
Again.
Everyone looked at me.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A nurse spoke.
“Mrs. Carter, we’re calling because your prenatal records were updated.””
I frowned.
“Updated?””
“Yes.””
She paused.
“There’s a note attached from someone in your family.””
My heart tightened.
“Who?””
The nurse hesitated.
Then said:
“The note was signed by Margaret.””
I looked at Margaret.
She looked terrified.
May you like
The nurse continued.
“And it says you were never supposed to see the original medical report.””
