Chương 4
Daniel picked it up carefully.
Her name was written on the front.
No return address.
No company logo.
Nothing that explained where it came from.
Emma felt a strange feeling in her stomach.
“Open it,” Daniel said.
She looked at him.
“I don’t know if I want to.”
He placed it back on the table.
“Then we open it when you’re ready.”
That answer surprised her.
A few weeks ago, Daniel would have demanded to know what was inside.
Now he was letting her choose.
The next morning, Emma finally opened it.
Inside was a single document.
At first, she did not understand what she was looking at.
Then she saw the words near the top.
Her hands became cold.
Daniel noticed immediately.
“What happened?”
Emma did not answer.
She kept reading.
“Emma?”
She slowly looked up.
“It’s from the clinic.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“The clinic?”
She nodded.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
“What does it say?”
Emma looked back at the paper.
Her lips parted slightly.
“It says there was a mistake.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“What kind of mistake?”
She continued reading.
Her face lost color.
“The records from when Lily was born.”
Daniel felt his chest tighten.
“What about them?”
Emma looked at him.
“They need us to come back.”
“For what?”
She stared at the document.
“For additional testing.”
The words were simple.
But the fear behind them was enormous.
Daniel immediately reached for her hand.
“Emma.”
She looked at him.
“What if something is wrong?”
His expression softened.
He wanted to tell her everything would be okay.
But he knew empty reassurance was not what she needed.
“We’ll find out together.”
Emma looked down.
The phrase sounded strange.
Together.
She had waited so long to hear it.
But fear still whispered louder than hope.
The appointment was scheduled for the following afternoon.
Neither of them talked much before then.
Margaret came over to watch Lily while they went.
She immediately noticed something was wrong.
“What happened?”
Emma handed her the letter.
Margaret read it carefully.
Then she looked at both of them.
“Whatever this is, you face it together.”
Daniel nodded.
Emma looked at him.
This time, he did not look away.
At the clinic, the waiting room was filled with quiet conversations and nervous families.
Emma held Lily tightly.
Daniel sat beside her, his knee moving slightly from anxiety.
He noticed and stopped himself.
Emma almost smiled.
“You’re nervous.”
He looked at her.
“Very.”
It was the first time she had heard him admit fear.
The nurse called their names.
They followed her into the room.
The doctor greeted them calmly.
“I know this letter was frightening.”
Emma nodded.
“It was.”
The doctor opened the file.
“I want to explain everything clearly.”
Daniel reached for Emma’s hand.
The doctor looked between them.
“There was an administrative issue with the original paperwork.”
Emma waited.
“What does that mean?”
The doctor took a breath.
“It means one part of the information recorded after Lily’s birth may not belong to her file.”
Emma’s eyes widened.
Daniel immediately looked concerned.
“Are you saying there was another baby?”
The doctor shook his head.
“No.”
A pause followed.
“We are saying there is a possibility that one of the blood samples connected to the record was incorrectly labeled.”
Emma stared.
“What does that mean for Lily?”
The doctor answered carefully.
“We need to confirm everything.”
The room became silent.
Daniel tightened his grip on Emma’s hand.
The same hand he once ignored when she needed him most.
Now he held it like it was the only thing keeping him steady.
The tests were completed quickly.
But waiting felt endless.
Hours passed.
Emma sat in the hallway holding Lily.
Daniel remained beside her.
Neither spoke much.
Finally, the doctor returned.
His expression was serious.
Emma immediately stood.
“Doctor?”
He looked at them.
“I have the results.”
Daniel moved closer.
Emma’s heart raced.
The doctor looked at the papers in his hand.
“There is something you both need to know.”
Emma felt her legs weaken.
“What is it?”
The doctor looked directly at Daniel.
“The results confirm that Lily is your biological daughter.”
Daniel released a breath he did not realize he had been holding.
Emma closed her eyes.
Relief washed over her.
But the doctor did not stop.
“There is another result.”
The relief disappeared.
Emma opened her eyes.
“What other result?”
The doctor looked down.
“The original mistake was not random.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
The doctor hesitated.
“It means someone changed the records before they reached the hospital system.”
The hallway suddenly felt cold.
Emma looked at Daniel.
Daniel looked back at her.
Neither of them understood.
But both knew the same thing.
Someone had tried to hide something.
And whoever it was had been close enough to access their lives.
The ride home felt completely different from the one they had taken to the clinic.
On the way there, Emma had been afraid of losing something she had already fought so hard to protect.
On the way back, she was afraid of discovering who had tried to take it away.
Daniel drove slowly through the quiet streets.
His hands stayed firmly on the steering wheel, but his mind was somewhere else.
Every few seconds, he glanced at the rearview mirror to check on Lily sleeping in her car seat.
Emma noticed.
“You think it was someone we know.”
Daniel did not answer immediately.
“Yes.”
The honesty in his voice made her stomach tighten.
“Why?”
“Because the records were changed before they reached the hospital system.”
He looked at her briefly.
“Someone had access.”
Emma stared out the window.
There were not many people who knew about her pregnancy.
Even fewer people who knew enough details to interfere.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered.
“I spent months thinking you didn’t care.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“And I spent months believing you were keeping something from me.”
May you like
They both became silent.
The realization hurt because the person who had caused the distance between them had used their own fears against them.
