Chương 6
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I don’t know.”
Emma’s expression hardened.
“But you know the handwriting.”
Daniel nodded.
“I thought I knew it.”
The room became painfully quiet.
“Whose is it?” Emma asked.
Daniel looked at her.
“My brother’s.”
The words seemed to stop time.
Emma stared at him.
“Your brother?”
Daniel nodded.
“Michael.”
She searched his face.
“Why would your brother do this?”
Daniel did not answer immediately.
Because the truth was complicated.
Because the last time he had spoken to Michael, they had not ended things peacefully.
Michael had always believed Daniel had everything handed to him.
The successful career.
The stable life.
The perfect relationship.
And when Daniel announced that Emma was pregnant, Michael had reacted strangely.
Not happy.
Not excited.
Almost angry.
Emma remembered.
“He was at the hospital.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What?”
“After Lily was born.”
Her voice became uncertain.
“He came to visit.”
Daniel froze.
“You never told me that.”
Emma looked hurt.
“Because you weren’t there.”
The words hit him.
She continued.
“He said he wanted to see the baby.”
She looked down.
“But something felt wrong.”
“What did he say?”
Emma tried to remember.
“He asked a lot of questions.”
“About what?”
“About us.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“What kind of questions?”
Emma looked at the photograph.
“He asked if you knew everything.”
A cold feeling moved through Daniel.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
Margaret watched both of them.
“Maybe he wanted to create doubt between you.”
Daniel looked at her.
“But why?”
Nobody answered.
Because they did not know the reason yet.
Only that someone had been working carefully behind the scenes.
Daniel immediately grabbed his phone.
“I need to call him.”
Emma reached toward him.
“Wait.”
He stopped.
“What?”
Her eyes were filled with fear.
“What if he denies it?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Then we find proof.”
“And if it’s true?”
Daniel looked toward Lily’s room.
His voice became quiet.
“Then I need to know why someone in my family tried to destroy mine.”
The next morning, Daniel drove alone to Michael’s house.
Emma wanted to come.
But Daniel refused.
Not because he wanted to hide anything.
Because he knew this conversation could become emotional.
“I don’t want you near him if he gets angry,” he said.
Emma looked at him.
“Promise me you won’t let anger control you.”
Daniel nodded.
“I promise.”
Before leaving, he kissed Lily’s forehead.
It was a small gesture.
But Emma noticed.
The old Daniel would have rushed out.
This Daniel paused.
He understood what he had to lose.
Michael lived across town in a quiet neighborhood.
The house looked normal.
Peaceful.
That almost made everything worse.
Daniel knocked.
A few seconds later, Michael opened the door.
He was younger than Daniel by two years.
Same dark hair.
Similar features.
But his eyes were different.
They carried resentment.
“Daniel.”
Michael smiled slightly.
“I didn’t expect you.”
Daniel stepped inside.
“I need to ask you something.”
Michael closed the door.
“What happened?”
Daniel placed the photograph on the table.
Michael looked at it.
Only for a second.
But it was enough.
Daniel saw the reaction.
“You know what this is.”
Michael looked away.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Michael’s expression changed.
“You always did this.”
“Did what?”
“Act like you were better than everyone.”
Daniel stared at him.
“This is about Emma and Lily.”
Michael laughed quietly.
“Of course it is.”
Daniel felt his anger rising.
“Why?”
Michael looked at him.
“Because you never listened.”
“Listened to what?”
“To me.”
Daniel shook his head.
“This makes no sense.”
Michael stepped closer.
“You had everything.”
His voice became sharper.
“You had the family.
The career.
The future.”
“And you think I didn’t deserve it?”
Michael looked away.
“I think you forgot where you came from.”
Daniel could not believe what he was hearing.
“You sabotaged my relationship because you were angry?”
Michael did not respond.
That silence was enough.
Daniel’s face changed.
“You did.”
Michael looked back at him.
“I wanted you to see the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That she was going to leave you.”
Daniel stared.
“She was never leaving me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know Emma.”
Michael laughed bitterly.
“You think you do.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Why did you send those messages?”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
“Because you needed to wake up.”
“You made me lose months with my daughter.”
The words landed.
For the first time, Michael looked uncertain.
Daniel continued.
“You made Emma believe she was alone.”
Michael looked down.
“I didn’t know she would end up alone.”
Daniel’s anger turned into disbelief.
“You didn’t know?”
Michael looked defensive.
“I thought she would tell you the truth.”
“What truth?”
Michael said nothing.
Daniel felt a chill.
“There’s more.”
Michael looked away.
“What did you do?”
The silence stretched.
Finally, Michael spoke.
“I found out something.”
Daniel waited.
“Before Lily was born.”
“What?”
Michael looked at him.
“Something about Emma.”
Daniel’s heart started beating faster.
“What about her?”
Michael hesitated.
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“She wasn’t the one hiding the secret.”
Daniel stared.
“Then who was?”
Michael looked directly at him.
“You.”
The accusation hung in the room.
Daniel felt confused.
“What are you talking about?”
Michael’s expression became serious.
“You don’t remember?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Michael looked almost disappointed.
“That’s the problem.”
Daniel stepped back slightly.
“What did I forget?”
Michael reached into a drawer.
He pulled out an old document.
Something Daniel had never seen before.
“I found this months ago.”
Daniel looked at the paper.
“What is it?”
Michael placed it on the table.
“A medical record.”
Daniel picked it up.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he stopped.
Because the name written there was his.
And the date was from before he ever met Emma.
Daniel stared at the document in his hand, unable to understand the words in front of him.
May you like
The room around him seemed to disappear.
The voices of the neighbors outside.
