Chương 3
Emma looked at the floor.
"His name is Noah."
"I know his name."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"I am asking who his biological father is."
Emma could not answer.
The silence became the answer.
Daniel’s expression changed.
"Is he someone I know?"
Margaret looked away.
That small movement told him everything.
Daniel stepped back.
"No."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"No, don't tell me."
But the truth had already started reaching him.
He looked at Emma.
"Is it someone close to us?"
Emma’s tears finally fell.
She hated that this moment had arrived.
She hated that the man she loved had to learn the truth this way.
Before she could speak, Margaret answered.
"His name was Michael."
Daniel froze.
The color disappeared from his face.
Michael was not a stranger.
Michael was someone from his past.
Someone who had once been considered family.
Someone whose name carried memories Daniel had tried to forget.
"No," Daniel whispered.
Margaret looked at him with sorrow.
"Yes."
The rain outside grew heavier.
The kitchen lights reflected against the wet windows, making the room feel even more isolated.
Daniel stared at Emma.
"Michael?"
His voice broke.
Emma nodded slowly.
"I never wanted this to happen."
Daniel took another step back.
"How?"
Emma looked down at Noah.
The baby was quiet again, resting against her shoulder.
"Before I met you, Michael and I knew each other."
Daniel swallowed.
"I know that."
"But you don't know everything."
The words frightened him.
"Then tell me."
Emma closed her eyes.
The memory she had buried for months returned.
The night she found out she was pregnant.
The night she thought her life had ended.
The night Michael disappeared without explanation.
She remembered calling him again and again.
She remembered unanswered messages.
She remembered standing alone in her apartment, holding the test in her hand and wondering why the person who promised he would always be there had vanished.
Then she remembered Daniel.
The man who came into her life without asking for anything.
The man who saw her pain and never judged her.
The man who loved her when she felt impossible to love.
"I found out I was pregnant two weeks before our wedding."
Daniel’s eyes widened.
Emma continued.
"I was going to tell you."
"Then why didn't you?"
Her voice became smaller.
"Because Michael came back."
Daniel stared at her.
"What?"
"He came back and told me something that changed everything."
Margaret looked at Daniel carefully.
"He was not running away from Emma."
Daniel turned toward her.
"Then why did he disappear?"
Margaret’s expression became heavy.
"Because he was trying to protect someone."
Daniel’s confusion deepened.
"Who?"
No one answered immediately.
That silence was worse than the truth.
Daniel looked between them.
"Who was he protecting?"
Margaret slowly reached into her purse.
She pulled out a small envelope.
The same kind of envelope she had shown Emma months ago.
Daniel noticed it immediately.
"What is that?"
Margaret held it tightly.
"The reason I never told you."
Daniel walked closer.
His hands trembled slightly.
"Open it."
Margaret looked at Emma.
Emma’s face showed fear.
She knew what was inside.
She knew the truth inside that envelope would change more than just their marriage.
It would change the way Daniel saw his entire family.
Margaret slowly placed the envelope on the marble counter.
Daniel opened it.
Inside was a single photograph and several documents.
He picked up the photograph first.
The moment he saw it, his breathing stopped.
It was a picture of Michael.
But he was not alone.
Standing beside him was someone Daniel never expected to see.
Someone who had been part of his life for decades.
Someone whose secret had been hidden even longer than Emma’s.
Daniel looked up slowly.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Why is my father in this picture?"
Margaret closed her eyes when she heard Daniel ask the question.
For years, she had feared this exact moment.
She had imagined anger.
She had imagined accusations.
She had imagined the look of betrayal that now appeared on her son’s face.
But nothing could have prepared her for how much it hurt to see him discover the truth.
Daniel held the photograph tightly, staring at the image as if his eyes were refusing to believe what they were seeing.
His father, Richard Carter, stood beside Michael in the picture.
They were younger.
They were smiling.
They looked like two men who shared a secret that had been carefully protected.
"What is this?" Daniel asked.
His voice was almost unrecognizable.
Margaret remained silent for several seconds.
Then she finally spoke.
"It was taken eighteen months before your father died."
Daniel looked at her.
"Why was he with Michael?"
Emma watched Daniel’s face carefully.
She had seen him angry before.
She had seen him frustrated.
She had never seen him look this lost.
Margaret slowly sat down at the kitchen island.
For the first time that night, she looked like an ordinary woman instead of the strong person everyone depended on.
"Because Richard knew Michael before you ever met him."
Daniel shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense."
"It will."
Margaret’s voice was quiet.
"But you need to hear everything."
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
His fingers tightened around the edges.
"Start talking."
Emma placed Noah gently in the nearby baby carrier.
She did not want him surrounded by the tension anymore.
The baby’s innocent presence made the situation even harder to accept.
Margaret watched as Emma carefully covered him with the white blanket.
Despite everything happening, Emma’s first instinct was still to protect him.
That was something Margaret had always admired.
"I found out about Michael and your father six years ago," Margaret said.
Daniel’s expression changed.
"Six years?"
"Yes."
"You knew for six years?"
Margaret looked down.
"I knew something was wrong."
"That's not an answer."
"No," she admitted.
"It isn't."
The honesty made Daniel pause.
Margaret took a slow breath.
"Your father had been hiding financial problems."
May you like
Daniel frowned.
"My father?"
