Chapter 6
The room was silent.
Jessica's words hung in the air.
Lily wasn't Mark's daughter.
It couldn't be true.
Lily had Mark's eyes.
His smile.
His stubbornness.
She was his.
She had to be.
But there was doubt.
A small seed of doubt.
Planted by Jessica's cruel words.
Mark was quiet.
Pale.
Shaken.
"She's lying," I said. "She's just trying to hurt you. To hurt us. She's desperate. She'll say anything."
"Is she?" Mark said. His voice was hollow. "Jessica has always been cruel. But she doesn't usually lie about things that can be proven. If she says Lily isn't mine… she might have proof."
"We'll get a DNA test," I said. "And we'll prove she's lying. And then she'll have nothing. No more cards to play."
Mark nodded.
But I could see the fear in his eyes.
The doubt.
The possibility that everything he'd been fighting for.
Everything he loved.
Might not be his.
We arranged the DNA test the next day.
Mark.
Lily.
Quick.
Painless.
But the waiting was agony.
Three days.
Three long days.
Mark was distant.
Quiet.
Scared.
Lily could tell something was wrong.
"Is Daddy mad at me?" she asked me.
"Of course not, honey," I said. "He's just worried about some work stuff. He loves you more than anything."
But I was worried too.
What if Jessica was telling the truth?
What would happen to Lily?
To Mark?
To us?
To the family we were building?
On the third day, the results came.
Mark opened the envelope.
His hands were shaking.
He read the paper.
And he collapsed into a chair.
Tears running down his face.
I picked up the paper.
*PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY: 99.99%*
Lily was his.
Jessica had been lying.
Just like I'd thought.
She'd been bluffing.
Trying to cause pain.
Trying to destroy us.
And she'd failed.
Mark held Lily that night.
For hours.
Crying.
Telling her how much he loved her.
How she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Lily didn't understand.
But she held him back.
And told him she loved him too.
I watched them.
And my heart was full.
Full of love.
Full of relief.
Full of anger at Jessica.
For trying to take this away from them.
For trying to destroy the most beautiful thing in either of their lives.
Jessica's lies only made her position worse.
The judge in the criminal case was furious when he found out about her latest stunt.
He called it "witness tampering" and "psychological torture."
He increased her bail.
And added more charges.
Jessica was never getting out of jail.
Not for a very long time.
The criminal trial was scheduled for three months later.
Jessica was facing over twenty years in prison.
For child endangerment.
Conspiracy.
Corporate espionage.
Wire fraud.
Witness tampering.
And more.
My parents were also facing charges.
Conspiracy.
Aiding and abetting.
Perjury for their testimony in the custody hearing.
They were looking at prison time too.
Or at least heavy fines and probation.
Their golden daughter had destroyed them.
Just like she'd destroyed everything else she touched.
Mark and I focused on building our life together.
On Lily.
On our future.
We decided to move to a bigger house.
One with more room.
A big yard for Lily to play in.
A home office for both of us.
A place to build our future.
We found the perfect house.
Not too big.
Not too small.
Warm.
Welcoming.
With a big backyard.
And a pool.
Lily was ecstatic.
She helped us pick out paint colors.
And furniture.
And decorations.
She was so happy.
So excited.
So full of life.
It was wonderful to see.
The girl who'd been crying alone at the airport was gone forever.
Replaced by a happy, confident child who knew she was loved.
Who knew she was safe.
Who knew she was home.
Mark proposed to me one evening.
In the backyard of our new house.
Under the stars.
With Lily watching.
Holding a sign that said "Will you marry my daddy?"
It was perfect.
Simple.
Honest.
Full of love.
I said yes.
Of course I did.
We were planning a small wedding.
Just family and close friends.
In the backyard.
In the spring.
Lily was going to be the flower girl.
She was so excited.
She practiced throwing petals every day.
Everything was perfect.
But I should have known.
Jessica wouldn't let us be happy.
Not even from jail.
She found a way to strike again.
One week before our wedding.
A tabloid story broke.
*MILLIONAIRE EXECUTIVE STEALS SISTER'S FIANCE AND DAUGHTER*
The story was full of lies.
It painted me as the villain.
The manipulative younger sister.
Who'd stolen Jessica's husband.
And Jessica's child.
And Jessica's life.
It used old photographs.
Out of context quotes.
And lies from my parents and Claire.
It was everywhere.
Online.
In newspapers.
On television.
Mark's company stock dropped.
My agency was flooded with calls.
People were cruel.
They called me names.
They sent hate mail.
They threatened us.
Our perfect wedding was ruined.
Or so I thought.
But Mark held me.
And Lily held me.
And we decided we wouldn't let Jessica win.
Not this time.
Not ever again.
We were going to get married.
As planned.
And we were going to be happy.
No matter what anyone said.
But the tabloid story was just the beginning.
Jessica had one more secret.
One that would rock our world.
And it came in the form of a man.
May you like
A man who showed up at our door.
Saying he was Lily's real father.
