Chapter 6: The Little Girl in Vanessa's Photograph
I read Vanessa's message three times.
She is the reason Marcus married you.
The little girl in the photograph looked about two years old.
She was sitting on a cream-colored rug, wearing a pink dress and holding a stuffed rabbit.
Her smile was wide.
Her eyes were unmistakably familiar.
I zoomed in.
There was something about her face that reminded me of Marcus.
The shape of her eyebrows.
The slight dimple in her left cheek.
I looked at Rebecca.
"Do you know who this is?""
Rebecca shook her head.
"No.""
I called Vanessa.
She answered on the first ring.
"Emily.""
Her voice sounded exhausted.
"Who is the little girl?""
There was a pause.
"Where are you?""
"Answer my question.""
"Are you still at the hospital?""
"Vanessa, who is she?""
She exhaled.
"Her name is Lily.""
"Whose daughter is she?""
Another pause.
Then Vanessa whispered:
"She's Marcus's daughter.""
My knees weakened.
I sat down.
"Another child?""
"Yes.""
I closed my eyes.
"How old is she?""
"Two.""
Two.
I looked at Rebecca.
Her expression was filled with disbelief.
"Does Marcus have two children?"" I whispered.
Vanessa continued.
"Emily, you need to understand that none of this happened the way you think.""
I almost laughed.
"Really? Because every time I discover something, there's another secret underneath it.""
"Please come and see me.""
"Why?""
"Because I need to tell you the truth.""
"You've had fifteen years to tell me the truth.""
"I know.""
Her voice cracked.
"I'm sorry.""
I looked at the photograph again.
"Why did you say she's the reason Marcus married me?""
Vanessa went silent.
Then she said:
"Because Marcus knew about her before your wedding.""
I couldn't breathe.
"What?""
"He knew Lily existed before he married you.""
I stared at the wall.
"That's impossible.""
"He didn't know she was his daughter at first.""
"Then how did he know about her?""
Vanessa began crying.
"Because I was the one who told him.""
My stomach twisted.
"How did you know?""
"Emily...""
"HOW DID YOU KNOW?""
She took a trembling breath.
"Because I knew Lily's mother.""
I closed my eyes.
Another woman.
Another child.
Another secret.
I felt like I was falling into a hole that had no bottom.
"Who is Lily's mother?""
Vanessa whispered a name.
"Claire.""
I frowned.
"Who is Claire?""
"Someone Marcus dated before you.""
I remembered Marcus mentioning a woman named Claire once.
He had described her as a brief college relationship that had ended years before we met.
Nothing serious.
Nothing important.
Apparently, another carefully constructed lie.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because Marcus begged me not to.""
"And you agreed?""
"Yes.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course you did.""
Vanessa started crying.
"I made terrible choices.""
"Why?""
She was silent.
Then she said something that I hadn't expected.
"Because I loved him.""
The room seemed to disappear.
I stared at the phone.
"What?""
Vanessa sobbed.
"I loved Marcus before you married him.""
I couldn't speak.
"I was going to tell you. I swear I was. But by then, you were already together, and I didn't want to lose you.""
I remembered my wedding day.
Vanessa standing beside me in a beautiful blue dress.
Vanessa fixing my veil.
Vanessa telling me that I was the luckiest woman in the world.
Had she been thinking about marrying him herself?
"Did you ever sleep with my husband?"" I asked.
She didn't answer.
I waited.
"Vanessa.""
"Yes.""
My chest tightened.
"When?""
"Before your wedding.""
I closed my eyes.
"And after?""
She started crying harder.
"Emily, please.""
"Answer me!""
"Yes.""
The word was barely audible.
I looked at Rebecca.
She had lowered her eyes.
I felt humiliated.
Not because my marriage had failed.
But because I had spent fifteen years sharing my deepest fears with a woman who had been secretly involved with my husband.
"How long?"" I whispered.
"Emily, I—"
"HOW LONG?""
"On and off. For years.""
I ended the call.
My hands were trembling.
Rebecca reached across the table.
I pulled away.
"Don't.""
She withdrew her hand.
"I'm sorry.""
I looked at her.
"I don't even know who I'm supposed to be angry with anymore.""
She nodded.
"I understand.""
"No, you don't.""
I stood and walked toward the window.
Outside, a mother was pushing a stroller along the pavement.
A little boy was laughing.
I watched them for a moment.
Then I turned back.
"Rebecca, I need to ask you something.""
"Anything.""
"Did Marcus ever talk about the girl?""
"Lily?""
"Yes.""
Rebecca nodded.
"He said she was being raised by Claire. He told me he had no contact with her.""
"Why?""
"He said Claire didn't want him involved.""
I stared at her.
"Was that true?""
"I don't know.""
I looked at the photograph again.
The little girl was holding a stuffed rabbit.
I recognized it.
It was a white rabbit with a pink ribbon.
I'd seen one like it before.
Three years earlier, when I was pregnant, Marcus had bought a similar toy.
He'd told me it was for our future baby.
We'd kept it in a drawer.
After the miscarriage, I couldn't bear to look at it.
Marcus had packed it away.
I'd never thought about it again.
Now I wondered whether he had bought that toy for another child.
I looked at the date on Vanessa's photograph.
It had been taken two months before my wedding.
My stomach tightened.
I called Vanessa again.
She answered immediately.
"Emily?""
"Where was that photograph taken?""
"At my old apartment.""
"Why was Lily at your apartment?""
"Claire brought her.""
"Did Marcus meet her there?""
Vanessa didn't answer.
I closed my eyes.
"Vanessa, did Marcus meet his daughter before he married me?""
"Yes.""
The answer came quietly.
"How many times?""
"Several.""
I felt my throat close.
"Did he know she was his?""
"Yes.""
I ended the call again.
Rebecca stood.
"Emily, maybe we should go somewhere private.""
I nodded.
We left the hospital.
In the parking lot, I checked my phone.
There was an email notification from an unfamiliar address.
The subject line read:
Your father knew about Marcus.
I opened it.
The message contained only four sentences.
Emily, my name is Claire Bennett.
I was Marcus's girlfriend before you married him.
Your father contacted me three weeks before your wedding.
He told me something about Marcus that you were never supposed to discover.
I stared at the screen.
Rebecca came around the car.
"What's wrong?""
I handed her the phone.
She read the message.
"Claire?""
I nodded.
"Do you know her?""
"Only by name.""
I looked at the email again.
My father.
Three weeks before my wedding.
He had contacted Marcus's former girlfriend.
Why?
And what had he discovered?
I called the number attached to the email.
It rang twice.
A woman answered.
"Emily?""
"Yes. It's me.""
"My God. I've waited years for this call.""
My heart began pounding.
"Why did my father contact you?""
She took a breath.
"Because he had discovered that Marcus was using your inheritance to pay for something.""
"What?""
"An apartment. Medical expenses. And a private trust.""
I closed my eyes.
"Did he know about Vanessa?""
"Yes.""
My throat tightened.
"What did he know?""
Claire was quiet for several seconds.
Then she said:
"Your father knew Marcus had been involved with Vanessa before your wedding. But that wasn't what frightened him.""
I gripped the phone.
"Then what did?""
"He discovered that Marcus had been secretly transferring money from your inheritance into an account controlled by someone else.""
"Who controlled it?""
Claire hesitated.
Then she whispered:
"Vanessa.""
I felt sick.
"Why?""
"Because Marcus had promised her something.""
"What?""
Claire took a shaky breath.
"He promised that if he married you, Vanessa would eventually become the legal guardian of your first child.""
I stopped walking.
Rebecca looked at me.
"What did she say?""
I couldn't answer.
I stared at the pavement.
My father had known.
My best friend had known.
My husband had known.
And I had been the only person living inside a marriage that I thought was real.
"Claire," I whispered.
"Why would Marcus promise Vanessa that?""
"Because Vanessa believed she was supposed to have the life you had.""
I swallowed.
"What does that mean?""
Claire's voice broke.
"She wanted your husband, Emily. She wanted your house. She wanted your inheritance.""
A pause.
"And most importantly, she wanted your child.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"My child?""
"Yes.""
"But I never had a child.""
Claire went silent.
Then she said:
"That's why you need to see the document your father left behind.""
"What document?""
"The original trust agreement.""
I looked toward Rebecca.
"Where is it?""
"Your father's attorney has it. His name is Richard Hayes. But there's something you need to know before you contact him.""
"What?""
Claire's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Your father changed his will three weeks before he died. He removed Marcus from every financial decision and named someone else as the sole beneficiary of your family trust.""
I held my breath.
"Who?""
Claire answered.
"Vanessa Reed.""
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything except the traffic around me.
Then I whispered:
"Why would my father leave my inheritance to my best friend?""
Claire took a breath.
"Because he believed Vanessa was the only person who could expose what Marcus was planning.""
I looked at Rebecca.
She was staring at me, her face pale.
Before I could ask another question, a car pulled into the hospital parking lot.
A black SUV.
The driver's door opened.
Marcus stepped out.
He looked directly at me.
Then his eyes moved to Rebecca.
He began walking toward us.
But he wasn't alone.
A woman stepped out of the passenger seat.
She had dark hair, wore a cream-colored coat, and carried a large handbag.
I recognized her immediately from the photograph.
Vanessa.
She walked toward me with tears in her eyes.
"Emily, please," she said.
I tightened my grip on the phone.
"What do you want?""
Vanessa looked at Marcus.
Then she looked back at me.
"Your father didn't leave me your inheritance because he trusted me.""
She swallowed.
"He left it to me because he knew what happened to your first baby.""
Marcus suddenly shouted.
"VANESSA, DON'T!""
She flinched.
Then she looked straight into my eyes.
And finally revealed the secret that none of them had been brave enough to tell me.
"Emily, your first baby didn't die.""
My entire body went cold.
May you like
Vanessa began crying.
"Your daughter was born alive.""
