Chapter 2

The safe held a few items, neatly arranged. I reached in, and the first thing my fingers touched was the paternity test report.

I didn't take it out yet.

I reached further back and felt another document — the property deed. When we bought this apartment, I had put in two hundred thousand as the down payment, and both our names were on the title.

He had said, We're family, babe. Why keep score?

I believed him.

Looking back now, I believed a lot of things.

At the very bottom was a thick manila envelope. I pulled it out and opened it. A stack of photographs slid out.

The woman in them was in her early thirties, with long hair down her shoulders, smiling warmly. She was holding a baby wrapped in the pink blanket I had bought for Lily.

On the back of one photo, in neat handwriting: Lily's 100-Day Celebration. Mommy loves you forever.

Mommy.

I stared at that word. My fingers were shaking.

Footsteps in the hallway outside. I quickly pushed everything back into the safe, shut it, slid the drawer closed, and moved to stand by the window.

"Babe?"

Ethan pushed open the door. I kept my back to him. "Yeah?"

"What are you doing standing there? Aren't you cold?"

"Just getting some air."

He came over and wrapped his arms around me from behind. His hands rested on my waist. He nuzzled his face into my hair.

That smell — laundry detergent and cigarettes — was what I fell asleep to every night. Right now it turned my stomach.

"You must be tired. Lily didn't mean anything by it today. Don't take it to heart."

"I'm not."

I was lying.

My mind was full of the photographs I'd just seen. And that message: Baby misses you so much.

"Good." He rested his chin on my shoulder. "It's the weekend tomorrow. Want to take Lily to the amusement park?"

"Sure."

He kissed my cheek, satisfied, and left the room.

I heard him tell Lily, "Mom said yes. She'll take you tomorrow."

"She's not my mom."

"Stop saying that, or I'm going to be upset."

"But Mommy said she's not —"

The voice cut off.

He'd covered her mouth.

I closed my eyes and breathed slowly.

At our wedding three years ago, he had walked up to me holding Lily's hand, and asked her to call me Mom. She was barely two, still stumbling over words, but she managed a small "Mama," and I almost cried.

I found out later that his ex-wife had spent an entire month coaching her to say it.

One end of the plan was to lower my guard.

The other end was to make the lie feel real.

I opened my phone and scrolled through his call history.

For the past three months, every night between ten and eleven, he made a call. Thirty to sixty minutes each time. Always him dialing out. The contact was saved as "Ms. Lee."

I clicked on the social media profile linked to that number. The profile photo was a woman. Her username was "Mia."

Mia. Lily.

I tapped on her page. Her most recent post was from thirty minutes ago.

A photo of a cake — pink piggies drawn in frosting. The caption read: My baby is ten today. Mommy loves you always. Can't wait to have you back.

I clicked on the comments.

Someone asked: Isn't she with her dad?

Mia replied: Not for much longer.

I pressed my phone face-down against my thigh. In the dark, I could hear my own heartbeat.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Like something about to burst.

Outside, Lily called, "Daddy, I want water."

"Ask your mom."

"She's not my —"

"Enough!"

Ethan's voice snapped, sharp with anger.

Lily started crying.

I heard him drop his voice to soothe her. "Be good, sweetheart. Just a little longer. Your mom said once we get the house sorted, we can —"

The rest was too quiet to make out.

But I caught one word clearly.

House.

They wanted the house.

I felt a slow smile pull at my mouth, even as tears slid down my face.

So it had been a setup from the very beginning. Three years ago. From day one.

He wanted my money. She wanted my home. Their daughter wanted my love.

And I, like a fool, had given everything I had for three years.

In the safe, the paternity test report waited quietly.

I had it done six months ago, in secret, because Lily had asked me something out of nowhere: " Vivian, why are you so nice to me?"

I thought at the time it was just a child being careless with words.

Now I understood. Her mother had taught her to say it.

She said Vivian so naturally. Like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Footsteps near the door. I quickly wiped my face.

The door opened. Lily stood in the doorway holding a stuffed bear, tilting her head at me.

" Vivian, Daddy said to come give you a kiss."

I crouched down and waited.

She leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the cheek, then spun around and ran.

At the door, she stopped and looked back. In a small voice, she said, "My mom told me. Once Daddy gets your money, she's taking me to Disney World."

I stayed frozen where I was.

She flashed me a little smile, and ran off.