Chapter 3

I sat in front of the safe, my fingers tracing the edges of the paternity test report.

Six months ago, Lily had a high fever and needed a blood transfusion. Ethan's blood type didn't match. I assumed it was just a biological coincidence. The doctor said Lily had an unusual constitution and needed a full work-up, and I secretly kept a few strands of her hair.

The result: 99.99% — no biological relationship.

I had assumed Lily was Ethan's with his ex-wife, since he never let Lily see her birth mother. Every time I asked, he brushed it off. "Her mom's overseas. She doesn't want to disturb what we have."

A perfect excuse.

But now the test in my hands told me Lily shared no blood with Ethan either.

I opened the bottom layer of the safe. There was an older report underneath. I had it done three years ago, just after I married him, because something hadn't felt right — he never let me see the marriage certificate from his first marriage, only the divorce papers.

The report was clear: he and his ex-wife had never legally been married.

There was no first marriage.

My hands were shaking badly. I pulled out the document folder at the very bottom. Inside were ownership records for his company, a stack of IOUs, and a signed agreement between him and his ex.

Party A shall provide financial support. Party B shall, through marriage, obtain the female party's assets. Party A shall receive seventy percent of all proceeds.

Every line, documented in full.

How much had I paid off for him? A car. This apartment. The renovation of his office. All of it together — at least two hundred thousand dollars, easily.

What was going through his mind when Lily called me Vivian?

He turned my daughter against me, then let me pay to raise her.

Footsteps at the door again. This time it was Ethan.

He pushed open the door, saw me sitting in front of the safe, and his expression shifted instantly.

"What are you doing?"

I held up the paternity test. "Explain this."

He lunged for it. I stepped aside. His face drained of color. "You were going through my things?"

"Should I not have?" I stood and looked at him. "You've been lying to me for three years. Lily isn't your biological daughter. You adopted her. Didn't you."

He said nothing.

"You and your ex teamed up to take my money. Didn't you."

He swallowed. "Let me explain —"

"Explain what?" I threw the agreement at him. "How you and your ex planned all of this? Or what Lily meant when she said your plan is to take my money and then take her to Disney World?"

He froze. "Lily said that?"

"She said her mom told her. Once you got my money, she'd take her to Disney World."

I laughed, even though I was crying. "You're using a child to pull this off. Aren't you afraid she'll hate you for it when she grows up?"

He slumped to the floor without a word.

I crouched down in front of him. "I raised her for three years. I gave her the best of everything — the best school, piano lessons, art classes, every single thing she needed."

"And she called me Vivian."

I stood up and took everything out of the safe. "Did you think I was an idiot? I saw through this a long time ago."

"I just wanted to know how long you planned to keep going."

His head snapped up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I knew something was wrong from the start." My voice was calm. "A man who remarries and asks for nothing except for his new wife to love his child? That doesn't exist."

"I pulled your bank statements. I went through your company's accounts. I found your ex's social media."

"You thought you had it all locked down, didn't you?"

I picked up my phone and dialed a number.

My lawyer.

I had the divorce papers ready, along with everything I'd gathered on their fraud.

His voice came through the line. "Everything is in order. We'll be at the courthouse whenever you're ready."

I hung up and looked at Ethan.

He had gone pale. His lips were trembling. "You can't — what about Lily —"

"I'll be taking Lily." I said it quietly. "Neither of you deserve to be her parents."

He threw himself toward me. The security guard I'd called earlier stepped in from the hallway and blocked him.

I walked out of the room, and passed Lily's door.

She was asleep, holding her stuffed bear, a small smile on her lips.

I pulled her door gently closed.

She was innocent in all of this. But I couldn't keep being called Vivian by her anymore.