Chapter 7 - MichaelNobody moved.
Michael knocked again.
“Daniel, I know you’re in there.”
Emma clutched her father’s shirt.
“Daddy…”
Daniel signaled for silence.
Marcus moved toward the back door.
Maya held Lily against her chest.
Then a phone on the kitchen counter rang.
Not Daniel’s.
Maya’s.
The screen showed one word.
MICHAEL.
Daniel looked at her.
She whispered:
“He knows where we are.”
The front door shook.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
Marcus looked through the blinds.
“He’s gone.”
Daniel exhaled.
“Where?”
“Driveway.”
Daniel opened the side door carefully.
Nothing.
Then they heard tires screech.
Michael was gone.
But he had left something behind.
A small cardboard box sat on the porch.
Inside was Rachel’s wedding ring.
Daniel’s breathing stopped.
He picked it up with trembling fingers.
There was a note.
She never stopped loving you.
Daniel’s eyes burned.
Marcus took the note.
“This is a message.”
“What kind?”
“A warning.”
Maya stepped closer.
“There’s something else.”
Inside the box was a tiny memory card.
Daniel stared at it.
“What's on it?”
“Maybe the missing phone,” Marcus said.
They returned inside.
Marcus connected the card to his laptop.
A single video appeared.
Rachel.
Alive.
Daniel forgot how to breathe.
The video was dated six days before her death.
Rachel sat in her car.
Her eyes were red.
“Daniel, if you’re watching this, something has happened to me.”
Daniel gripped the table.
“I need you to listen carefully.”
Rachel looked directly at the camera.
“Don’t trust Michael.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“He thinks he knows about the money. He doesn’t.”
Rachel continued.
“The eight million dollars isn’t the real secret.”
Daniel opened his eyes.
Rachel whispered:
“The real secret is the child.”
Maya covered her mouth.
Rachel continued.
“If anything happens to me, protect Maya.”
Daniel leaned toward the screen.
“She has the only proof that the NorthStar operation goes all the way to the top.”
Rachel hesitated.
“And Daniel…”
Her voice broke.
“I’m sorry.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“For what?”
Rachel continued.
“Lily is not Michael’s daughter.”
The video froze.
Maya began to sob.
Daniel looked at her.
“Who is Lily’s father?”
Maya shook her head.
“I can’t.”
“You have to.”
“I promised Rachel.”
“Rachel is dead.”
Maya closed her eyes.
Then she said:
“Lily’s father is you.”
Silence.
Daniel stared.
“No.”
Maya nodded.
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible.”
“She was born nine months after the accident.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You’re lying.”
“She wasn’t born after the accident.”
Daniel’s face went pale.
“What?”
Maya whispered:
“Rachel was pregnant before she died.”
Daniel couldn’t move.
Marcus slowly stepped backward.
Maya continued.
“Lily was your daughter.”
Daniel looked at the sleeping baby.
Three weeks old.
The same eyes as Rachel.
The same small fingers.
The same tiny crease in her forehead.
Rachel had hidden the pregnancy.
From him.
From everyone.
Then Daniel saw something in the video.
Rachel had held up a document before the recording ended.
A hospital record.
At the bottom was one handwritten line.
DNA TEST PENDING.
Daniel stared.
Then the laptop screen suddenly went black.
Marcus looked up.
“Someone just accessed the computer remotely.”
Daniel’s phone buzzed.
A message appeared.
NOW YOU KNOW WHO SHE IS.
May you like
Then a second message.
NOW ASK YOURSELF WHY RACHEL HID HER FROM YOU.
