Chapter 3 - DANIEL’S SECRETRebecca hadn't spoken to me in almost two years.
Not after the argument.
Not after the accusation.
Not after she told me Daniel had betrayed all of us.
At the time, I thought grief had made her unstable.
Now I wasn't so sure.
I drove straight home.
Every window was locked.
Every curtain was closed.
I carried Grace inside while Sophie followed.
“Mom, what is happening?”
“I don't know.”
“But you know Rebecca.”
“Yes.”
“Why would she want Grace?”
I looked at the baby.
“That's exactly what I intend to find out.”
I put Grace in the bassinet we had once used for Sophie.
Then I went upstairs.
I opened the closet where I kept Daniel's belongings.
Five years of memories.
His old watch.
His wedding ring.
His leather briefcase.
His old laptop.
I took out the briefcase.
Inside was nothing unusual.
Until I found a hidden zipper.
There was a tiny key.
I had never seen it before.
“What is that?”
Sophie was standing behind me.
“I don't know.”
The key had a metal tag engraved with a number.
317.
“Hotel room?” Sophie asked.
“Maybe.”
I remembered Daniel traveling often during the final year of his life.
He had said it was business.
I had never questioned him.
Suddenly, I hated myself for that.
We searched his old laptop.
It took nearly an hour.
Most files were corrupted.
But one folder opened.
No name.
Just numbers.
Inside were dozens of photographs.
Not documents.
Photographs.
Emily.
At the resort.
Pregnant.
Daniel.
At the same resort.
Standing beside her.
My knees nearly buckled.
Sophie stared at the screen.
“Mom.”
I couldn't answer.
There were seven photographs.
Daniel was clearly alive when they were taken.
And the timestamps were dated only three months before his death.
My husband had been at Lake Harper.
He had never told me.
Sophie whispered,
“Did Dad know her?”
“I think so.”
We kept scrolling.
Then we found a photograph of Emily holding a newborn baby.
Grace.
The timestamp was five years ago.
The same week Daniel died.
I stared at the screen.
“No.”
Sophie moved closer.
“Mom?”
“This can't be right.”
The next file was a scanned birth certificate.
Mother:
Emily Carter.
Father:
Unknown.
Date of birth:
Five years ago.
Not a few weeks.
Five years.
I stared at Grace.
The baby in the bassinet was not five years old.
So there had to be another explanation.
Then I noticed the final line.
The document had been altered.
Someone had changed the date.
Sophie whispered,
“Why would someone fake her age?”
“I don't know.”
Then the laptop displayed a new file.
It was encrypted.
The title was:
PROJECT GRACE
I clicked it.
Password required.
Sophie looked at me.
“What password would Dad use?”
I tried his birthday.
Wrong.
Our anniversary.
Wrong.
Sophie's birthday.
Wrong.
Then I remembered something.
A sentence Daniel used to say when he was angry.
“Everything comes back to the lake.”
I typed:
LAKEHARPER
The file opened.
There was only one video.
I clicked play.
Daniel appeared on screen.
Alive.
Older than in the photographs.
Terrified.
He looked directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, I'm probably dead.”
I stopped breathing.
Daniel continued.
“Karen, there's something you need to know.”
Sophie covered her mouth.
Dad was speaking to us.
“I lied to you.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“I lied about the business trips. I lied about the people I worked with. And most importantly, I lied about Grace.”
The baby started crying downstairs.
I froze.
Daniel continued.
“She is not Emily's daughter.”
Sophie stared at the screen.
“Then whose is she?”
Daniel looked away from the camera.
When he looked back, his expression was full of fear.
“She is mine.”
The video ended.
Sophie turned white.
“No.”
I shook my head.
“He couldn't have another child.”
“But he just said—”
“No.”
I replayed the video.
Daniel's voice repeated the same words.
“She is mine.”
I looked at Sophie.
“Then why would Emily have her?”
No answer.
We ran downstairs.
The bassinet was empty.
Grace was gone.
The back door was wide open.
And on the floor was a note.
May you like
Three words.
You were warned.
