Chapter 14 - The Blood Question
Nobody moved.
Daniel looked at me.
I looked at the judge.
“What?” I said.
The judge lowered the paper. “The amendment states that before any transfer of guardianship-linked assets, parentage must be confirmed by independent testing.”
Margaret’s smile widened.
That was when I understood.
She had been waiting for this.
Daniel whispered, “Claire?”
I stared at him. “Don’t you dare.”
“I’m not accusing you.”
“Your face is.”
The judge ordered testing because the financial instrument required it, not because anyone was making a criminal allegation.
Outside the courtroom, Margaret’s attorney approached Daniel.
“Your mother would like you to reconsider your cooperation with police.”
Daniel laughed bitterly. “Tell my mother to go to hell.”
The attorney’s expression barely changed. “You may feel differently when the test comes back.”
I stepped between them. “Get away from us.”
That afternoon, I called my mother.
She was silent for too long.
“Mom?”
“There’s something I should have told you years ago.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“When you and Daniel separated for those three months before your wedding…”
I closed my eyes.
There had been someone else.
One night.
One mistake.
A man named Noah Grant, an old college friend.
I had told Daniel about it before we married. He said it was over and didn’t matter.
But Ellie had been conceived close enough to that time to create doubt.
“I thought the dates made Daniel more likely,” Mom said.
“So did I.”
Daniel stood in the doorway behind me.
He had heard enough.
“Who is Noah?” he asked.
I turned slowly.
“He’s someone I was with when we were separated.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“You never told me his name.”
“You said you didn’t want details.”
He laughed once with no humor.
“And my mother knew?”
“I don’t know.”
His phone buzzed.
He checked it.
A message from an unknown number.
May you like
I KNOW WHO ELLIE’S FATHER IS.
Attached was a photo of Noah Grant standing outside Ellie’s school three months earlier.
