Chapter 3 - EMMA MORGAN
“Yes.”
Travis said it quietly.
Vanessa sat down.
Not gracefully.
Her knees seemed to stop cooperating.
Claire moved toward her.
Vanessa waved her away.
“No.”
Travis took one step closer.
“Vanessa—”
“Don't.”
He stopped.
Megan looked at Diane.
Her mother was staring at the carpet.
That frightened her almost as much as Travis's answer.
“How long?”
Vanessa asked.
“Emma is eight.”
“I understand how age works.”
Her voice shook.
“How long have you known she was yours?”
Travis answered:
“Since she was four months old.”
Vanessa laughed.
A single awful sound.
“So eight years.”
“Yes.”
“You have an eight-year-old daughter.”
“Yes.”
“And you thought the relevant detail was that Logan misunderstood something.”
Travis looked ashamed.
Good.
Not enough.
Vanessa stood again.
“Who is Rachel?”
“Rachel Morgan.”
“I heard her name.”
“She worked with Cedar North.”
Megan recognized that.
Cedar North Properties.
Their late father had built the regional real-estate company.
Travis now ran most day-to-day operations.
Rachel had been a leasing consultant there years earlier.
Megan remembered a Christmas party.
A woman named Rachel near the bar.
Maybe.
Nothing clear.
Vanessa's face changed.
“Rachel Morgan.”
Travis nodded.
“You told me she moved to Chicago.”
“She did.”
“When?”
“Later.”
“You slept with her.”
It wasn't a question.
“Yes.”
“When?”
Travis looked toward Diane again.
Vanessa caught it.
“If you look at your mother one more time before answering me, I swear to God—”
“Nine years ago.”
Vanessa went still.
They had been married two years.
Not separated.
Not on a break.
Not living apart.
Married.
Megan sat beside Logan.
Her son no longer looked triumphant.
Good.
The spectacle was over.
Now there were actual people inside the wreckage.
Vanessa asked:
“How long?”
“About six months.”
Her face twisted.
“Six months.”
“Yes.”
“Was it over before Emma was born?”
“No.”
“How long after?”
Travis hesitated.
“Two years.”
Vanessa stared.
“So three years.”
“Not continuously.”
She laughed again.
“Thank you. That helps.”
Diane finally spoke.
“Vanessa, you're pregnant. You need to calm down.”
Vanessa turned toward her.
“Don't you dare tell me what I need.”
Diane went quiet.
Megan had almost never seen anyone stop her mother with one sentence.
Travis continued.
“The romantic relationship ended six years ago.”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“But the family didn't.”
He looked toward Logan's phone.
“No.”
“Do you go there?”
“Yes.”
“How often?”
“Usually once a week.”
“Does she call you Dad?”
“Yes.”
“Does Rachel call you her husband?”
“No.”
“Does Emma think you're married to her mother?”
“No.”
Vanessa nodded mechanically.
“Does Emma know about me?”
Travis did not answer.
That was an answer.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Does she know?”
“Yes.”
“About the baby?”
“Yes.”
Her hand tightened over her stomach.
Megan looked at Logan.
He was staring at the floor.
She touched his shoulder.
He whispered:
“I didn't know she knew.”
“I know.”
Travis moved toward Vanessa again.
“There has not been a romantic relationship with Rachel in years.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“You kept a second home in your life.”
“I kept a relationship with my daughter.”
“Without telling your wife she existed.”
“Yes.”
“Did you pay support?”
“Yes.”
“Officially?”
Travis hesitated.
Megan noticed.
“So there's a legal record.”
“Private mediation.”
Vanessa wiped her face.
“I want it.”
“My lawyer has—”
“Not from you.”
She pointed toward Claire.
“Find me my own lawyer.”
Claire nodded immediately.
Then Megan asked the question nobody had yet asked.
“Was there a paternity test?”
Travis looked at her.
“Yes.”
Diane suddenly sat down.
Megan's eyes narrowed.
“Mom.”
Diane did not look up.
“When did you see it?”
Vanessa turned slowly.
Diane's silence lasted four seconds.
Too long.
Finally:
“Years ago.”
The room became colder.
Vanessa stared at the woman who had spent the afternoon praising her marriage.
“You knew.”
May you like
Diane looked at her.
“Yes.”
