Chapter 2 - Margaret Already KnewDaniel demanded the key.
Margaret refused again.
“This test proves nothing.”
Daniel stared at her.
“What?”
“She could have manipulated it.”
Emily almost laughed.
“Then why are you panicking?”
“I’m not.”
Margaret lunged for the report.
Daniel caught her wrist.
“Stop!”
Everyone froze.
Emily stared at Margaret.
“You already knew.”
“No.”
“The preschool complaint.”
Margaret’s eyes moved.
“The photographs.”
Silence.
“The private investigator.”
Margaret took one step backward.
Emily finally understood.
“This was never about discovering whether Lily was Daniel’s daughter.”
Daniel looked at his mother.
“What is she saying?”
Emily answered for her.
“She wanted you to believe Lily wasn’t yours.”
Daniel stared.
“Why?”
Margaret’s composure cracked.
“Because Emily has changed you.”
“What?”
“You were supposed to run Carter Development.”
“I do.”
“You were talking about selling your shares.”
Daniel went still.
Two months earlier, he had announced he wanted to leave the family company.
He planned to open an architecture and development firm of his own.
Emily supported him.
Margaret considered that betrayal.
“You blamed Emily?”
“She put those ideas in your head.”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I wanted out.”
Margaret pointed toward Lily.
“And then this child came along.”
Daniel looked sick.
“My daughter?”
“You stopped thinking about the family legacy.”
“I started thinking about my own family.”
Margaret’s face twisted.
“That woman is not your family.”
Emily stepped forward.
“I’m your wife.”
Margaret ignored her.
“She isolated you from me.”
Daniel looked toward Lily.
Still chained.
Still crying.
Then something inside him finally overpowered every argument Margaret had planted.
“Key.”
Margaret refused.
Daniel extended his hand.
“Give me the key.”
“Daniel—”
“Now.”
She eventually placed a small brass key in his palm.
He rushed toward Lily.
His hands shook so badly he missed the lock twice.
Click.
The chain fell.
Lily threw herself into him.
“Daddy!”
Daniel caught her.
“I’m sorry.”
He buried his face in her hair.
“I’m so sorry.”
Blue and red lights appeared beyond the trees.
Margaret stared toward the driveway.
“You actually called the police?”
Emily looked at her.
“You restrained a three-year-old.”
“I am her grandmother.”
“That didn’t stop you.”
Two officers approached.
One saw Lily’s red wrists.
The other saw the chain.
“Who restrained the child?”
Nobody spoke.
Then Lily pointed.
“Grandma.”
Margaret closed her eyes.
Daniel held his daughter tighter.
Margaret turned toward him.
“Tell them this is a family matter.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You already made it more than that.”
As officers escorted Margaret away, she shouted:
“Daniel! I’m your mother!”
Daniel looked down at Lily.
Then back at Margaret.
“And she’s my daughter.”
The patrol-car door closed.
Emily expected relief.
Instead, she felt something colder.
Because Margaret had spent money on an investigator.
Contacted Lily’s school.
Collected old photographs.
Fed Daniel suspicions for weeks.
People do not build that much machinery merely because they dislike their daughter-in-law.
May you like
Something else was hidden underneath.
Emily intended to find it.
Related Stories
