Chapter 3
Victoria leaves an hour later, her bags packed and her face like thunder.
She doesn't say goodbye to Lily. She doesn't even look at her. That's when I know—she never really loved my daughter. She loved the idea of her. The perfect child to complete her perfect life with Ethan.
As her car pulls out of the driveway, Ethan closes the front door and leans against it, letting out a long, shaky breath.
We stand in silence for a moment, the three of us, in the grand foyer of the house that should have been mine.
Lily breaks the silence first.
"Daddy?" she says, looking between us. "Is that lady coming back?"
Ethan kneels before her, his eyes soft.
"No, sweetheart," he says gently. "She's not coming back."
Lily nods, processing this. Then she turns to me, her head tilted like she's studying a puzzle.
"Where were you?" she asks. "All the kids at school have mommies. I thought mine was in heaven."
The words pierce my heart.
I look at Ethan, silently asking for permission. He nods, his eyes glistening with tears.
I sit down on the marble floor, pulling Lily close to me. She stiffens at first, then slowly relaxes against me. Her hair smells like strawberries and sunshine.
"I was far away," I tell her softly. "A very bad woman told me I had to leave. She said if I didn't, something terrible would happen to you. I couldn't let that happen, baby. So I went away to keep you safe."
Lily is quiet for a long time.
"Did you miss me?" she asks finally.
I hold her tighter, tears spilling onto her hair.
"Every single second of every single day," I whisper. "I never stopped thinking about you. Never stopped loving you."
She looks up at me, her small hand reaching to touch my face.
"You look like me," she says, a small smile tugging at her lips.
I laugh through my tears. "That's because you're my daughter. You have my eyes. My smile."
Ethan sits down beside us, his shoulder touching mine.
"Can you tell us what happened?" he asks quietly. "Everything."
I take a deep breath, looking at the two people I love more than anything in the world. This is the part I've dreaded—the part where I have to relive the worst day of my life.
But for them, I'll do it.
I start from the beginning.
"I was working at the café downtown," I say. "You used to come in every morning for your coffee. Black, no sugar. You always smiled at me. Always asked about my day."
Ethan nods, a sad smile on his face. "I remember. I thought you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen."
My heart flutters, just like it did back then.
"We started dating," I continue. "Fell in love. And then... I found out I was pregnant. I was so scared, but so happy. I came to your house to tell you. But Victoria answered the door."
I pause, the memory still sharp after all these years.
"She already knew," I say. "Somehow, she'd found out about us. About the baby. She told me you were just using me. That you'd never leave her. That if I tried to tell you about the baby, she'd make sure I regretted it."
Ethan's jaw tightens. "I never knew any of this. Elena, I would have—"
"I know," I interrupt gently. "I know that now. But back then... she was so convincing. She showed me pictures. Emails she'd forged. Made it look like you knew about me and wanted nothing to do with the baby."
I swallow hard, the next part harder to say.
"Then Lily was born. She was perfect. Tiny, with your nose and my eyes. I tried to contact you again. But Victoria found me. She came to my apartment in the middle of the night."
My voice shakes. Lily squeezes my hand.
"She told me she'd arranged for a car accident," I whisper. "That if I didn't disappear, she'd make sure Lily was taken away and put in a system where I'd never find her. She said she had friends in high places. That she could make it look like I was an unfit mother. Like I was dangerous."
Tears stream down my face.
"She gave me two options. Leave and never come back, or lose Lily forever. I couldn't risk it. I couldn't let my baby be hurt. So I left. I moved to a small town across the country. Changed my name. Lived in fear every day that she'd find me and hurt Lily anyway."
I look at Ethan, my heart breaking all over again.
"She told you I was dead?"
Ethan nods, his own eyes wet. "She showed me a police report. A death certificate. Even took me to a funeral with an empty casket. She said you'd been in a car accident on your way to tell me about the baby. I... I blamed myself for years. Thought if I'd been there, if I'd known..."
His voice breaks.
"I'm so sorry, Elena," he whispers. "I should have known. I should have looked harder. I should have—"
I put my hand on his arm.
"You couldn't have known," I tell him softly. "She was very good at lying. She manipulated both of us."
Lily looks between us, her young face serious.
"So the bad lady is gone now?" she asks.
May you like
I pull her close, kissing the top of her head.
"Yes, baby," I say. "The bad lady is gone. And I'm never leaving you again. Never."
