CHAPTER 2 — The Secret She Carried Alone
CHAPTER 2 — The Secret She Carried Alone
Claire's lips trembled.
For a long moment, no sound came out.
The breeze swept fallen leaves across the pavement between us, filling the silence that neither of us knew how to break.
Finally, she whispered.
“They're yours.”
The words were so quiet I almost thought I had imagined them.
“My... what?”
She swallowed.
“The twins are your children, Ethan.”
The world tilted beneath my feet.
“No.”
The denial escaped before I could stop it.
“No... that's impossible.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“I knew you'd say that.”
I stepped closer until I was standing directly in front of the bench.
“We divorced fourteen months ago.”
“Yes.”
“These babies can't—”
“They're ten weeks old.”
I froze.
Ten weeks.
I did the math automatically.
Then did it again.
The dates...
The final weeks before our divorce.
The night we had tried, desperately, to save our marriage.
The weekend at the cabin after agreeing to attend counseling.
The last time we had held each other while pretending everything would somehow be okay.
My stomach dropped.
The timing...
Worked.
Every horrifying second of it worked.
I looked down at the babies again.
Now that I allowed myself to truly see them, it was impossible to ignore.
The little boy's jawline.
The girl's tiny dimple resting against her sleeping cheek.
The same blond hair I had as a baby.
The same blue eyes.
My mother's trembling voice broke the silence.
"Ethan..."
She stepped closer to the stroller bag beside Claire and looked at the infants.
"They look exactly like you did."
Claire looked away.
"I never wanted you to find out like this."
Anger exploded through me.
"You never wanted me to find out?"
My voice echoed across the quiet corner of the park.
"You hid my children from me!"
Several people walking nearby glanced in our direction.
Claire instinctively pulled both babies closer.
"Please don't yell."
"Don't yell?" I laughed bitterly. "You disappeared! You signed divorce papers without explaining anything! Then you vanish for a year carrying my children?"
"I was trying to protect you."
The sentence only fueled my rage.
"Protect me from being a father?"
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"From them."
I blinked.
"Them?"
Claire's face turned pale.
Before she could answer, one of the babies began crying.
The little boy's cries quickly woke his sister.
Within seconds both infants were screaming.
Claire immediately picked up one while gently rocking the other with her foot.
She moved with practiced exhaustion.
One arm.
One bottle.
One shoulder.
One tired smile.
Everything about her revealed someone who had done this completely alone.
Day after day.
Night after night.
My anger hesitated.
Only for a moment.
"You still haven't answered me."
She looked at me with bloodshot eyes.
"I found out I was pregnant three days after the divorce was finalized."
The words landed like stones.
"I called you."
"I never got a call."
"I called seven times."
She reached into her worn handbag.
The zipper barely worked.
Inside was an old phone with a cracked screen.
She unlocked it and handed it to me.
Every call was there.
Seven outgoing calls.
My old number.
Every one marked unanswered.
Then several text messages.
Ethan... please call me.
It's important.
Please.
I have to tell you something.
I stared.
"I never received these."
"I know."
"You think I'm lying?"
She shook her head.
"I think someone made sure you never saw them."
A cold feeling crawled across my spine.
Someone?
Who?
My mother suddenly spoke.
"Ethan..."
She looked strangely uncomfortable.
"There... might be an explanation."
I turned toward her.
"What do you mean?"
She hesitated.
Then looked at Claire.
Claire slowly lowered her eyes.
She already knew.
My pulse quickened.
"Mom?"
Margaret clasped her hands together.
"When you were going through the divorce..."
She couldn't finish.
"What?"
"I... changed your phone number."
I stared at her.
"You what?"
"You were falling apart."
"You said you wanted to forget everything."
"So I asked Daniel from your office to transfer your business contacts to a new number."
I felt my heart pounding harder.
"You changed my number without telling Claire?"
Margaret nodded slowly.
"I thought... it would help you move on."
Claire quietly added,
"I kept calling the old number because it was the only one I had."
I couldn't breathe.
Every missed call.
Every unanswered message.
Every desperate attempt...
Never reached me.
Not because Claire stopped trying.
Because someone had unknowingly erased every path back to me.
I looked at my mother.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I thought I was helping."
The anger inside me shifted.
It no longer had a target.
Only confusion.
Pain.
Regret.
I looked back at Claire.
"If you couldn't reach me..."
"...why didn't you come to my office?"
"I did."
"What?"
"Twice."
"I wasn't there."
"I know."
She gave a sad smile.
"Your assistant told me you were in New York meeting investors."
I remembered those trips.
Back-to-back meetings.
Weeks away from Cleveland.
"I left letters."
"I never got any letters."
"They said they'd give them to you."
A chill spread through my entire body.
Someone had intercepted every message.
Every attempt.
Every chance we had to fix this.
Someone had made sure we stayed apart.
But why?
Before I could ask another question, a black luxury SUV rolled slowly to the curb beside the park.
The engine stopped.
The driver's door opened.
A tall man wearing an expensive charcoal suit stepped out.
He looked directly at Claire.
Then at the twins.
His expression darkened.
"There you are."
Claire instantly went pale.
"No..."
She whispered.
"Please..."
The man ignored her plea.
He walked toward us with calm, deliberate steps.
When he stopped only a few feet away, he smiled.
But there wasn't a trace of warmth in it.
"I've been looking everywhere for you."
Then his eyes settled on me.
"So..."
he said coolly.
"You must be Ethan Carter."
The way he spoke my name sent ice through my veins.
May you like
Because somehow...
He already knew exactly who I was.
