— Don’t start, — he replied.
— No, hear me out, — she leaned forward, eyes gleaming. — Linda deceived you. She didn’t give birth. She brought the child from an orphanage and passed her off as yours. I was the one who told you the truth.
Mike clenched his fists.
— Don’t speak ill of Linda.
— Your saint Linda? Please. Would a saint pass off someone else’s child as her own?
At that moment Lily shuffled into the room, clutching her old teddy bear. Mike took it and felt something hard inside. He carefully cut the seam and found a small metal box engraved “For a promise.”
Inside was an envelope addressed in a familiar hand: “If you’re reading this, I had to leave. I’m sorry. — Linda.”
He unfolded the letter.
“Mike, you deserve the truth. Lily is not our biological child. I lost my baby late in pregnancy. The same day a newborn came to the hospital. I took her home because I couldn’t stand the thought of being childless. I lied because I was afraid you’d leave me. I loved Lily as my own.
There’s more. The little girl has family. Mary is her aunt. She showed up at the hospital too late. I later found her and asked her to take a job here so Lily could be close to her blood family without losing what we had. If the truth comes out, please don’t push Mary away. Protect them both. — Linda.”
The letter slipped from Mike’s hand. It all made sense. Linda had saved the child and hid the truth. Mary was the aunt. Eleanor had known and weaponized the secret.
— So that’s it, — Eleanor said smugly. — Now you know.
Mike looked at her with a steady calm.
— I know enough. You won’t be near my daughter anymore.
Eleanor rose up, furious.
