“The ones you found eight years ago. The proof.”
“Mike, why would I have eight-year-old emails?”
“I want to see them. I want to see the headers, the dates.”
“I deleted them years ago. Why would I keep something so painful?”
“How convenient.”
“What?”
“I said: how convenient. And the photos?”
“Gone too.”
The evidence had vanished. Stephanie stepped toward him.
“Mike, you’re scaring me. These wild accusations… has seeing that woman made you forget everything we’ve built?”
“What have we built, Stephanie? A life of convenience? A relationship based on a lie?”
“How can you say that?”
“Because I remember how it started. You were there the moment I was most vulnerable. Did you support me, or did you just take advantage of the opening you created?”
Stephanie backed away.
“Mike, if this is what you think of me, maybe we should just end it.”
“Maybe we should.”
She went white.
“You’re serious?”
“Very. I need time to figure out the truth.”
“What about the wedding? It’s in three months.”
“The wedding is off.”
Stephanie was silent for a moment, then her face twisted with anger.
“Fine. But when you find out she’s playing you, don’t come crawling back.”
“I won’t.”
After she left, Mike called his old friend, Dr. Mark Harrison.
“Mark, I need a favor. A DNA test, fast and quiet.”
“What’s going on, Mike?”
“I think I have a daughter.”
“Seriously? That’s huge. Are you sure?”
“About the kid? No. About the people around me? I’m starting to have my doubts.”
An hour later, Mike was back at Hope’s. Daisy greeted him like an old friend.
“Mom’s feeling a little better today,” the girl reported. “She even ate breakfast.”
“That’s good news.”
Hope did look slightly stronger. She had even managed to sit up without as much help.
“I didn’t expect you back so soon.”
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Hope, tell me exactly what happened eight years ago from your perspective.”
She leaned back in the chair. “We were happy. Or I thought we were. You were talking about the future. Then, suddenly, you went cold.”
“When exactly?”
“In March. Right before my birthday. You stopped calling as much. Then in April, you just said it was over.”
“And I didn’t give a reason?”
“You said one thing: ‘I know who you really are.’ That was it. You wouldn’t take my calls after that.”
“And did you know Stephanie then?”
“Sure. She was always around at the office parties. She seemed nice enough, but I never thought…”
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