Chapter 3 - The Secret I Was Never Supposed To Find
Ethan stared at the photograph on Emma’s phone.
His fingers went cold.
The image showed Emma sitting in a hospital room.
She was holding a tiny baby wrapped in a white blanket.
Their son.
The date in the corner of the photo was clear.
Three weeks earlier.
The same night Ethan had told Emma he was working late.
The same night he had been with Lauren.
His eyes moved back to Emma.
"What is this?"
Emma didn’t answer immediately.
She turned her phone back toward herself and locked the screen.
That scared him more than the picture.
Because Emma was not surprised.
She was not confused.
She looked like someone who had already been carrying a secret for a long time.
"Emma."
Her eyes met his.
"Did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That I gave birth."
The question hit him harder than he expected.
Because suddenly he realized something.
He had missed it.
Not just the birth.
Everything.
The appointments.
The pain.
The fear.
The first moment their son opened his eyes.
He had missed the biggest moment of their lives because he was too busy chasing another one.
"Ethan, answer me."
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Emma looked away.
"That's what I thought."
He sat down slowly.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
The second he asked the question, he regretted it.
Because Emma looked at him differently.
Not with anger.
With disappointment.
"You really want to know?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
She took a deep breath.
"Because I didn't know if you wanted to be his father."
The words stayed between them.
Ethan looked hurt.
"How could you think that?"
Emma gave a small, painful smile.
"Because you spent the last six months proving it."
He looked down.
He wanted to argue.
He wanted to tell her she was wrong.
But every memory that came back proved she wasn't.
The nights she waited alone.
The doctor appointments he canceled.
The moments he chose his phone over her.
The excuses.
The distance.
The other woman.
"I was scared," Emma whispered.
That made him look up.
"Scared of what?"
"That one day our son would look at you the way I looked at you."
Ethan felt his chest tighten.
"Emma..."
"I didn't want him to grow up thinking love meant waiting for someone who had already left."
He had no answer.
Because there was no defense against that.
The waitress walked by their table.
Neither of them touched their drinks.
The world continued around them.
People laughed.
People talked.
A couple nearby held hands.
And Ethan felt like his entire life had stopped.
"Who sent you that photo?" he asked.
Emma looked at the folder.
"The same person who sent me the information."
"What information?"
She pushed the folder toward him again.
"You should read everything."
He opened it.
The first page was a hospital record.
His name was listed as the father.
His son's name was there.
But something else caught his attention.
A handwritten note attached to the bottom.
"Father notified?"
The box next to it was empty.
Ethan frowned.
"Why is this blank?"
Emma looked at him.
"Because you were never called."
He stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because I asked them not to."
The answer shocked him.
"You didn't want me there?"
Emma looked down.
"I wanted you there more than anything."
Her voice became softer.
"But wanting someone beside you doesn't mean they will choose to stay."
Ethan closed his eyes.
The guilt was becoming unbearable.
"Then who helped you?"
Emma didn't respond.
That silence bothered him.
"Emma."
She looked toward the window.
"Someone who knew the truth before you did."
"Who?"
Before she could answer, her phone vibrated again.
This time she immediately looked nervous.
Ethan noticed.
"Is it the same number?"
She didn't say anything.
He reached out.
"Emma, let me see."
She moved the phone away.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because this isn't about you anymore."
That sentence hurt.
But it was true.
For years, everything had revolved around Ethan.
His career.
His problems.
His feelings.
His mistakes.
Now, for the first time, Emma was protecting something without asking his permission.
Their son.
"Please."
She looked at him.
"You don't understand what you started."
Ethan froze.
"What does that mean?"
Emma opened her bag.
She pulled out another envelope.
Smaller.
Older.
The paper looked worn.
"This arrived two days after I left."
She placed it on the table.
Ethan didn't touch it.
"From who?"
Emma shook her head.
"I don't know."
"Then why keep it?"
"Because it had your name on it."
His expression changed.
"My name?"
She nodded.
"Ethan Carter."
Slowly, he picked up the envelope.
His name was written across the front.
But the handwriting wasn't Emma's.
He opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
Not of Emma.
Not of their son.
Of him.
Ethan stared.
The picture showed him leaving a restaurant.
With Lauren.
His heart dropped.
Because he knew exactly when it was taken.
The night he told Emma he was working late.
But there was something else.
Written on the back.
A sentence.
"You don't know who she is."
Ethan looked at Emma.
"What does this mean?"
"I don't know."
"Then why didn't you show me?"
"Because I thought it was a warning."
"About Lauren?"
Emma hesitated.
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
She looked frightened.
"No, Ethan. That's the problem."
"What problem?"
"The person who sent this knew everything."
The room became silent.
"The day we met."
"The day you started seeing her."
"The day I gave birth."
Ethan felt a chill.
"How?"
Emma looked down.
"Because whoever sent it has been watching us."
His phone suddenly rang.
Both of them looked at it.
Unknown number.
Ethan stared at the screen.
Emma whispered:
"Don't answer."
He looked at her.
"Why?"
Her face had gone pale.
"Because the last time someone called me from that number..."
She stopped.
"What happened?"
Emma didn't respond.
The phone continued ringing.
Finally, Ethan answered.
"Hello?"
Silence.
No voice.
Just breathing.
Then a woman's voice.
Quiet.
Shaking.
"Ethan?"
His entire body froze.
Because he recognized that voice.
It was impossible.
It couldn't be her.
"Who is this?"
A pause.
Then the woman whispered:
"Please don't let Emma find out the truth about our baby."
Ethan stood up.
The phone almost slipped from his hand.
Emma watched his face change.
"Who is it?"
He couldn't answer.
Because the voice on the other end said one more sentence.
A sentence that made every lie he had ever believed collapse.
"Ethan... I'm sorry, but the child Emma gave birth to is not the only baby connected to that night."
The call ended.
And on the table, beneath the photograph, a second message appeared from the unknown number.
A name.
May you like
A name Ethan had never expected to see again.
Lauren.
