Chapter 5: The Question He Had No Right to Ask
For a moment, I couldn't move.
I could hear the terminal announcements.
The footsteps of passing passengers.
The distant rumble of an airplane outside.
But Tyler's words kept repeating in my head.
One of the girls might not be mine.
I stared at him.
"Say that again.""
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Emily, I don't want to hurt you.""
I laughed.
It came out sharper than I expected.
"You've just accused me of having another man's child, and you're worried about hurting me?""
"I'm not accusing you.""
"Then what are you doing?""
He pulled his phone from his pocket.
"I've received information.""
"What information?""
He hesitated.
"Someone sent me messages months ago. They said you were seeing someone while I was away.""
I blinked.
"Who?""
"I don't know.""
"Then why believe them?""
"They sent photographs.""
My stomach tightened.
"What photographs?""
He unlocked his phone.
For a second, I saw a picture of me sitting outside a coffee shop.
I was wearing a gray sweater.
My hair was tied back.
Beside me sat a man.
I recognized him immediately.
Daniel.
My older brother's best friend.
He had helped me carry groceries when I was heavily pregnant. He'd driven me to a prenatal appointment when my car wouldn't start.
The photograph had been taken from across the street.
Tyler zoomed in.
"Who is he?""
"Daniel.""
"Why were you meeting him?""
"Because he helped me when you weren't here.""
Tyler's jaw tightened.
"People don't just help married women for nothing.""
I stared at him.
"Are you serious?""
He scrolled through more photographs.
One showed Daniel carrying a grocery bag toward my front door.
Another showed him holding Piper while I prepared a bottle.
The last showed us standing outside the hospital.
Tyler pointed at it.
"That's the day one of the girls was born.""
I looked at him.
"Daniel came to the hospital because you weren't there.""
He shook his head.
"That's convenient.""
I took a step backward.
"Do you hear yourself?""
He lowered his voice.
"I want a DNA test.""
I felt my entire body go cold.
"Why?""
"Because I need to know.""
I looked at him for several seconds.
Then I asked the only question that mattered.
"Which daughter?""
He frowned.
"What?""
"Which one are you questioning?""
He hesitated.
"I don't know.""
I almost laughed again.
"You don't know?""
"Emily, they look similar.""
"They're twins, Tyler.""
"I know that.""
"Then how can you accuse one of them of being someone else's child without even knowing which one?""
He looked frustrated.
"That's why I want the test.""
I shook my head.
"No.""
His eyebrows rose.
"No?""
"You don't get to stand in front of me after five months of lies and demand proof that our daughters belong to you.""
"That's not fair.""
I stared at him.
"Fair?""
My voice rose.
"You missed their birth. You missed their first doctor's appointments. You missed every night I sat awake wondering whether I was doing something wrong because one of them wouldn't stop crying.""
He looked toward the terminal.
"Emily, keep your voice down.""
"No.""
I stepped closer.
"You don't get to tell me to be quiet anymore.""
He flinched.
I continued.
"You had five months to be a husband. Five months to be a father. Five months to tell me the truth. Instead, you spent that time building a second life.""
"Emily—"
"And now you want me to prove something to you?""
He sighed.
"I just need certainty.""
I looked at him.
"Then start with your own life.""
His expression changed.
"What does that mean?""
"It means I want a divorce.""
For the first time, Tyler looked genuinely frightened.
"No.""
"Yes.""
"We have children.""
"Exactly.""
"You're not going to break up our family because I made mistakes.""
I stared at him.
"You broke it when you decided your family was something you could visit between affairs.""
He grabbed my wrist.
Not hard enough to hurt.
But hard enough to stop me from walking away.
"Emily, don't do this.""
I looked down at his hand.
"Let go.""
He released me.
His voice softened.
"Please. Think about the girls.""
I looked toward the conference room.
"I am.""
I returned inside.
Rachel was holding Poppy while Sophie gently rocked Piper's stroller.
Michael stood near the window with his phone.
He turned when I entered.
"Everything okay?""
"No.""
I took a breath.
"Tyler wants a DNA test.""
Michael's expression changed.
Rachel looked furious.
"After everything he did?""
I nodded.
Michael pulled out a chair.
"Emily, you don't have to make any decisions today.""
"I know.""
He placed a business card on the table.
"Our legal department can provide information about the financial investigation. We can also connect you with an independent attorney who handles family matters.""
"Thank you.""
Then Sophie spoke.
"There's something else.""
We all turned toward her.
She looked nervous again.
"I wasn't supposed to tell anyone this, but I think it matters.""
She opened her phone.
"I found a message Tyler sent to Vanessa about the DNA test.""
My heart began beating faster.
"When?""
"About two weeks before he came home.""
She showed me the screenshot.
The message read:
*Once I'm back, I'll make Emily believe one of the babies isn't mine. If she gets scared enough, she'll agree to sign the house and savings over without fighting. I need the money before the company audit starts.*
I read it once.
Then again.
My hands began shaking.
Rachel covered her mouth.
Michael took the phone carefully.
"Where did you get this?""
"Vanessa sent it to me. She was angry because Tyler had promised to leave Emily and marry her.""
I stared at the words.
It wasn't about uncertainty.
It wasn't about paternity.
It was a plan.
A calculated attempt to make me doubt my own marriage, my own children, and my own sanity.
He wanted me frightened.
He wanted me confused.
He wanted me to sign away everything before the financial investigation uncovered what he'd done.
I looked at Piper and Poppy.
They were sleeping peacefully.
They had no idea their father had turned their existence into another weapon.
I reached for my phone.
There was one person I needed to call.
Daniel.
He answered on the second ring.
"Emily? Is everything okay?""
I looked through the glass wall.
Tyler was standing in the hallway.
Watching me.
"Daniel, I need you to come to PortMiami.""
"What happened?""
I swallowed.
"Tyler is accusing me of cheating. He's demanding a DNA test.""
There was a brief silence.
Then Daniel asked a question I wasn't expecting.
"Did he tell you why he suddenly wants one?""
I glanced at Tyler.
"Because someone sent him pictures of us.""
Daniel exhaled.
"Emily, listen carefully. I need you to tell Michael something before Tyler leaves.""
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"What?""
Daniel's voice dropped.
"Those pictures weren't taken by a stranger. I know exactly who sent them.""
I looked at Michael.
"Who?""
Daniel paused.
Then he said a name.
"Tyler's mother.""
My blood ran cold.
May you like
Because Tyler's mother had been dead for eleven months.
And suddenly, I understood that the lies surrounding my marriage had started long before he boarded the Ocean Majesty.
