Chapter 7: He Was There When I Gave Birth
I couldn't stop staring at Tyler.
He looked as though someone had pulled the floor out from under him.
"Tell me what that letter means," I said.
He shook his head.
"Emily, I don't know what she's talking about.""
"Your mother says you were at the hospital.""
"I wasn't.""
"Then why are you afraid?""
"I'm not afraid.""
His voice cracked.
Michael placed the letter on the table.
"Tyler, the company has already obtained records concerning your travel movements during that period.""
Tyler turned toward him.
"That has nothing to do with my family.""
"Actually, it does.""
Michael tapped his tablet.
"According to the records, you left the Ocean Majesty during a scheduled port stop in Fort Lauderdale. You checked into a hotel under your own name.""
I felt dizzy.
"Which date?""
Michael looked at me.
"The night of September fourteenth.""
The night Piper and Poppy were born.
I remembered every minute.
The contractions.
The ambulance.
The nurses.
The fear.
I'd called Tyler seventeen times.
He hadn't answered.
At 2:13 a.m., I'd finally received a message.
*I'm sorry, sweetheart. We're dealing with an emergency aboard the ship. I love you. Please tell the girls Daddy loves them.*
I had read it while lying in a hospital bed.
I'd cried because I thought my husband was trapped hundreds of miles away.
Now Michael was telling me he'd been less than an hour away.
I turned toward Tyler.
"Where were you?""
He looked down.
"Emily—"
"Where were you?""
He rubbed his forehead.
"I was in Florida.""
I stepped backward.
"At the hospital?""
"No.""
"Then why were you there?""
He remained silent.
Michael answered.
"Because he was meeting someone.""
Tyler shot him a furious look.
"Shut up.""
Michael continued.
"Someone whose name appears in the financial records.""
I felt my heart pounding.
"Who?""
A voice came from the doorway.
"Me.""
Everyone turned.
A woman stood there.
She was in her early forties, wearing a simple black blouse and carrying a leather handbag.
I didn't recognize her.
She looked at Tyler with a mixture of anger and exhaustion.
"My name is Lauren Parker.""
The woman from the photograph.
Tyler's other relationship.
The mother of the little girl.
He stared at her.
"Why are you here?""
Lauren walked into the room.
"Because I'm tired of protecting you.""
She looked at me.
"I'm sorry, Emily.""
I couldn't speak.
Lauren continued.
"Tyler told me he was separated. He said his wife had moved out of the marital bedroom and that the divorce was already being discussed.""
I shook my head.
"I was seven months pregnant.""
"I know that now.""
She looked down.
"He told me you knew about me.""
I felt sick.
"What?""
"He said you had agreed to an open marriage.""
I stared at Tyler.
He closed his eyes.
Lauren turned toward him.
"Tell her the rest.""
Tyler didn't move.
Lauren opened her handbag.
She removed a small photograph.
It showed her daughter standing beside Tyler.
The little girl was wearing a pink cardigan.
"Her name is Lily," Lauren said.
"She's two years old.""
I looked at the child.
"Is she his?""
Lauren nodded.
"Yes.""
The room became completely silent.
Tyler finally spoke.
"Lauren, don't.""
She laughed sadly.
"You've been telling me not to talk for two years.""
I turned toward him.
"Two years?""
He rubbed his face.
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this.""
I felt something break inside me.
"You had a child with another woman before our daughters were born?""
He looked at the floor.
Lauren answered.
"Yes.""
I lowered myself into a chair.
My hands were trembling.
I had thought the betrayal began when he boarded the Ocean Majesty.
It hadn't.
He'd been living another life while I was planning our wedding anniversary.
While I was painting the nursery.
While I was choosing names for our daughters.
While I was lying beside him every night, believing I was building a family with someone who wanted the same things.
"Did you know about Lily?"" I asked.
Lauren shook her head.
"No. I thought he was a single father who had been abandoned by his previous partner.""
She looked at Tyler.
"He told me his first marriage ended before he met me.""
I closed my eyes.
Tyler had managed to create an entirely different version of himself for every woman.
To me, he was a devoted husband.
To Lauren, he was a single father.
To Vanessa, he was a man trapped in an unhappy marriage.
And to the cruise company, he was a respected manager with a hardworking family waiting at home.
I opened my eyes.
"Why did your mother know?""
Lauren hesitated.
"Because Margaret helped me.""
Tyler's head snapped up.
"What?""
Lauren continued.
"After Lily was born, Margaret contacted me. She told me she knew Tyler was the father. She said she wanted to make sure Lily was provided for.""
I stared at her.
"She knew about your daughter?""
Lauren nodded.
"She arranged monthly payments. She also helped me get medical coverage through a private policy.""
Michael looked concerned.
"Did those payments come through the company?""
Lauren nodded.
"I believe so.""
Tyler stepped forward.
"You're twisting everything.""
Lauren pulled out her phone.
"I have the messages.""
She placed it on the table.
There were dozens.
Some were between her and Margaret.
Others were between her and Tyler.
One message caught my attention.
It had been sent by Margaret six weeks before she died.
*I know my son is making another mistake. Please keep the little girl away from his business affairs. He has already put enough people at risk.*
I looked up.
"Another mistake?""
Lauren nodded.
"Margaret was worried Tyler was using company money to support his relationships.""
Michael leaned forward.
"Did she ever explain how she discovered it?""
Lauren scrolled through her messages.
"She said she found discrepancies in the old payroll system. She wanted Tyler to repay the money before the company discovered it.""
"Did he?""
"No.""
Tyler finally lost his temper.
"Enough! You're all acting like I'm some criminal!""
Michael's expression hardened.
"Your financial records are under investigation.""
"I didn't steal anything.""
"Then you'll have no problem explaining the transfers.""
Tyler turned toward me.
"Emily, please. We can talk about this privately.""
I looked at him.
"Why?""
"Because we're married.""
I slowly stood.
"That word doesn't mean what you think it means.""
He reached for my hand.
I moved away.
"Don't touch me.""
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Lauren quietly said something that made the entire situation even worse.
"There's one more thing.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
She opened a message dated three days before Margaret died.
It contained a photograph of a handwritten document.
At the top were the words:
*Final Instructions Regarding the Mitchell Family Trust.*
Lauren zoomed in.
Beneath the heading was my name.
Emily Mitchell.
And beside it was a figure.
$1,250,000.
I stared at the screen.
"What is that?""
Michael leaned closer.
His eyes widened.
"That's Margaret's estate trust.""
Tyler suddenly lunged toward the phone.
"Give me that!""
Michael stepped between them.
Lauren pulled the phone away.
"She left something for Emily," she whispered.
Tyler's face turned pale.
May you like
And for the first time that day, I realized he might have been trying to destroy my marriage for a reason much bigger than an affair.
He might have been trying to prevent me from discovering what his mother had left behind.
