Chapter 3: The Lie Buried in My Family
I didn't understand what I'd heard.
For several seconds, I simply stood there.
Richard was Noah's father?
Impossible.
Noah was my biological son. I'd been there when he was born. I'd held him against my chest while Emily cried with exhaustion and happiness.
I'd cut the umbilical cord.
I'd watched the nurse place the hospital bracelet around his tiny wrist.
I knew what I knew.
“Emily,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady.
“What did you just say?””
“Richard.””
“No. That's impossible.””
“Ethan, please listen.””
Sergeant Collins signaled to his partner to continue working on the metal door.
I stepped closer.
“Tell me what happened.””
Emily took a shaky breath.
“Before Noah was born, your mother found out something about Richard.””
“What?””
“He had been stealing money from your grandfather's company.””
I frowned.
Richard had been my grandfather's accountant before becoming the family's attorney. He'd handled the estate after his death.
Emily continued.
“Your mother discovered that he'd transferred money into an account under her name. She confronted him. He told her he'd destroy everything if she exposed him.””
I stared at the metal door.
“What does that have to do with Noah?””
“Richard had been involved with your mother for years.””
My stomach turned.
“Stop.””
“Ethan—”
“Stop. You're telling me my mother was having an affair with Richard?””
“Yes.””
I stepped backward.
The image of my mother smiling beside him at my wedding flashed through my mind.
I remembered her telling me that Richard was practically family.
I remembered how she'd insisted he handle Emily's disappearance.
I remembered the way she'd cried at the funeral service we held without a body.
“Why would she do this?””
“Because she was afraid.””
“Afraid of what?””
Emily's voice cracked.
“Richard told her he would expose everything. He threatened to reveal that Noah might be his child.””
I shook my head.
“But I'm his father.””
“I know.””
“Then why would he say that?””
“Because he wanted to hurt you.””
She paused.
“Ethan, there was something else.””
I closed my eyes.
I was afraid to ask.
“What?””
“When Noah was born, I found a letter in your mother's desk.””
“What letter?””
“A hospital report. It said the samples from a private paternity test had been collected before Noah's birth.””
My hands went numb.
“Paternity test?””
“Yes. Your mother had arranged it without telling you.””
I looked at Sergeant Collins.
He was listening now.
“Did the report say Richard was the father?””
“No. It said the result was inconclusive.””
“Then why would she—”
“Because Richard convinced her the test had been altered. He told her Noah was his.””
A sick feeling settled in my stomach.
“Emily, why didn't you tell me?””
“I tried.””
“When?””
“The night I disappeared.””
I stared at the floor.
The night Emily disappeared.
A rainy Thursday.
I remembered it clearly.
I'd returned from a business trip shortly after nine. Emily had been standing in the kitchen, holding a folder.
She looked frightened.
She told me she needed to talk.
I told her I was exhausted and promised we'd talk in the morning.
By morning, she was gone.
I had spent three years blaming myself for not listening.
“Did Claire know?”” I asked.
Emily didn't answer.
“Emily?””
“Yes.””
My heart sank.
“How?””
“She came to visit me.””
I felt sick.
“Claire visited you?””
“Before we were married.””
“That's impossible. You disappeared three years ago. I met Claire eighteen months ago.””
“She visited the cellar while you were dating.””
I couldn't breathe.
“She knew you were here?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't she tell me?””
Emily began crying.
“Because she was the one who brought the food.””
I gripped the wall.
For a moment, the cellar seemed to spin around me.
Claire.
The woman who had held Noah during his nightmares.
The woman who kissed his forehead every morning.
The woman who called herself his mother.
She had known.
She had known Emily was alive.
And she had married me anyway.
“Why?”” I whispered.
Emily's answer was devastating.
“She wanted to become the only mother Noah remembered.””
I closed my eyes.
I remembered Claire asking me to put away Emily's photographs.
I remembered her suggesting that we move to another town.
I remembered the day she told me Noah should stop calling Emily "Mommy" because he was too young to understand.
I had thought she was trying to help him adjust.
Now every memory looked different.
The sound of metal scraping interrupted my thoughts.
The specialist team had arrived.
Two technicians were working on the door while Sergeant Collins spoke into his radio.
Then my phone rang.
Claire.
I stared at the screen.
Sergeant Collins motioned for me to answer and put it on speaker.
“Hello?””
Her voice sounded breathless.
“Ethan, where are you?””
“Where are you?””
“I'm with your mother.””
“Put her on the phone.””
“She's upset. We need to talk.””
“About Emily?””
Silence.
Then Claire sighed.
“Oh, Ethan.””
Her voice had changed.
The warmth was gone.
The softness I'd mistaken for kindness had disappeared.
“You should never have opened that cellar.””
“She's alive.””
“I know.””
The two words hit harder than anything else she'd said.
I closed my eyes.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“For how long?””
“Long enough.””
I felt something inside me break.
“Why did you marry me?””
“Because you needed someone.””
“I needed someone?””
“You were falling apart, Ethan. You couldn't sleep. You couldn't take care of yourself. You were obsessed with a woman who had abandoned you.””
“She didn't abandon me!””
Claire's voice sharpened.
“Then why did she disappear?””
“Because you and my mother locked her underground!””
A long pause.
Then Claire laughed softly.
“Do you really think you're going to believe everything she tells you?””
“I'm looking at the door she's been trapped behind for three years.””
“She's unstable.””
“She knew Noah's name.””
“Of course she did. She's his mother.””
My jaw tightened.
“Then why did you tell me she was gone?””
Claire exhaled.
“Because she was supposed to stay gone.””
Sergeant Collins raised his hand, signaling me to keep her talking.
I swallowed.
“Claire, come back.””
“Why?””
“Because I want to hear the truth.””
Another silence.
Then she said:
“You want the truth? Fine. Your mother made a mistake.
I was supposed to help her fix it. But you were never supposed to find that cellar.””
“Where's Richard?””
“Ethan—”
“Where is he?””
A man's voice came through the phone.
“Give me that.””
Richard.
Then the call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Sergeant Collins immediately radioed the dispatch team.
“We have an admission of knowledge regarding an unlawful confinement. Locate the suspects and secure the property.””
A loud metallic crack echoed through the cellar.
The door finally gave way.
Two officers pulled it open.
A small room appeared behind it.
There was a narrow bed.
A metal sink.
A battered wooden table.
And on the floor, curled beneath a thin blanket, was a woman with pale skin and tangled brown hair.
Emily.
She lifted her head.
Her eyes found mine.
For three years, I'd imagined this moment.
I'd imagined running into her arms.
I'd imagined asking a thousand questions.
But when I finally saw her, all I could say was:
“I'm sorry.””
She began to cry.
May you like
And then she asked the one question I wasn't prepared to answer.
“Ethan... did you let Claire adopt Noah?””
