Chapter 9: The Truth About Ethan
The silence after the video ended felt heavier than anything before.
Not anger.
Not betrayal.
Fear.
Real fear.
Ethan looked at me.
I knew that look.
The look of someone searching my face for answers.
“Mom.””
I swallowed.
“Yes?””
“What did she mean?””
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.””
But my voice betrayed me.
Because there was something.
A memory.
A moment I had buried so deeply that I convinced myself it no longer mattered.
Ethan noticed.
“You do know something.””
I looked away.
“Mom.””
I closed my eyes.
“I know what she might be talking about.””
Rebecca sat quietly.
Giving us space.
Ethan’s voice softened.
“Tell me.””
I took a breath.
“When you were born…”
I stopped.
The words were harder than I expected.
“Your father and I had problems before you came.””
Ethan listened.
“But we were trying.””
I looked at him.
“When I found out I was pregnant, Marcus was happy.””
A small smile crossed my face.
“He cried.””
Ethan smiled faintly.
“I didn’t know that.””
“I never told you.””
I continued.
“He was there for every appointment.””
My hands tightened.
“Then near the end of my pregnancy, something happened.””
“What?””
I looked down.
“The doctors thought there might be complications.””
Ethan frowned.
“What kind?””
“They weren’t sure.””
I paused.
“And during that time, Marcus became distant.””
Ethan’s face changed.
“Because he thought I was cheating?””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“He thought something else.””
“What?””
I looked at him.
“He questioned whether you were his.””
The words hung there.
Ethan froze.
“What?””
I nodded slowly.
“He was scared.””
“That I wasn’t his?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
I swallowed.
“Because before we found out I was pregnant, we had separated briefly.””
Ethan looked stunned.
“I didn’t know that.””
“I know.””
I touched his hand.
“You didn’t need to.””
“So what happened?””
“I told him the truth.””
“What truth?””
“That you were his.””
My voice broke.
“Because you were.””
Ethan looked away.
For a moment, I saw a little boy again.
A child who had spent his life believing his family was permanent.
Now every piece of that belief was being tested.
Rebecca spoke gently.
“Did Marcus ever get a paternity test?””
I looked at her.
“Yes.””
Ethan looked back.
“He did?””
I nodded.
“After you were born.””
“And?””
“He was your father.””
Silence.
Then Ethan whispered,
“Then why would Chloe say that?””
I looked at the video.
Because suddenly, I understood.
She didn’t need the secret to be true.
She only needed it to hurt.
She knew exactly where to attack.
The things people fear most.
Their identity.
Their family.
Their history.
My phone rang.
Marcus.
I answered.
“What?””
His voice was shaken.
“You saw the video.””
Not a question.
A statement.
“You knew.””
“I knew Chloe would find out eventually.””
I stood.
“You knew?””
“Angela—”
“No.””
My voice rose.
“You knew she was using this?””
“I tried to stop her.””
“When?””
“Recently.””
I laughed.
“Recently?””
Marcus sighed.
“She found old documents.””
“What documents?””
“The hospital records.””
My heart tightened.
“She went through our private records?””
“Yes.””
“And you let her?””
“No.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
Marcus was silent.
Because again.
He had no answer.
Ethan took the phone.
“Dad.””
Marcus immediately softened.
“Ethan.””
“Did you ever doubt I was yours?””
A long pause.
I closed my eyes.
I hated that my son had to ask.
Finally, Marcus answered.
“When I was scared, yes.””
Ethan looked devastated.
“But not after the test?””
“No.””
“Not after I was born?””
“No.””
“Then why does Chloe think this matters?””
Marcus’s voice cracked.
“Because she knows I was ashamed of ever thinking it.””
Ethan looked at me.
I understood.
That was the weapon.
Not the secret.
The shame.
Marcus continued.
“She wanted to hurt your mother.””
“And you?””
“I let her.””
The honesty destroyed him.
Ethan ended the call.
Then he sat down.
Minutes passed.
Finally, he looked at me.
“Mom.””
“Yes?””
“I’m sorry.””
I shook my head.
“For what?””
“For making you prove you were my mother.””
That broke me.
I pulled him into a hug.
And for the first time in days…
I let myself cry.
But our moment didn’t last.
Because later that night, another envelope arrived.
This time, it wasn’t anonymous.
It had a name.
Chloe.
Inside was one final document.
A DNA test.
My hands shook.
Not because I thought it would say Ethan wasn’t my son’s father’s child.
But because I knew Chloe wouldn’t send something unless she believed it could destroy us.
Ethan opened it.
He read the result.
Then he looked at me.
His face was impossible to read.
“Mom…”
“What?””
He slowly turned the paper around.
The test result was not between Ethan and Marcus.
May you like
It was between Ethan…
and me.
