Chapter 3: The Son Who Denied His Own Daughter
For three seconds, nobody spoke.
Daniel Whitmore stood in the doorway, one hand still resting on the brass handle. He was taller than Emily remembered, or perhaps the distance between them had simply made him seem that way.
His dark hair was neatly styled. His black suit fit perfectly across his shoulders. A luxury watch gleamed beneath his cuff.
He looked like the man Emily had once loved.
He also looked like a stranger.
His gaze moved from Alexander to Melissa.
Then it landed on Emily.
Finally, it dropped to the baby in her arms.
His face went completely still.
“Emily?””
She tried to answer, but her throat had closed.
Instead, she took one step toward him.
“Daniel.””
He looked at Grace again.
“Is that…?””
“Our daughter,” Emily whispered.
“Her name is Grace.””
Daniel's fingers tightened around the door handle.
Alexander closed the door behind him.
“Sit down, Daniel.””
Daniel didn't move.
“What is she doing here?””
Emily flinched as if he had slapped her again.
Alexander's voice became dangerously quiet.
“She came here to speak to you. Your mother struck her in the lobby.””
Daniel's eyes widened.
“Mother did what?””
“Don't pretend to be shocked,” Alexander said.
“You were in this hotel while a woman carrying your child was being humiliated downstairs.””
Daniel looked toward Emily.
“Is it true? Did she really hit you?””
Emily touched her cheek.
“Look at me, Daniel.””
He did.
“I traveled six hours to see you. I spent eight months wondering whether you were dead, whether you hated me, whether I'd done something wrong. I gave birth to your daughter without you beside me.””
Her voice broke.
“And the first thing you ask me is what I'm doing here?””
Daniel's face tightened.
“Emily, I didn't know you were coming.””
“You knew about Grace.””
He stared at her.
“Who told you that?””
“Your mother.””
Daniel let out a frustrated breath.
“My mother doesn't know everything about my life.””
“Then tell me what she got wrong.””
He looked at the baby again.
Grace had stopped crying. Her tiny fingers curled around the edge of her blanket.
Daniel's expression softened for a fraction of a second.
Emily saw it.
She had spent months imagining him holding their daughter, kissing her forehead, and whispering the silly promises new fathers made to their babies.
She moved closer.
“Would you like to hold her?””
Daniel took a step backward.
“No.””
The single word destroyed the fragile hope Emily had been protecting.
She stopped.
“What?””
“I said no.””
“Daniel, she's your daughter.””
“I don't know that.””
Emily stared at him.
“Look at her.””
“I am looking at her.””
“Then how can you say that?””
Daniel rubbed a hand over his face.
“This is not the time or place for this conversation.””
“When is the time? When she's six months old? When she's six years old? When she asks me why her father never wanted to meet her?””
His jaw clenched.
“Stop putting words in my mouth.””
“Then tell me what you want!””
The room fell silent.
Alexander watched Daniel carefully.
Daniel looked toward him.
“Mr. Sterling, with respect, this is a private matter between Emily and me.””
“Then you should have handled it privately before it reached this point.””
“I had no idea she was coming.””
“You've had eight months to find her.””
Daniel's face hardened.
“I didn't know where she was.””
Emily shook her head slowly.
“I never changed my phone number. I never moved away. I was in the same apartment where you left me.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Your apartment was empty when I went there.””
Emily's heart stopped.
“When?””
“About seven months ago. I went back to Boston. I tried to find you.””
She stared at him in disbelief.
“You went to Boston?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you call me?””
“I did call you.””
“No, you didn't.””
Daniel pulled out his phone.
“I called your old number.””
Emily gave a bitter laugh.
“My number hasn't changed.””
He opened his contacts and turned the screen toward her.
The number displayed was missing one digit.
Emily stared at it.
“That isn't my number.””
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“What?””
“You have the wrong number.””
He looked at the screen again.
“Someone gave me this number.””
“Who?””
Daniel hesitated.
Before he could answer, the door opened.
Victoria entered without knocking.
Caroline Ashford followed her, dressed in an elegant ivory gown, a diamond necklace resting against her collarbone.
“Daniel,” Victoria said sharply, “we need to leave. The guests are asking questions.””
Daniel turned toward his mother.
“Did you slap Emily?””
Victoria's face tightened.
“She was causing a scene.””
“That's not what I asked.””
“She insulted our family and refused to leave.””
“She was holding my daughter!””
Victoria glanced at Grace.
“Don't be ridiculous. You don't even know if that child is yours.””
Emily looked at Daniel.
For the first time since he had entered the room, he appeared genuinely angry.
“Mother, stop.””
Victoria raised her eyebrows.
“Excuse me?””
“I said stop.””
Caroline stepped between them.
“Daniel, perhaps everyone should calm down. This is clearly a difficult situation, but we don't need to make it worse.””
Emily turned toward her.
“You knew about me?””
Caroline's smile faltered.
“I'm sorry?””
“You're marrying Daniel next month. Did you know he had a child?””
Caroline looked at Victoria.
That brief glance told Emily more than an answer would have.
“You knew,” Emily whispered.
Caroline lifted her chin.
“I knew Daniel had a complicated past.””
“A complicated past?””
Emily's voice trembled.
“I gave birth three weeks ago.””
Caroline's cheeks flushed.
“Look, I'm not going to argue with you.””
“Then answer my question.””
Victoria stepped forward.
“Emily, this conversation is over.””
Alexander moved between them.
“No. It isn't.””
Victoria stared at him.
“You have no right to interfere in my son's engagement.””
Alexander's expression remained calm.
“Your son's engagement is irrelevant to whether this child deserves an honest answer.””
Caroline's voice sharpened.
“And what exactly do you expect Daniel to do? Abandon everything because a woman arrives with a baby?””
Emily stared at her.
“I'm not asking him to marry me.””
“Then what do you want?””
Emily looked down at Grace.
“I want her father to know she exists. I want him to look at her without treating her like a mistake.””
Daniel's expression changed.
“Emily, I never said she was a mistake.””
“You refused to hold her.””
“I was surprised.””
“You said you didn't know she was yours.””
“Because I didn't!””
His voice rang through the room.
Grace startled and began crying.
Emily immediately rocked her, whispering soothing words.
Daniel looked away.
For several seconds, the only sound was the baby's crying.
Then Alexander spoke.
“Daniel, when did you last speak to Emily?””
“Eight months ago.””
“And why did you stop?””
Daniel's eyes flickered toward his mother.
Emily noticed.
So did Alexander.
Daniel hesitated.
“I was told she wanted to end the relationship.””
Emily shook her head.
“By whom?””
“A message came through my assistant. It said you didn't want to see me again.””
“I never sent that message.””
“I was also told you'd moved out of your apartment.””
“I never moved.””
Daniel's breathing grew uneven.
He looked at Victoria.
“Mother, what did you tell me back then?””
Victoria's expression turned icy.
“I told you what I believed was best for you.””
“That doesn't answer my question.””
“I told you Emily had decided to move on.””
Emily stared at her.
“You lied.””
Victoria's face flushed.
“Be careful.””
“You told Daniel I left him. You told me Daniel didn't want me. You kept us apart.””
“I protected my son from a woman who could destroy his future.””
Daniel took a step toward her.
“Did you change the phone number in my contacts?””
Victoria said nothing.
“Did you send messages pretending to be Emily?””
“Daniel, you are being manipulated.””
“Answer me!””
His mother drew herself up.
“I did what any mother would do to protect her child.””
Daniel looked as though she had struck him.
“I'm thirty-two years old. You don't get to decide who I love.””
Victoria's voice trembled with anger.
“I built your future!””
“You tried to control it.””
“I gave you everything!””
“And you took away the one thing I actually wanted!””
The words hung between them.
Emily looked at Daniel, her heart aching.
For one moment, she saw the man who had once promised to build a family with her.
But then Caroline grabbed his arm.
“Daniel, think carefully about what you're saying. Our wedding is in four weeks. Your family has commitments.””
He gently pulled his arm away.
“My daughter is three weeks old.””
Caroline stared at him.
“And what does that mean for us?””
Daniel looked at her.
“I don't know.””
Her face hardened.
“You cannot be serious.””
“I need time.””
“You need to remember who has stood beside you through all of this.””
Emily lowered her eyes.
She had never wanted to become the reason another woman was humiliated.
But she also refused to let anyone pretend Grace was an inconvenience that could be erased.
Alexander stepped toward Daniel.
“Before anyone makes another decision, I suggest we establish the truth.””
He nodded to Melissa.
She opened her portfolio and placed several printed documents on the table.
“These are records recovered from the Whitmore Group's internal communications system,” she explained.
“The messages Daniel mentioned were sent through an account registered to his executive assistant's office.””
Daniel picked up the papers.
“Who sent them?””
Melissa hesitated.
“We're still confirming the source, but there is evidence that someone accessed both your personal email and Emily's old contact information.””
Victoria's face became dangerously pale.
Alexander noticed.
“Victoria, is there something you would like to tell us?””
“No.””
“Then you won't mind cooperating with the investigation.””
“I will not allow you to investigate my family!””
Alexander's voice remained steady.
“Your family has already brought this into the public eye.””
He pointed toward the documents.
“Until we know what happened, no one will destroy these records or interfere with the people involved.””
Daniel read the first page.
His eyes moved rapidly across the lines.
Then he stopped.
“What's this?””
Melissa leaned forward.
“What did you find?””
Daniel held up the document.
“This message was sent to Emily's email address seven months ago. It says I never loved her and that I want no contact with her or the baby.””
Emily covered her mouth.
“I never received that.””
Daniel turned to the next page.
“This one was sent to me. It says Emily had a miscarriage and didn't want me contacting her.””
The room went silent.
Emily felt her knees weaken.
“A miscarriage?””
Daniel looked at her.
“I thought you had lost the baby.””
“I gave birth to Grace three weeks ago!””
“I know that now.””
“No,” Emily whispered.
“You don't understand what that means. I spent months wondering why you had abandoned us. You spent months believing we were gone.””
Daniel's eyes filled with something like horror.
He looked at his mother.
“Did you know she was pregnant?””
Victoria's silence lasted too long.
Daniel took a step backward.
“Mother?””
Victoria lifted her chin.
“I heard rumors.””
“Rumors?””
“I was told she was using the pregnancy to manipulate you.””
“Who told you that?””
Victoria's eyes darted toward Caroline.
It was quick.
Almost imperceptible.
But Daniel saw it.
So did Emily.
Caroline's face drained of color.
“Why are you looking at me?”” she demanded.
Nobody answered.
Then Alexander's assistant, Melissa, checked her tablet again.
“Mr. Sterling,” she said quietly, “there's another message.””
Alexander turned.
“What message?””
“An email sent to Mrs. Whitmore's private account the night Daniel's contact information was changed.””
Victoria stepped forward.
“That's private.””
Melissa held the tablet close.
“The message includes an instruction to ensure Daniel never learns the child survived.””
Emily's breath caught.
Daniel stared at his mother.
“Survived?””
Victoria said nothing.
Alexander reached for the tablet.
“Who wrote it?””
Melissa looked up.
“The account belongs to someone in this room.””
Every face turned toward her.
She swallowed.
“And the name attached to the account is…”
She stopped.
Because just then, Daniel's phone vibrated.
A new message appeared on the screen.
He read it once.
Then again.
His face turned white.
Emily stepped toward him.
“Daniel? What is it?””
He slowly raised his eyes toward Caroline.
The woman he was supposed to marry in four weeks.
The woman who had just insisted that Emily was trying to destroy their future.
Daniel's voice was barely audible.
“Caroline…”
She backed away.
“What?””
He turned the phone around.
On the screen was a message from an unknown number.
If you want to know who kept you away from your daughter, ask your fiancée what she did the night Emily gave birth.
Caroline stared at the screen.
May you like
Then she whispered the words that made everyone in the room freeze.
“Daniel, please. You have to let me explain.””
