“Because your son is not just Daniel Mercer’s child.”
Daniel closed his eyes briefly.
“He’s mine.”
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Mara continued.
“Mrs. Mercer, before you hear anything else, you need to understand one thing.”
“What?”
“Your husband did not tell you the truth about who he is.”
The words felt like another collision.
I stared at Daniel.
He didn’t deny it.
That hurt more than anything.
“Daniel?”
He swallowed.
“My real name isn’t Daniel Mercer.”
The car became silent.
Even the sound of the road disappeared.
“What?”
“My father changed my identity when I was seven.”
“Why?”
He looked in the mirror at the SUV behind us.
“Because my biological father was supposed to be dead.”
My skin went cold.
“Supposed to be?”
Daniel nodded.
“He wasn’t.”
Mara spoke again.
“His name is Victor Voss.”
The name meant nothing to me.
But the way Daniel reacted told me everything.
“You know him,” I said.
“I know what he did.”
The highway exit appeared ahead.
Daniel suddenly turned.
“What are you doing?”
“Changing direction.”
“The SUV will follow.”
“No.”
He pointed toward a smaller road disappearing into the trees.
“They expect me to run toward safety.”
The confidence in his voice scared me.
Because this wasn’t the first time he had done this.
“You’ve done this before.”
He didn’t answer.
“Daniel.”
His silence broke something inside me.
“You have been preparing for this.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
He took a breath.
“Twenty-four years.”
I stared at him.
Twenty-four years.
Long before he met me.
Long before our wedding.
Long before our son existed.
“You knew this could happen?”
“I knew there was a possibility.”
“And you still married me?”
His face changed.
Pain.
Real pain.
“I married you because I loved you.”
“But you brought this into my life.”
“I tried to leave it behind.”
“You don’t get to decide that alone.”
The words came out harsher than I intended.
But I meant them.
I was exhausted.
Terrified.
Confused.
And holding a newborn child while discovering my husband had spent our entire relationship hiding a war from me.
Mara interrupted.
“Mrs. Mercer.”
I looked at the phone.
“Yes?”
“There is something Daniel has not told you.”
Daniel immediately looked alarmed.
“Mara.”
“No.”
Her voice became firm.
“She deserves to know.”
My heartbeat increased.
“What?”
A long pause.
Then:
“Samuel was not discovered because of his birth.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
