Daniel came to my apartment on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
I knew it was him before I opened the door.<\/p>\n
Through the peephole, I saw the same dark blue jacket from Lily's photographs.<\/p>\n
I didn't move.<\/p>\n
He knocked again.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Carter?\u201d<\/p>\n
I stayed silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you're home.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw you through the window.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped back.<\/p>\n
Noah was in the living room, building a tower from wooden blocks.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay there,\u201d I told him.<\/p>\n
He looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandma?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStay there, sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened the door but kept the chain attached.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked older than he had in Lily's photographs.<\/p>\n
His face was thinner.<\/p>\n
His eyes were tired.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to talk to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLily.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
His gaze shifted toward the apartment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Noah here?\u201d<\/p>\n
My hand tightened around the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't get to ask me that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m his father.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence should have shocked me.<\/p>\n
Instead, it confirmed what I had already suspected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to see my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had eighteen years to tell me who you were.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't know?\u201d<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Not because anything was funny.<\/p>\n
Because the story was too convenient.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came to the hospital the day before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told you that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you talk about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to help her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted her to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeave where?\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn't answer.<\/p>\n
I opened the door wider.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me the truth, Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was scared of someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then said, \u201cYour husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
My entire body went still.<\/p>\n
My husband had died seven years earlier.<\/p>\n
Daniel saw my reaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't mean\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said my husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died seven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel's face changed.<\/p>\n
He looked genuinely confused.<\/p>\n
Then frightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat can't be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
He rubbed both hands over his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told he was still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn't answer.<\/p>\n
Behind me, Noah's blocks fell onto the floor.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked toward the sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's him?\u201d<\/p>\n
I shut the door.<\/p>\n
The chain rattled.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stepped backward.<\/p>\n
Before he turned away, he said, \u201cYour daughter didn't die because of the birth.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened the door again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily was already sick before she went into labor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow would you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo weeks before.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was wrong with her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you say she didn't die because of childbirth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause that's what she told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me exactly what she said.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked toward the stairwell.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said if anything happened to her, you would think the baby killed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would she say that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause someone wanted you to believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn't breathe.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said they were watching her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep saying you don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I don't!\u201d<\/p>\n
He sounded desperate now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was nineteen. I was scared. Lily told me to stay away from her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil she became pregnant?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know she was pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you come to the hospital?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
That stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said, \u2018If you still care about me, come now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I saw Lily sitting at our kitchen table again.<\/p>\n
Her hands around a glass of water.<\/p>\n
Her voice asking me to promise.<\/p>\n
Daniel reached into his pocket.<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He held out a small envelope.<\/p>\n
I didn't take it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA letter Lily gave me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore she went into labor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you give it to me earlier?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked toward the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf the man who was following her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I finally took the envelope.<\/p>\n
Inside was a photograph.<\/p>\n
It showed Lily standing beside a man.<\/p>\n
I recognized the man immediately.<\/p>\n
He had been at the funeral.<\/p>\n
He had stood beside me while I cried.<\/p>\n
His name was Robert.<\/p>\n
Lily's former employer.<\/p>\n
He had always been kind to her.<\/p>\n
At least, I thought he had.<\/p>\n
On the back of the photograph, Lily had written:<\/p>\n
Mom, if you ever find this, ask him why he lied about knowing me.*<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
Daniel remained standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Robert lie?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did Lily photograph him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he wasn't just her employer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel's answer came quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the person she was most afraid of.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to tilt.<\/p>\n
I thought about every time Robert had come to the funeral.<\/p>\n
Every time he had offered to help.<\/p>\n
Every time he had asked how Noah was doing.<\/p>\n
And suddenly, one memory returned.<\/p>\n
The week after Lily died, Robert had brought me a small package.<\/p>\n
He said it had belonged to Lily.<\/p>\n
I had never opened it.<\/p>\n
It was still in my closet.<\/p>\n
I ran there.<\/p>\n
The package was exactly where I had left it.<\/p>\n
Inside was a baby blanket.<\/p>\n
Underneath the blanket was a small key.<\/p>\n
I carried it into the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert gave me the package.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel's face drained of color.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat key\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt opens the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the key.<\/p>\n
The metal case from the storage unit.<\/p>\n
The case Lily had locked before she died.<\/p>\n
I drove back to the storage facility that evening.<\/p>\n
Daniel followed me, but I made him stay outside.<\/p>\n
I unlocked the case.<\/p>\n
Inside was a phone.<\/p>\n
An old phone with a cracked screen.<\/p>\n
A notebook.<\/p>\n
And a sealed envelope bearing my name.<\/p>\n
I opened the notebook first.<\/p>\n
The first pages contained dates.<\/p>\n
Then names.<\/p>\n
Then amounts of money.<\/p>\n
My hands began shaking.<\/p>\n
Lily had been documenting payments.<\/p>\n
Robert's name appeared repeatedly.<\/p>\n
So did another name.<\/p>\n
My husband\u2019s.<\/p>\n
I stared at the page.<\/p>\n
My husband had been dead for seven years.<\/p>\n
Yet beside his name was a date from three months before Lily died.<\/p>\n
And next to it were three words:<\/p>\n
He contacted me.*<\/p>\n
I couldn't understand.<\/p>\n
I turned the page.<\/p>\n
There was another sentence.<\/p>\n
Dad is alive.*<\/p>\n
I dropped the notebook.<\/p>\n
Daniel stepped inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband may not have died seven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at me.<\/p>\n
Then the old phone on the floor suddenly vibrated.<\/p>\n
Neither of us touched it.<\/p>\n
The screen lit up.<\/p>\n
There was one incoming message.<\/p>\n
From an unknown number.<\/p>\n
It contained only six words.<\/p>\n
You should have left Noah alone.*<\/p>\n
Daniel came to my apartment on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. I knew it was him before I opened the door. Through the peephole, I saw the same dark blue jacket … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-one-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=393"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":405,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393\/revisions\/405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}