Chapter 6 - THE DAUGHTER WHO HAD BEEN KEEPING HIS SECRET
Emma came home from college on Friday afternoon.
She didn't tell Daniel she was coming.
Instead, she drove straight to my sister's house, where I had been staying for several days while Rebecca helped us establish temporary arrangements.
When I opened the door, Emma looked exhausted.
Her eyes were red.
Her shoulders were tense.
And the moment she saw me, she began crying.
I pulled her into my arms.
“Sweetheart, what's wrong?”
She shook her head.
“Mom, I should have told you sooner.”
My chest tightened.
“About what?”
She followed me into the kitchen and sat down.
Then she opened her phone.
There were messages from Daniel.
Dozens of them.
Some were ordinary.
Questions about classes.
Reminders to drive carefully.
Photographs of the family dog.
But four months earlier, the tone had changed.
One message read:
Emma, if you hear anything about Rachel, please remember that your mother and I have been having problems for a long time.
Another:
Sometimes adults stay married for the sake of their children even when the relationship has ended emotionally.
Then came the message that made my stomach drop.
Whatever happens, I need you to understand that your mother is going to be very upset. I hope you'll help her accept the situation.
I stared at the screen.
Daniel hadn't merely been preparing to leave me.
He had been preparing our daughter to take his side.
“Mom, I didn't know he had another child,” Emma whispered.
“I know.”
“He kept saying you two were unhappy. He made it sound like you already knew the marriage was ending.”
I took her hand.
“Emma, you are not responsible for anything that happened between your father and me.”
She began crying harder.
“He told me he didn't want you to be alone.”
I felt a sharp ache in my chest.
“Then he should have been honest with me.”
Emma nodded.
Then she showed me another message.
It had been sent the day she called me from Easton.
Please don't tell your mother what you saw until I have a chance to explain.
I closed my eyes.
Daniel had asked our daughter to carry the secret of his second family.
For four days, Emma had struggled with the fear of hurting me and the guilt of withholding the truth.
No wonder she looked exhausted at breakfast.
“I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything immediately,” she whispered.
I pulled her close.
“You told me when you were ready. You never should have been put in that position.”
Then Emma said something that surprised me.
“I don't know if I want to see Dad right now.”
“That is your decision.”
“He keeps calling.”
“You can tell him you need time.”
She looked relieved.
I realized that, for months, Daniel had been making Emma feel responsible for managing the emotional consequences of his choices.
I wouldn't do the same.
That evening, Daniel called me.
He wanted to know why Emma wasn't answering his messages.
I told him she needed space.
He became angry.
“She's my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“You can't keep her from me.”
“Emma is twenty-one. She decides when she's ready to speak with you.”
He went silent.
Then he said:
“You've turned her against me.”
I looked toward the living room.
Emma was curled up on the couch watching a movie with my sister.
For the first time in days, she looked comfortable.
“No, Daniel. You asked her to keep a secret that no child should have to carry for a parent.”
He didn't answer.
I ended the call.
Then Rebecca sent me a preliminary update about Hawthorne Commons.
The independent review had identified communications suggesting Daniel used confidential Westbridge information while negotiating the property for Easton Property Partners.
But the most troubling document wasn't about the property.
It was a letter Daniel had sent to a lender.
The letter described Easton Property Partners as a family investment venture supported by Claire Whitman and Emma Whitman.
I stared at the screen.
Daniel wasn't merely using my name.
May you like
He was using our daughter's name too.
And according to the attached ownership proposal, he intended to transfer part of Emma's college investment account into the project.
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