Chapter 9 - HELGA KNEW THE PATERNITY WASN’T CERTAIN
Julian demanded an explanation in German.
Helga tried to silence him.
Not because of me.
Because Klaus and Marta were listening.
“What do you mean I wasn't supposed to test?”
Helga’s jaw tightened.
“You don't need certainty.”
Julian stared.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Marta looked equally confused.
Then Helga said:
“Sophie was seeing someone else before you.”
Julian went pale.
“How do you know?”
“She told me.”
My fork paused.
Sophie had told me about the earlier man.
Apparently she had told Helga too.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Helga’s voice dropped.
“Because it didn't matter.”
Julian looked ready to explode.
“Whether the baby is mine doesn't matter?”
Helga leaned closer.
“It matters that Claire believes it is.”
There it was.
I felt ice move through my body.
Julian stared at his mother as if seeing her for the first time.
Helga continued:
“You wanted a child. Claire wanted a child. Sophie was pregnant. There was a way to make this useful.”
Useful.
A baby.
My grief.
Julian’s affair.
All useful.
Klaus finally spoke.
“This is insane.”
Helga snapped at him to stay out of it.
Marta looked horrified.
For once, nobody laughed.
Julian stood.
“Did Sophie tell you who the other man was?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Helga refused.
Then her eyes moved briefly toward me.
I lowered my gaze immediately.
Still pretending.
Dinner ended early.
In the car, Julian barely spoke.
Then he said:
“My mother is unbelievable.”
I looked out the window.
“You seem upset.”
“She interferes in everything.”
For ten years, he had defended exactly that behavior.
Now it hurt him.
Interesting.
“Is something wrong with Sophie?”
He looked at me too quickly.
“No.”
I nodded.
At home, he locked himself in his office.
I drove to a nearby parking lot and called Sophie.
“Helga knew about the other man.”
Silence.
“I told her months ago.”
“Why?”
“She asked whether I was certain.”
“Who was he?”
Sophie hesitated.
“His name is David Klein.”
“Does Julian know him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“They worked together.”
My stomach tightened.
Then Sophie added:
“David isn't some random man.”
“What does that mean?”
“He's Julian's former business partner.”
I stared through the windshield.
Julian’s family had treated Sophie’s baby as his without certainty.
Helga knew another possible father existed.
And the other possible father was a man Julian once worked with closely.
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The story was no longer simply about infidelity.
Someone had been choosing which version of paternity best served the family.
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