My Wife Took A Phone Call During Dinner And Forgot I Speak Spanish
Chapter 2
Daniel barely slept.
At 6:12 the next morning, he heard Sophia leave the bedroom.
He opened his eyes.
She was standing near the closet, dressed for work.
“You’re awake.”
“Barely.”
She smiled.
“I have to go early.”
“Another meeting?”
“Yes.”
Daniel watched her.
“You seem busy.”
Sophia smiled.
“Quarter-end.”
Then she kissed his cheek.
“See you tonight.”
She left.
Daniel waited five minutes.
Then he followed.
He didn’t take the car.
He watched from the window.
Sophia drove toward downtown.
Daniel grabbed his jacket.
Something inside him told him not to ignore this.
He took a taxi.
Sophia stopped outside a small apartment building.
Daniel watched from across the street.
She entered.
Twenty minutes later, she came out holding a young girl’s hand.
Daniel froze.
The girl looked about six years old.
Dark curly hair.
Brown eyes.
A red backpack.
Sophia bent down and kissed her forehead.
Then the child smiled.
“Mom, are you coming tonight?”
Sophia looked around before answering.
“Yes.”
Daniel felt like the ground had disappeared beneath him.
Mom.
The girl had called Sophia Mom.
He took a photograph from a distance.
Then Sophia hugged the child and walked away.
Daniel remained across the street.
He couldn’t breathe.
He called his best friend, Marcus.
Marcus answered.
“It’s early.”
“I need a favor.”
“What happened?”
“I need you to look someone up.”
“Who?”
“Mia Alvarez.”
Marcus paused.
“You know her?”
“No.”
“Then why—”
“Just do it.”
Marcus agreed.
Daniel returned home.
He felt numb.
The woman he had married had a child.
A child he had never known about.
But the worst part wasn’t the child.
It was the six years of payments.
Who had been paying $4,500 every month?
And why?
At noon, Marcus called.
“I found her.”
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
“Who is she?”
“She owns a small private school.”
“A school?”
“Yes.”
“She has a daughter?”
“Several.”
“What’s her connection to Sophia?”
Marcus hesitated.
“That part gets weird.”
“What?”
“Mia’s legal surname used to be Bennett.”
Daniel frowned.
“That means nothing.”
“Maybe.”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“But she was married to a man named Victor Alvarez.”
Daniel remembered the name.
Victor Alvarez had been Sophia’s former business partner.
The man who had disappeared from her life seven years earlier.
Daniel asked:
“Is Victor alive?”
“No.”
“When did he die?”
“Six years ago.”
Daniel went silent.
Six years.
The exact month Sophia’s secret payments began.
Marcus continued.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Victor left behind a daughter.”
Daniel’s heart pounded.
“What was her name?”
Marcus said:
“Isabella Alvarez.”
Daniel’s throat tightened.
The little girl.
Isabella.
He had seen Sophia with her.
Marcus continued.
“Her mother is Mia.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then why was Sophia with her?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel ended the call.
He stared at the wall.
Maybe there was an explanation.
Maybe Sophia was helping a friend.
Maybe the child had misunderstood.
But then Daniel remembered the call.
And the words:
What about the child?
He still thinks she’s his.
Daniel suddenly understood.
Someone had been hiding a child from someone.
But who?
He needed answers.
That evening, Sophia came home smiling.
She kissed him.
“How was your day?”
“Normal.”
“Good.”
She went upstairs.
Daniel followed.
“Do you remember the Spanish restaurant where we had our anniversary?”
Sophia looked surprised.
“Of course.”
“Do you remember Victor?”
Her face changed.
Only slightly.
But Daniel noticed.
“Why are you asking?”
“Just curious.”
She smiled.
“That’s strange.”
“Is it?”
Sophia laughed.
“Very.”
Daniel stared at her.
Then his phone buzzed.
A message from Marcus.
I found the birth certificate.
Daniel opened it.
Father: Victor Alvarez.
Mother: Mia Alvarez.
Daniel frowned.
Then he saw another document.
A legal guardianship form.
Sophia Brooks listed as emergency guardian.
Daniel read the date.
Six years ago.
The same month Victor died.
He looked up.
Sophia was watching him from the doorway.
“You seem distracted.”
Daniel locked his phone.
“I’m tired.”
She smiled.
“Come to bed.”
He followed her upstairs.
But that night, while Sophia slept beside him, Daniel kept thinking about the little girl.
Why had Sophia hidden her?
Why had she been making payments?
And why had someone said:
He still thinks she’s his?
Daniel had a terrifying thought.
Maybe the child wasn’t Sophia’s secret.
Maybe she was someone else’s.
