My Wife Took A Phone Call During Dinner And Forgot I Speak Spanish
Chapter 3
The next morning, Daniel started digging.
He knew it was wrong.
He also knew he couldn’t sleep until he understood what was happening.
He searched every old document from the first year of his marriage.
Insurance forms.
Tax records.
Bank statements.
Medical paperwork.
Everything.
Then he found something.
A life insurance policy.
Sophia had taken one out six months after their wedding.
The beneficiary was not Daniel.
It was Isabella Alvarez.
Daniel stared at the name.
The policy was worth $750,000.
Why would his wife insure another woman’s child?
He opened another document.
A guardianship agreement.
Sophia had agreed to provide financial support for Isabella until she turned eighteen.
Daniel’s hands shook.
There had to be a reason.
He called the attorney listed on the documents.
The lawyer refused to discuss anything.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Brooks. I cannot disclose confidential client information.”
“She is my wife.”
“I understand.”
“Then tell me why my wife is financially responsible for a child I’ve never heard of.”
Silence.
Then the attorney said:
“You need to ask your wife.”
Daniel hung up.
He went to work.
But he couldn’t focus.
At lunch, Marcus arrived.
He put a folder on the table.
“You asked for everything.”
Daniel opened it.
Inside were photos.
Victor Alvarez.
Mia.
Isabella.
Sophia.
Daniel froze.
There were photographs of Sophia and Victor together.
Not romantically.
They looked like business partners.
One photo showed Sophia holding a newborn baby.
Daniel stared.
“When was this?”
“Six years ago.”
The baby was Isabella.
“So Sophia was there when she was born.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Marcus pulled out another document.
“This may answer that.”
It was a court filing.
Six years earlier, Victor had been accused of embezzlement.
He had disappeared two days before his arrest.
Three days later, he died in a car accident.
The case was never fully resolved.
Sophia had testified.
Her testimony helped clear her company.
Daniel frowned.
“Why would she care about his daughter?”
Marcus looked at him.
“There was another case.”
“What?”
“A paternity dispute.”
Daniel felt cold.
“Victor wasn’t Isabella’s biological father.”
“What?”
Marcus handed him a DNA report.
The biological father was listed as unknown.
The mother was Mia.
Daniel stared.
“What does that have to do with Sophia?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Everything.”
Daniel looked up.
“Why?”
“Because the original DNA sample was collected from…”
He stopped.
“From who?”
Marcus looked at him.
“You.”
Daniel’s world stopped.
“What?”
Marcus slid over another document.
A DNA test.
Daniel Brooks.
Probability of paternity: 99.98%.
Daniel dropped the paper.
“No.”
Marcus said nothing.
“The test is six years old.”
Daniel stared.
“I didn’t know Mia.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Maybe you did.”
“No.”
“Then why is your DNA in the file?”
Daniel’s mind raced.
The child.
The payments.
Sophia’s secret.
The phone call.
He still thinks she’s his.
Who did they mean?
Daniel suddenly remembered something.
Six years ago, before his wedding anniversary, Sophia had asked him for a blood sample.
She had said it was for a family medical test.
He had agreed.
He had forgotten about it.
Until now.
His blood had been used for a paternity test.
But why?
Marcus looked at the DNA report again.
“This is dated three weeks after your wedding.”
Daniel stared.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Mia was never in my life.”
Marcus nodded.
“Then someone used your sample.”
Daniel felt sick.
He knew only one person who had access.
Sophia.
He drove home.
The house was empty.
He went straight to Sophia’s office.
He opened the locked drawer she’d never allowed him to touch.
Inside was a second phone.
A passport.
And a photograph.
It showed Sophia standing with Mia.
Between them was Isabella.
On the back, Sophia had written:
I promised Victor she would be safe.
Daniel stared.
Victor.
The dead man.
He opened the phone.
There was no password.
The first message was from an unknown number.
You can’t protect her forever.
Sophia replied:
I can if Daniel never finds out.
Another message appeared.
He’ll notice eventually.
Sophia wrote:
Then I’ll tell him when it’s safe.
Daniel felt his heart break.
He wasn’t just being lied to.
His wife had been planning when to tell him something about his own life.
Then another message appeared.
From the same number.
What about the real father?
Sophia replied:
He must never know.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Real father.
His hands trembled.
Then he noticed one more thing.
The phone’s most recent message was received that morning.
We know Daniel has discovered the child.
He is no longer safe.
