“I know.””

“Everyone thought you were dead.””

“I know.””

“Where the hell have you been?””

“Trying to stay alive.””

I almost shouted.

“While I buried my wife? While I raised your—”

I stopped.

I couldn’t finish the sentence.

Ethan exhaled.

“Lily is your daughter, Daniel.””

I froze.

“What?””

“She’s your daughter. I never said she wasn’t.””

“But Vanessa—”

“Vanessa doesn’t know the truth. She knows what Emily wanted people to believe.””

My heart hammered against my ribs.

“Then why does your name appear on Lily’s birth certificate?””

“Because Emily made a mistake. A terrible one. And she was trying to correct it before she died.””

“What kind of mistake?””

“I’ll explain at the boathouse.””

“No. You explain it now.””

“I can’t.””

“Can’t or won’t?””

“Both.””

I heard a door slam somewhere on his end.

Ethan’s voice dropped.

“Listen to me carefully. Don’t trust Vanessa. Don’t trust the story she gives you about the accident. And whatever happens tonight, don’t let her take Lily.””

My stomach tightened.

“Why would she take Lily?””

“Because she thinks the girl is the key to everything.””

“Everything what?””

He went silent.

Then he said, “I have to go.””

“Ethan, wait!””

“One more thing, Danny.””

The old nickname almost broke me.

“If you find Emily’s blue bag, look beneath the lining. There’s something in there she never got the chance to show you.””

The call ended.

I stared at the phone.

For several seconds, I couldn’t move.

Then a new message appeared.

Not from Ethan.

From Vanessa.

Please come back to the bridal suite. There’s something I need to show you.

A photograph followed.

It showed the inside of a small wooden box.

Inside lay a silver wedding ring, a hospital bracelet, and a photograph of Emily holding a newborn baby.

On the back of the photograph, in Emily’s handwriting, were five words.

This is not what you think.

I zoomed in on the hospital bracelet.

The name printed on it was not Lily.

It was Sophie.

And beneath the name was the date of birth.

Seven years earlier.

Three months before Emily and I got married.

My phone rang again.

Vanessa.

I answered without speaking.

“Daniel,” she whispered, “I know you think I’m the villain here.””

“You hurt my daughter.””

“I know.””

“You threatened her.””

“I know.””

“Then why should I listen to you?””

Her voice cracked.

“Because Ethan isn’t the only person who survived that night.””

A cold sensation spread through my chest.

“Who else survived?””

Vanessa took a shaky breath.

Then she said, “The person who was driving the other car.””

May you like

And before I could ask another question, she whispered a name I had not heard in years.

“Your father.””

Chapter 5: The Secret Beneath the Blue Bag

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