My Husband Was Kissing My Mother at My Baby Shower—Then She Revealed Who My Real Father Was

For several seconds, I couldn't move.

The rain tapped against Margaret Hale's office windows. Somewhere downstairs, a telephone rang twice before falling silent. Rachel stood beside me with her phone pressed to her chest, waiting for me to say something.

My biological father was alive.

The man my mother had spent sixteen years pretending no longer existed had just called her, and she had collapsed.

“Which hospital?”” I asked.

“St. Mary's,” Rachel replied.

“Cole said they're running tests.””

I grabbed my purse.

Margaret rose from her chair.

“Emma, I strongly recommend that you don't go there alone.””

“I'm not alone. Rachel is coming with me.””

“That isn't what I meant.””

She glanced at the letter on the desk.

“Your father was frightened of this man. Whatever Adrian wants, please don't agree to anything until you've had time to understand the documents.””

I slipped my father's letter into my bag.

“Did Dad ever tell you why he was frightened?””

Margaret hesitated.

“He once told me that Adrian was the only man he'd ever met who could make a threat sound like a favor.””

I felt cold despite the warmth of the office.

“That's comforting.””

“Emma, I'm serious. Your father wasn't easily intimidated. If he was concerned, there was a reason.””

I looked at the brass key.

“Then I'll find out what it was.””

Twenty minutes later, Rachel pulled into the hospital parking garage.

I was halfway to the elevator when my phone rang.

Cole.

I answered without slowing down.

“Where is she?””

“Fourth floor. Room 418.””

“Is she conscious?””

“Yes, but she's upset.””

“About what?””

He went quiet.

“Emma, there's something you need to understand before you see her.””

“I've spent twelve hours discovering things I should have been told my entire life. You don't get to decide which truth I'm allowed to hear next.””

“I'm not trying to control you.””

“Then stop telling me what I need to understand and start telling me what happened.””

He exhaled.

“Adrian called her. He said he wanted to meet you.””

“And?””

“He told her that if she didn't arrange the meeting, he'd come to the hospital himself.””

I stopped beside the elevator.

“Why would that make her collapse?””

“I don't know.””

“Cole, you were sleeping with her for eight months. You knew she was keeping secrets. Don't insult me by pretending you know nothing.””

His breathing became uneven.

“She said he would destroy us.””

“Destroy who?””

“Everyone.””

The elevator doors opened.

I stepped inside.

“I'm coming upstairs. Don't leave.””

When I reached Room 418, I found my mother sitting upright in bed, an intravenous line taped to her hand. Her pink baby-shower dress had been replaced with a pale blue hospital gown. Without makeup, she looked older than I had ever seen her.

Cole stood beside the window.

He turned when I entered.

For one second, his face softened with relief.

Then he remembered who I was.

“Emma.””

I ignored him.

“Mom.””

Darla looked at me and immediately began crying.

“Oh, sweetheart.””

“Don't call me that.””

Her mouth closed.

I pulled a chair beside the bed but didn't sit.

“Who called you?””

She stared at her hands.

“Adrian.””

“Is he alive?””

“Yes.””

“Where has he been for thirty-seven years?””

“I don't know.””

“Did you think I would believe that?””

She swallowed.

“He left after you were born. Thomas told me he'd never come back.””

“That isn't what I asked.””

Darla's fingers twisted the bedsheet.

“He disappeared for years. Then he contacted Thomas when you were eleven. Your father refused to let him see you.””

“Dad told me Adrian disappeared after demanding money.””

Her head snapped up.

“He told you that?””

I pulled the letter from my purse.

“Dad told me enough.””

She stared at the envelope as if it were a weapon.

“What else did he say?””

“That you lied about me moving overseas so I couldn't receive his letter.””

Darla's face drained of color.

Cole looked between us.

“You told me Emma had already read everything.””

My mother turned toward him.

“I said she knew about Adrian.””

“You said she knew everything!””

“Keep your voice down,” she snapped.

The sharpness of her response startled me.

There it was again. Not shame. Not sorrow.

Control.

Even lying in a hospital bed, Darla was still trying to manage which pieces of the truth each person was allowed to possess.

I pulled the chair closer.

“Why did you tell Cole about Adrian two months ago?””

She looked at him.

Then at me.

“I was afraid.””

“Of what?””

“Of losing everything.””

“You had already betrayed me. What was left to lose?””

Her eyes filled.

“I didn't plan for this to happen.””

“Did you plan to kiss my husband?””

Cole flinched.

Darla's lips trembled.

“No.””

“Did you plan to keep doing it for eight months?””

She lowered her gaze.

“I thought I could stop.””

I stared at her.

“You had an entire pregnancy to stop.””

“I know.””

“You watched me prepare for my daughter's birth while you were sleeping with her father.””

“I know, Emma.””

“Then stop saying you know! You keep telling me you understand what you've done, but every time I ask you why, you give me another excuse.””

She covered her face.

Cole stepped forward.

“Emma, she's been through a lot today.””

I turned toward him.

“So have I.””

He stopped.

“I know.””

“No, Cole. You know that I'm angry. You know that I'm hurt. You don't know what it feels like to look at your own mother and wonder whether every memory you have of her is another lie.””

He looked down.

For once, I didn't care whether he felt guilty.

I wanted answers.

I faced Darla again.

“Why is Adrian calling now?””

She lowered her hands.

“Because Thomas is dead.””

My stomach tightened.

“Dad has been dead for sixteen years.””

“And Adrian has spent sixteen years believing that Thomas took you away from him.””

“Did Thomas take me away?””

“No.””

“Then what happened?””

Darla looked toward the window.

“I told Adrian that I had chosen Thomas. I told him I didn't want him involved in our lives. When you were born, I asked Thomas to raise you as his own.””

“Did Adrian know I existed?””

“Yes.””

“Did he want to meet me?””

“Yes.””

“And you refused?””

She nodded.

“Why?””

Her eyes shone with tears.

“Because he was dangerous.””

I remembered Margaret's warning.

My father was frightened of this man.

“What did he do?””

Darla shook her head.

“You wouldn't understand.””

“Try me.””

“He had a way of making people dependent on him. He could make you feel like you were the only person in the world who mattered to him. Then, when you tried to leave, he reminded you of everything you owed him.””

The room became quiet.

For the first time, I heard something beneath my mother's guilt.

Fear.

Real fear.

“Did he hurt you?”” I asked.

She closed her eyes.

“Not the way you're thinking.””

Cole moved away from the window.

“What does that mean?””

Darla looked at him sharply.

“You need to stay out of this.””

His expression hardened.

“I'm already in this.””

“You were supposed to stay away from Emma's family.””

The words landed like a gunshot.

I stared at her.

“What did you just say?””

Darla went still.

Cole's face changed.

“Darla,” he whispered.

I turned toward him.

“Why did she say you were supposed to stay away from my family?””

He opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

I looked at my mother.

“What did you know about Cole before I met him?””

She began crying again.

“Emma, please.””

“Answer me!””

She pressed a hand to her chest.

“I knew his name.””

“His name?””

“Cole Adrian Mercer.””

I felt the floor tilt beneath me.

“You knew his middle name?””

“Yes.””

“And you knew his father was Adrian Cole?””

“No. Not at first.””

I stared at her.

“Then when did you find out?””

She looked at Cole.

He closed his eyes.

“Two months ago,” she whispered.

The same time she'd told him about Adrian.

The same time their affair had somehow become entangled with a secret about my birth.

I stepped back from the bed.

“Did you arrange for Cole to meet me?””

Darla shook her head quickly.

“No.””

“Did you know his father was Adrian when I brought him home for dinner?””

“No.””

“Did you recognize the name?””

“I recognized Adrian. I didn't know Cole was his son.””

I wanted to believe her.

But belief had become a dangerous habit.

My phone vibrated.

An unknown number.

A text appeared.

Emma, this is Adrian. Your mother has told you many lies. I have the original paternity report and documents proving what Thomas did.

Another message followed.

If you want the truth, meet me at the old Bennett property at six tonight. Come alone.

I showed the phone to Rachel, who had entered quietly behind me.

She shook her head immediately.

“No. Absolutely not.””

Cole reached for the phone.

“Let me see.””

I pulled it away.

“Don't touch me.””

He recoiled.

Rachel read the message over my shoulder.

“He wants you to go alone. That's the first reason not to go.””

“He says he has the original paternity report.””

“Then he can give it to a lawyer.””

Darla gripped the bedrail.

“Don't go.””

I turned toward her.

“Why?””

“Because he doesn't want the truth. He wants you.””

My blood ran cold.

“What does that mean?””

She stared at me, and for the first time since I had walked into the pantry, she looked as though she was about to tell me something she couldn't take back.

“Adrian didn't come back because he suddenly remembered he had a daughter.””

“Then why?””

She opened her mouth.

A nurse entered before she could answer, carrying a clipboard and announcing that Darla needed another examination.

The moment broke.

I walked toward the door.

“Emma!”” my mother called.

I stopped but didn't turn.

“Whatever you do, don't let him tell you that he loved me.””

I looked back.

Her cheeks were wet.

“Because he didn't,” she whispered.

“He only loved what he could get from me.””

Outside the room, Rachel took my arm.

“We're not going to that property.””

I looked at the message again.

Six o'clock.

The old Bennett property was the house where I had grown up. My father had sold it two years before his death, and I hadn't returned since the new owners renovated it.

I didn't know why Adrian had chosen that place.

But I knew one thing.

My father had spent his final days trying to leave me the truth.

I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life being frightened of it.

“I won't go alone,” I told Rachel.

She searched my face.

“Emma, promise me you won't go anywhere near him without help.””

I slipped the phone into my purse.

“I promise I'll be careful.””

It wasn't the same promise.

And she knew it.

As we walked toward the elevator, another message arrived.