Chapter 7: The Baby Who Wasn’t Supposed to Exist
The darkness lasted only a few seconds.
But in those few seconds, my entire body went into survival mode.
I heard the twins crying.
I heard Victoria gasp.
And I heard something else.
A sound from inside the nursery.
A soft movement.
Someone else was there.
I grabbed my phone and turned on the flashlight.
“Stay behind me,” I whispered.
Victoria didn’t argue.
For once, she listened.
The beam of light moved across the room.
The rocking chair.
The closet.
The window.
Nothing.
Then I saw it.
The nursery window was open.
Cold air pushed through the curtains.
My heart started pounding.
“He was here,” I said.
Victoria covered her mouth.
“No.””
I looked at her.
“You know he was.””
She looked terrified.
Not surprised.
Terrified.
And that told me everything.
Daniel Hayes had been inside my house.
Inside the room where my children slept.
Detective Harris arrived ten minutes later.
The police searched every corner.
They found no one.
But they found something else.
A small black memory card hidden behind the nursery bookshelf.
One of the officers handed it to Detective Harris.
“Found this taped behind the wood panel.””
He looked at me.
“Does this belong to you?””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Victoria stared at it.
And I saw her face change.
She knew what it was.
“You’ve seen that before,” I said.
She looked away.
“Victoria.””
She didn’t answer.
Detective Harris stepped closer.
“Mrs. Cole, now would be a good time to start being honest.””
Victoria closed her eyes.
Then whispered:
“It’s from Daniel.””
The room became silent.
“What’s on it?”” I asked.
She didn’t respond.
Detective Harris inserted the memory card into a laptop.
A video file appeared.
Created seven years earlier.
The date made my stomach twist.
The year Victoria and I met.
The video opened.
A man appeared on screen.
Daniel.
Younger.
Angrier.
He was sitting in a dark room.
“I know you’ll watch this eventually, Victoria.””
My wife went pale.
Daniel continued.
“You always thought you could erase me.””
Victoria took a step back.
The video continued.
“You thought changing your name would protect you. You thought marrying someone else would make me disappear.””
I looked at Victoria.
She couldn’t even look at me.
“But you forgot something.””
Daniel leaned closer to the camera.
“You can’t erase what belongs to me.””
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Detective Harris looked at Victoria.
“What does he mean?””
She sat down.
“I thought he was dead.””
My head snapped toward her.
“What?””
She started crying.
“I didn’t kill him.””
Nobody said she did.
But the fact she immediately defended herself made my stomach turn.
“What happened?””
Victoria stared at the floor.
“After our divorce, Daniel became obsessed.””
She wiped her tears.
“He started following me.””
“Did you report him?””
“Yes.””
“And?””
She laughed bitterly.
“They said there wasn’t enough evidence.””
I thought about the photos.
The threats.
The way he had been watching our home.
“What happened next?””
Victoria took a deep breath.
“I found out I was pregnant.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
She looked at me.
“Before Daniel disappeared.””
The room felt like it tilted.
“Victoria…”
“I lost the baby.””
Her voice broke.
“And after that, Daniel blamed me.””
I didn’t know what to say.
Because suddenly, there was another piece of the story.
Another wound.
Another secret.
“So when you went to the fertility clinic…”
“Yes.””
She nodded.
“I wanted to start over.””
“But Daniel’s DNA was involved.””
She looked down.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because when the clinic offered options, Daniel was still listed as my legal partner.””
My eyes narrowed.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“I know.””
“Then why was his information there?””
Victoria’s silence answered.
Detective Harris looked at her.
“Mrs. Cole, you need to explain.””
Finally, she whispered:
“Because Daniel never signed the divorce papers.””
The words hit like a wave.
“What?””
“He disappeared before the divorce was finalized.””
I stared.
“You were still married to him?””
“Yes.””
The room became unbearable.
All these years.
All these memories.
And legally…
She had never been my wife.
Detective Harris rubbed his forehead.
“This changes everything.””
But I wasn’t listening anymore.
I was thinking about the twins.
“The baby,” I said.
Victoria looked at me.
“What?””
“You said the clinic made a mistake.””
Her face changed.
I stepped closer.
“Tell me.””
She started crying.
“The embryo transfer was supposed to use my egg and donor material.””
“And?””
“There were two embryos.””
I waited.
“One was mine.””
“And the other?””
She looked toward the cribs.
“The other was created from a sample Daniel had stored years earlier.””
I felt sick.
“So one baby…”
“Could be Daniel’s.””
“And the other?””
Victoria looked at me.
“Could be yours.””
My mind exploded with questions.
“But how?””
She whispered:
“The clinic made a mistake during implantation.””
I stared at her.
“They transferred both.””
“Yes.””
“And you knew?””
“I found out after they were born.””
My voice became quiet.
“How?””
Victoria looked away.
“Because Daniel contacted me.””
The room went silent.
“He knew?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“The day after they were born.””
I felt anger rising.
“You talked to him?””
“I was scared.””
“You keep saying that.””
“I didn’t know what to do.””
I stepped back.
“You chose to hide it.””
She nodded.
“Yes.””
Before anyone could respond, Detective Harris’ phone rang.
He answered.
Then his expression changed.
“What?””
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“Mr. Cole.””
I already knew.
“What happened?””
He lowered the phone.
“Daniel escaped custody.””
My blood went cold.
“He was arrested?””
“Yes.””
“And now?””
“He’s gone.””
Victoria stood.
“No.””
Detective Harris looked at her.
“Mrs. Cole?””
Her face was filled with fear.
“He won’t leave without them.””
I froze.
“Without who?””
She looked upstairs.
At the nursery.
May you like
At my children.
“He’s coming for the babies.””
