Daniel looked closer. The hazel-green eyes. The curve of their noses. One had a small crescent-shaped birthmark near her temple—exactly like his.
“Before?” he repeated weakly.
“Before everything,” she said vaguely.
Then one of the girls, Lily, blurted out, “Mom, he looks like the man in the pictures you hid. The one from the big house when we were babies.”
Emily went pale.
“The big house?” Daniel asked slowly. “When were they born?”
Before she could answer, an elderly neighbor appeared at the door.
“What’s going on, Emily?” asked Mrs. Harper, her gray hair pinned neatly back.
“It’s nothing,” Emily said quickly.
Mrs. Harper smiled at Daniel. “Haven’t seen a fancy car here since you showed up pregnant seven years ago, dear.”
Seven years.
Daniel did the math. They had still been married. Very married.
“Seven years ago?” he murmured. “Emily… we were together.”
“Mrs. Harper, could you take the girls outside?” Emily asked quietly.
When they were alone, Daniel sat in a taped plastic chair.
“Tell me the truth.”
She leaned against the wall. “I found out I was pregnant three months after our wedding.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”