Chapter 6 - Rebecca calls me
Rebecca Monroe called at 9:13 the next morning.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
“Claire?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Rebecca.”
I sat down.
“How did you get my number?”
“Mike gave it to me years ago as an emergency contact.”
Of course he had.
She sounded nervous.
“I think we need to talk.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For calling.”
Good start.
Not apologizing for existing.
We met at a coffee shop two days later.
Public.
Neutral.
Rebecca was thirty-five.
Brown hair.
No dramatic glamour.
Navy sweater.
Wedding ring?
No.
She had never married Mike.
Molly was five years and eight months old.
Mike was her biological father.
Confirmed by private paternity testing when Molly was seven months old.
My heart went cold.
Five years and eight months.
Mike and I had been married seven years.
Molly was conceived during our second year of marriage.
Rebecca said:
“I knew he was married.”
There.
No innocence performance.
“How long were you sleeping with him?”
“On and off for about a year before Molly.”
“During my marriage.”
“Yes.”
I looked away.
“Did he tell you he was leaving me?”
“Yes.”
Of course.
“Did you believe him?”
“For a while.”
“What happened?”
“When I got pregnant, he said leaving immediately would create a custody fight over Daniel.”
I almost laughed.
Daniel was my biological son.
Mike had no independent custody right if our marriage ended, though he might have sought some relationship depending on circumstances.
Rebecca continued:
“He said you were unstable after Evan died.”
There.
My dead partner used as character evidence.
“What else?”
“That you relied on him financially.”
False.
I worked throughout our marriage.
“That your mother wanted him to stay because Daniel needed a father.”
My mother probably did.
“Did you ever meet my mother?”
Rebecca looked uncomfortable.
“Once.”
The room narrowed.
“When?”
“When Molly was two.”
“Where?”
“Your mother’s house.”
May you like
I stopped breathing properly.
My mother had met Mike’s secret daughter while I was still married to him.
