The Truth Sophie Came Home With
I locked the front door.
“Start talking.”
Sophie looked toward the sleeping baby.
“I didn’t leave because Dad kicked me out.”
My heart stopped.
“Then why?”
She swallowed hard.
“Because he wanted me gone before you discovered what he had been doing.”
I felt the room spin.
“What are you talking about?”
Sophie reached into her coat and pulled out a small envelope.
“I found this after I left.”
Inside were photographs.
My husband.
Different dates.
Different places.
And always with the same woman.
I stared at the first picture.
“Who is she?”
Sophie shook her head.
“That isn’t the worst part.”
She pulled out another photograph.
This one showed Adrian standing outside a medical center.
Beside him was a doctor.
And in the doctor’s arms was a newborn baby.
My hands began trembling.
“Sophie…”
She looked at me.
“That baby isn’t mine.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“Then whose baby is it?”
Sophie lowered her voice.
“Dad’s.”
I stared at her.
“No.”
“He’s been hiding another family from you.”
My knees weakened.
Sophie quickly sat down.
“Mom, that’s why he wanted me out of the house.”
“Why would he be afraid of you?”
“Because I found the records.”
She handed me several photocopied pages.
The first showed payments from Adrian’s account.
The second showed medical expenses.
The third had a name I recognized.
My own.
I looked at Sophie in confusion.
“Why is my name on this?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because Dad wasn’t only paying for another woman.”
“He was paying someone to monitor you.”
I felt my stomach drop.
“For how long?”
“Years.”
Then Sophie looked toward the window.
“He knows I’m back.”
“What?”
She pulled out her phone.
A message was waiting.
I know you’re at your mother’s house.
I looked at my daughter.
Then at the baby.
Before I could speak, headlights appeared at the end of the driveway.
Adrian’s car was coming home.
Sophie grabbed my hand.
“Mom…”
She whispered the words that made my blood run cold.
“Don’t let him see the baby.”