Chapter 3

I kicked off my own little investigation, keeping everything strictly on the down-low.

I scoured every old photo album in the house, desperately searching for any hint of James' supposed "the Smith family."

But there wasn't a single trace.

I'd met both his parents—just classic, down-to-earth working couple. And honestly, there'd never, ever been so much as a whisper about anyone named Smith in their whole family tree.

Acting casual, I threw out the question to his mom, Sally Carter. "Mom, did James ever have a sister he lost contact with?"

Sally froze halfway through picking vegetables, then forced an awkward smile. "Did he? I don't remember that... James was always one to make things up."

That odd response just confirmed everything I suspected.

They were all keeping secrets from me.

My heart was turning to ice, but my mind had never been sharper.

If they weren't going to come clean, I'd just have to dig up the truth myself.

I noticed that even though Lily called James "Daddy," she'd sometimes mention someone named "Ms. Moore."

One time, I happened to overhear James talking to Lily.

"Daddy, when is Ms. Moore coming? I miss her. She took me to get a shot last time," Lily said.

The word "shot" made James tense up instantly.

James immediately cut Lily off, lowering his voice in warning. "Don't talk about that! And never mention Ms. Moore again!"

The name kept echoing in my mind.

It was like a key turning in a locked door, suddenly bringing an old memory rushing back.

Out of nowhere, I remembered that in our second year of marriage, we'd brought in a part-time caregiver to care for me when I'd hurt my ankle.

That caregiver's last name was Moore.

But here was the part that really made my skin crawl—the caregiver was none other than my distant cousin, Rebecca Moore.

Rebecca had messaged me out of the blue, saying she'd just moved to this city, couldn't find work anywhere, and needed a place to crash.

I was soft-hearted, plus she was pretty handy around the house, so I let her stay and paid her way more than anyone else would.

But after a month, she told me she'd suddenly found a new job and took off in a hurry.

The pieces started clicking together in my head.

A chilling suspicion kept swirling in my head, refusing to go away.

I started tailing James more and more often.

He kept coming home late, claiming it was for work or business dinners.

But every time he walked through the door, there was always just a whiff of a woman's perfume clinging to him.

And that scent? It was never mine.

Finally, one weekend afternoon, I caught sight of his car pulled up outside a high-end baby store.

James stepped out, opened the passenger side door like it was second nature, and out came a young woman with Lily nestled in her arms.

And there she was—my own cousin, Rebecca.

The three of them stood together, James affectionately wrapping his arm around Rebecca Lane's waist, smiling down at Lily until she giggled.

They looked exactly like the perfect family.

Hiding out in a coffee shop on the corner, I watched everything unfold through the glass—and the sight hit me like a punch to the gut.

The click of my phone's camera echoed way too loud in the hush, almost as if the whole world could hear what I was doing.

I snapped the shot, hands trembling.

My heart shattered into a million pieces.

We'd made the conscious decision to embrace a childless life as a couple. However, my husband secretly became a father.

The woman involved was none other than my cousin, the girl I'd once opened my home to out of pure kindness and a big heart.

From the start, this marriage was nothing but an elaborate scam.