Chapter 2

On Sunday night, I heard a car pull into the driveway.

Sophie sprang up from the couch. Clutching her stuffed rabbit, she hid behind me instead of running to greet Mark.

The door opened, and Lily came in dragging her suitcase. Vanessa followed her, while Mark carried two Disney shopping bags.

When Lily saw Sophie, she waved the princess wand in her hand.

"Your dad got it for me."

Sophie stared down at her slippers and said nothing.

Mark looked around the living room, and his expression darkened.

"You didn't clear out the room?"

"That's Sophie's room."

Vanessa quickly caught hold of his arm.

"Let's not fight. I told you we could stay at a hotel."

Mark turned to her. "Don't be ridiculous. You're family."

He picked up Lily's suitcase and headed straight for Sophie's bedroom.

I blocked the doorway.

"It's only for a few days," Mark said. "Sophie used to beg us to let her sleep in the playroom."

"She was six. She wanted a blanket fort for one night."

"Then make it fun for her. She'll be fine." He tightened his grip on Lily's suitcase. "Rachel, don't start this in front of the kids."

I didn't move. "You're kicking her out of her own room in front of them."

Lily looked between us, then asked Vanessa quietly, "Can't I stay here?"

Vanessa immediately put an arm around her.

"This isn't your fault, sweetheart."

Mark's face tightened.

"Lily isn't some stranger's child."

I stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"Mark, don't," Vanessa cut in.

I turned to her. "Don't what?"

Mark set the suitcase down.

"Vanessa told me Lily might be my daughter."

For a second, the words made no sense.

"What?"

"We haven't done a DNA test yet, but the timing lines up."

I looked at Vanessa. She avoided my eyes, though her hand remained on Mark's arm.

"You have a ten-year-old daughter?"

"I didn't find out until the trip either."

"Then get a paternity test. Until the results come back, no one touches Sophie's things."

Mark's eyes hardened.

"Lily has waited long enough."

He bent down, picked up the suitcase, and shoved the bedroom door open with his shoulder.

Sophie stood at the other end of the hall, her face pale.

"Dad, is Lily your daughter?"

Mark softened his voice. "She might be."

"So you have two daughters now?"

"Maybe. Wouldn't it be nice to have a sister?"

Sophie looked at her bed, then at Lily's suitcase.

"Can she be your girl without taking my room?"

Mark sighed. "It's only for a few days."

He carried the suitcase inside, opened the closet, and shoved Sophie's clothes to one side.

Sophie went to the bed and gathered her pillow, pajamas, and stuffed rabbit. She didn't look at Mark as she walked past him.

I took her hand and led her into the master bedroom, then locked the door.

She sat on the edge of the bed and watched me pull two suitcases down from the top shelf of the closet.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to stay with Aunt Emma for a few days."

"Is Dad coming too?"

I folded her clothes and placed them in the suitcase.

"No."

She looked down and played with the rabbit's ears.

"What about my birthday?"

"Your friends are coming tomorrow afternoon. We'll have your party, then we'll leave."

I called my sister Emma. "Can Sophie and I stay with you starting tomorrow?"