I knew Gloria said she wasn’t there—but I had to try anyway.

Five minutes after reading the note, I buckled my half-asleep daughter into her car seat, slipped the folded letter into my pocket, and drove.

My mother opened the door before I even knocked. Maybe she’d heard my tires screech into the driveway. Maybe she’d been waiting.

“What did you do?” I demanded. “What did you do?”

The color drained from her face as understanding set in.

“She went through with it?” she whispered. “I never thought she would.”

“I found the note,” I said, adjusting Evie’s weight against my shoulder. “Jess said you made her promise something. You’re going to explain—right now.”

The kitchen light glowed behind her.

Aunt Marlene stood at the counter, drying her hands with a dish towel. She looked up, saw my expression, and froze.

“Oh, Callum,” my mother said softly. “Come inside. You should sit down for this.”

“No,” I snapped. “Just tell me. It’s my daughter’s birthday, and her mother walked out. I don’t have time for gentleness.”

Mom led us into the living room. Aunt Marlene followed, slow and quiet, as if she already sensed something unforgivable was about to surface.

“Do you remember when you came home from rehab?” Mom asked. “After your second surgery?”

“Of course.”

“Jess came to see me not long after that,” she said, wringing her hands. “She was drowning. You were in pain—angry, hurting in ways she didn’t know how to fix.”

I stayed silent.

“She told me she’d been with someone else before you returned,” my mother continued, her eyes fixed on the floor. “A one-night mistake. And the day before your wedding… she found out she was pregnant.”

My chest tightened until it hurt.

“She wasn’t certain Evie was yours,” my mother said. “Once you came home, you and Jess were together again. But the doubt stayed. And she couldn’t bring herself to tell you after all you’d already endured.”

The room felt suddenly too bright. Too close.

Aunt Marlene inhaled sharply. “Addison,” she said. “What did you do?”

My mother pressed her lips together.

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