Anna lifted the girl into her arms and kissed her forehead.
The girl wrapped her arms tightly around Anna’s neck.
“She’s very clingy and always wants to be held.”
Lily’s words echoed in my head.
I gripped the steering wheel.
I needed answers.
That night I brought it up again with my husband, Daniel.
“Daniel,” I said carefully, “I saw Anna’s daughter today.”
He didn’t look up from his phone.
“Oh yeah?”
“She looks exactly like Lily.”
He chuckled.
“Kids look alike all the time.”
“No,” I said slowly. “You don’t understand. She looks exactly like Lily.”
He finally looked up.
For a split second… something flickered across his face.
It was gone almost instantly.
“You’re overthinking it,” he said. “You’ve been stressed from work.”
His tone was calm.
Too calm.
A strange chill crept down my spine.
The next day, while Lily was at daycare, I made a decision.
I called Anna.
“Hi,” I said casually. “I forgot to sign one of Lily’s forms. Can I stop by quickly?”
She hesitated.
“…Sure.”
When I arrived, only two children were playing in the living room.
Anna stood by the doorway.
Her daughter wasn’t there.
“Where’s your little girl?” I asked lightly.
Anna froze.
“She’s… taking a nap.”
“Can I say hello?”
“No!” she blurted.
Then she quickly corrected herself.
“She… she gets shy around strangers.”
The tension in the room was thick.
I smiled politely and signed the fake form I had printed earlier.
But before leaving, I glanced toward the hallway.
A small door was slightly open.
And inside…
I saw her.
The little girl.
Standing silently in the doorway.
Looking straight at me.
Our eyes met.
My heart dropped.
Because at that moment, I realized something even more disturbing.
She wasn’t just looking at me.
She was staring at me the way children stare at someone familiar.
Like she knew me.
That night, I couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Daniel,” I said firmly.
“We need to talk.”
He sighed.
“What now?”
“I want a DNA test.”
The room went silent.
“A DNA test?” he repeated slowly.
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“For Lily… and Anna’s daughter.”
The color drained from his face.
“Are you serious right now?”
“Yes.”
He stood up abruptly.
“That’s insane.”
“Then prove me wrong,” I said quietly.
For a moment we just stared at each other.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
“No.”
Not why.
Not that’s unnecessary.
Just—
No.
That was when I knew.
Daniel was hiding something.
The next morning, while Daniel was at work, I called my mother-in-law.
She loved Lily dearly and had always been close to her.
“Mom,” I said gently, “can I ask you something strange?”
“Of course.”
“Did Daniel ever… donate sperm? Or anything like that before we met?”
She laughed softly.
“No, why would he do that?”
I hesitated.
“There’s a child at Lily’s daycare who looks exactly like her.”
The silence on the other end stretched.
Too long.
“Mom?” I said slowly.
Her voice came back… but it sounded different.
Lower.
Careful.
“…You should talk to Daniel about that.”
