The result established Michael as the biological father of both girls. Camille reviewed it with me before the lawyers shared it formally. I sat quietly at her conference table, staring at the report.
I had known what was medically possible. I had believed the truth about my own marriage. Still, seeing the result written plainly made me cry.
Michael called later that afternoon. He said, “They’re mine.”
“They’re Nora and Elise,” I replied. “They’re people, not a point you won or lost.”
He apologized for accusing me of infidelity. I asked him to correct the public statements he had made. This time he agreed without bargaining.
The next day he posted a brief acknowledgment that his accusations had been false and that he had been wrong about the timing of his procedure. It could not undo what happened, but it ended one part of the lie.
CHAPTER 21: THE PRICE OF A LIE
