Deliberate.
That word stayed in my head.
The following day Ethan returned with his brother, wearing a tight smile like he was trying to appear reasonable.
“I’m not accusing you,” he lied. “I’m just asking for clarity.”
“Clarity is fine,” I said while holding Addison close. “But we’re doing this properly. Chain of custody. Hospital lab. No mail-in kits. No ‘I’ll handle it.’”
His eyes narrowed. “Why are you making this difficult?”
“I’m being precise,” I answered.
The nurse overseeing the paperwork, Nina Alvarez, nodded slightly. “That’s standard procedure, ma’am.”
Ethan signed the consent forms with an irritated flourish. “Good,” he muttered. “Let’s finish this.”
While they swabbed Addison’s cheek, I watched Ethan carefully. He kept rubbing his thumb against his wedding ring as if trying to erase it.
When the staff asked for his sample, Ethan volunteered immediately—too quickly. He reached for the swab like he’d practiced.
Nina stopped him.
“I’ll administer it,” she said calmly.
Ethan’s smile twitched. “I can do it.”
“No,” Nina repeated politely. “I will.”
That’s when I noticed his brother Mark avoiding eye contact completely.
After they left, Nina lingered in the room for a moment.
“I’m not supposed to speculate,” she said quietly, “but your husband is… unusually invested in controlling this process.”
I looked down at Addison’s tiny hand gripping my finger.
“I think he’s trying to create a story,” I whispered.
That night, after the room finally settled and Addison fell asleep, I did something I hadn’t done in years.
I checked the shared iPad Ethan kept “for bills.”
He hadn’t been careful. People rarely are when they believe you’re too exhausted to notice.
Several tabs were open:
“how to contest paternity”
“signing away parental rights”
And one that made my skin go cold:
