Chapter 13 - The Night Margaret Came Back.
Jessica arrived at Sarah and Daniel's house just after nine.
Mark did not come with her.
Sarah opened the door but did not invite her inside immediately.
"You were on the recording."
Jessica's face was pale.
"I know."
"You knew the test could be wrong."
"Yes."
Sarah stepped back from the doorway.
"Come in."
They sat at the kitchen table while Daniel remained standing near the counter.
Jessica folded her hands tightly.
"Margaret told me the old test was unofficial."
"And you said nothing to us."
"I told her she needed to stop using it."
"That is not the same thing."
"No."
Jessica looked at Sarah.
"I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"Mark losing everything."
Sarah laughed once in disbelief.
"So everyone was protecting Mark from a consequence that did not exist while Lily paid for it."
Jessica's eyes filled.
"I did not know Thomas had protected Mark in writing."
"You still knew a six-year-old was being called illegitimate over an unreliable test."
"Yes."
Daniel finally spoke.
"Did Mark know you knew?"
"No."
Jessica looked toward the floor.
"He thinks I heard about the test when he did."
Sarah leaned back.
"Then you have another conversation to have tonight."
Jessica nodded.
Before she could stand, the doorbell rang.
Daniel checked the camera feed.
Margaret stood on the porch.
Sarah's entire body tightened.
"Do not open it."
Margaret rang again.
Then she called Daniel.
He answered through the doorbell speaker instead.
"What do you want?"
"I want to see my granddaughter."
Sarah stared at the monitor.
Margaret had spent years questioning whether Lily was her granddaughter.
Now the word sounded tactical.
"No," Daniel said.
"Do not be ridiculous."
"You are not coming inside."
Margaret looked directly at the camera.
"Sarah, I know you are listening."
Sarah did not respond.
"I made a mistake yesterday."
Jessica whispered, "That is the first time I have ever heard her say that."
Margaret continued.
"I should not have kept Lily outside."
Sarah pressed the intercom button.
"You should not have spent six months telling people she was not Daniel's child."
Margaret's expression hardened.
"This is bigger than you understand."
"No."
Sarah's voice was calm.
"That sentence has worked on your family for a long time."
"It does not work on me anymore."
Margaret looked past the camera toward the dark street.
"The board vote must happen tomorrow."
Daniel answered.
"It will not."
"You think Nathan can stop it?"
"We will find out."
Margaret lowered her voice.
"If that sale fails, hundreds of employees could lose their jobs."
Sarah almost admired the pivot.
First family survival.
Then Mark's inheritance.
Now employees.
"What does that have to do with falsifying Daniel's signature?" Sarah asked.
Margaret's face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Daniel saw it too.
"You know about the certification."
Margaret stepped back from the door.
"I do not know what you are talking about."
"You witnessed it."
"I have signed thousands of corporate documents."
"That one says I signed something I never saw."
Margaret's composure cracked.
"You were ready to leave Sarah that day."
The words came too quickly.
Daniel went completely still.
Sarah felt the room shrink.
Margaret realized what she had revealed.
Daniel pressed the intercom.
"How did you know where I was?"
Margaret said nothing.
"The divorce consultation was private."
Silence.
Then Sarah remembered something.
Daniel had used Margaret's longtime driver that afternoon because his car was being serviced.
Margaret had known exactly where he went.
Exactly when he would be away.
And exactly how long she had to create a document bearing his name.
A car engine started outside.
Margaret walked away from the porch.
Jessica suddenly stood.
"Wait."
Sarah looked at her.
Jessica's face had gone white.
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"I know who notarized the certification."
The Child Outside the Glass | Page
