Chapter 2: The Secret Inside Her Handbag
“Don't touch my bag!””
Claire's scream echoed across the garden.
Daniel froze.
He hadn't even reached for it yet.
My father stood up from his chair.
“Claire, nobody is trying to hurt you. Just put the bag down.””
But she pulled it tighter against her body.
“This is ridiculous! I'm being attacked in front of everyone!””
Daniel's voice was low.
“Then open the bag.””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because it's mine!””
“Claire, you've just been accused of pretending to be pregnant, and you've got packaging from a company that makes fake pregnancy bellies in your possession. I think I deserve an explanation.””
She shook her head.
“You're embarrassing me.””
Daniel let out a humorless laugh.
“I'm embarrassing you?””
I watched the guests begin to move toward the house.
My aunt quietly collected her purse. Two family friends whispered near the garden gate. My mother looked as though she might faint.
And Sophie?
She was hiding her face against Rachel's shoulder.
The little girl had no idea how much damage her innocent observation had caused.
Or perhaps she understood more than we realized.
“Daddy,” I heard Sophie whisper.
Rachel looked down.
“I'm right here, baby.””
“Did I do something bad?””
Rachel immediately hugged her.
“No, sweetheart. You told the truth. That's never something you need to feel bad about.””
Claire heard that.
She turned sharply.
“Don't teach her to interfere in other people's marriages!””
Rachel stood straighter.
“Don't speak to my daughter like that.””
“She has been spreading lies about me!””
“She is four years old, Claire.””
“And she's ruining my life!””
The words came out before Claire could stop them.
Silence followed.
Daniel stared at his wife.
“Your life?””
Claire pressed her lips together.
He stepped closer.
“What about our life?””
She looked away.
I could see him struggling to understand what was happening.
For six years, Daniel and Claire had appeared to have the perfect marriage. They lived in a beautiful house outside the city, traveled twice a year, hosted dinner parties, and regularly posted photographs of their weekend getaways.
They had struggled with fertility for years.
Or so we'd been told.
Claire had once cried at our Christmas dinner because another cousin had announced a pregnancy.
Daniel had held her hand beneath the table.
My mother had spent the rest of the evening reassuring her.
Now I wondered whether any of those moments had been real.
“Give me the bag,” Daniel said.
Claire shook her head.
“No.””
“Claire.””
“I'm your wife!””
“And I'm asking you to show me what's inside.””
She looked at him for several seconds.
Then she turned toward my mother.
“Margaret, please. Tell him this isn't appropriate.””
My mother looked helpless.
“Darling, if there's nothing to hide…”
Claire's expression hardened.
“Even you?””
Nobody answered.
Finally, Daniel reached for the handbag.
Claire jerked backward.
The bag slipped from her shoulder, hit the edge of a marble planter, and fell onto the floor.
Its contents spilled across the stone.
A lipstick.
A wallet.
A small bottle of perfume.
Two pregnancy-test boxes.
And something large, folded inside a translucent garment bag.
Daniel bent down.
He picked it up.
The material was soft, flesh-colored silicone.
He stared at it without speaking.
My father took a step forward.
“What is that?””
Daniel slowly unzipped the garment bag.
Inside was a realistic silicone pregnancy prosthetic, complete with a rounded belly designed to fit around the waist.
A small instruction booklet lay beside it.
Claire began crying again.
But this time, nobody rushed to comfort her.
Daniel turned the object over in his hands.
“Is this what you've been wearing?””
Claire covered her mouth.
“Daniel, please.””
“Answer me.””
She shook her head.
He looked at the instruction booklet.
The printed description was unmistakable.
Professional maternity prosthetic.
Adjustable waist support.
Reusable silicone construction.
My brother dropped the booklet.
Then he looked at her stomach.
“Are you pregnant?””
Claire didn't answer.
“Claire, are you pregnant?””
She whispered something.
“What?””
“No.””
The word was so quiet that I almost didn't hear it.
But Daniel did.
He took a step backward.
“No?””
Claire began sobbing.
“Daniel, I can explain everything.””
He looked toward the house.
Then toward the guests who remained.
Then back at his wife.
“Six months?””
She nodded.
“You've been wearing this for six months?””
She nodded again.
“Every family dinner?””
“Yes.””
“Every doctor's appointment?””
Claire looked down.
Daniel's face went pale.
“Did you even go to the appointments?””
She started crying harder.
“Please don't make me answer that here.””
“Then where?””
“I don't know!””
He laughed once, bitterly.
“Neither do I.””
My mother sank into a chair.
I moved toward her, but she waved me away.
She was staring at Claire as though she had suddenly become a stranger.
Then Daniel picked up one of the pregnancy-test boxes.
“What's this?””
Claire wiped her cheeks.
“Just something I bought.””
He examined it.
The box was sealed.
He picked up the second.
Also sealed.
“Why do you have two pregnancy tests?””
Claire didn't answer.
I noticed a small receipt tucked into the side pocket of the handbag.
I bent down and retrieved it.
The date was printed at the top.
Five months earlier.
The purchase included two silicone belly accessories, a maternity support belt, and several theatrical products.
But one line caught my attention.
A second item had been purchased from the same company.
A realistic newborn baby doll.
I looked at the receipt again.
“Claire?””
She looked at me.
“What?””
“Why did you buy a newborn doll?””
Her face changed.
Daniel snatched the receipt from my hand.
He read it.
Then he looked at her.
“What the hell is going on?””
Claire pressed her hands against her eyes.
“I was going to tell you.””
“When?””
“After the baby shower.””
Daniel went completely still.
“What baby shower?””
She lowered her hands.
The family baby shower had been scheduled for the following Saturday.
My mother had already ordered a custom cake.
Rachel had bought a handmade blanket.
And Daniel had taken three days off work to prepare the nursery.
“You were going to tell me after the baby shower?”” he repeated.
Claire shook her head.
“I had a plan.””
“What plan?””
She looked toward the house.
“I needed more time.””
Daniel's voice trembled.
“More time for what?””
Before she could answer, my mother spoke.
“Claire, I want you to tell us one thing.””
Everyone turned toward her.
She was standing now, gripping the back of her chair.
“Did you ever intend to have a baby with my son?””
Claire looked at her.
For a moment, she seemed unable to breathe.
Then she said something that made Daniel close his eyes.
“I didn't know how to stop.””
The words hung in the air.
My brother rubbed both hands over his face.
“Stop what?””
Claire looked at him.
And then she finally told us the first piece of the truth.
“I wasn't supposed to get pregnant.””
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?””
She swallowed.
“I told you the fertility treatments had worked. I told everyone.””
“But?””
Claire stared at the ground.
“I never actually started the treatment.””
My father cursed under his breath.
Daniel looked as though someone had punched him.
“Why?””
Claire opened her mouth.
Then she glanced toward the driveway.
A black car had just pulled up outside the garden gate.
A woman stepped out.
She was wearing a navy business suit and carrying a thick leather folder.
Claire recognized her immediately.
And the sight of her made her start shaking.
“Not her,” Claire whispered.
Daniel turned.
“Who is that?””
Claire grabbed his sleeve.
“Please. You have to make her leave.””
The woman walked through the gate.
She looked directly at Daniel.
May you like
Then she said:
“Mr. Whitmore, I'm sorry to interrupt your family gathering, but I believe you need to know what your wife has been doing with your money.””
