The Secret in the Photograph

I stared at the photograph in disbelief. The little boy had Daniel's eyes, his nose, and even the same small dimple on his left cheek.

"Who is this child?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Elena folded her arms.

"His name is Michael. He is Daniel's son."

I turned towards my husband. "Daniel, is this true? Do you have a son?"

Daniel rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"Amara, please. This is not how I wanted you to find out."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

"Then how exactly did you want me to find out? On our wedding anniversary? Or perhaps when the boy suddenly appeared at our doorstep?"

Elena stepped closer.

"There is something else you should know."

Daniel immediately raised his voice. "Elena, don't!"

But she ignored him.

"Michael disappeared three years ago. Daniel told everyone that he was dead. But I never believed him."

My heart pounded. 💔

"What do you mean he disappeared?"

Elena looked directly into my eyes.

"The last person who saw my son alive was your husband."

I stepped backwards, shaking my head.

"No. Daniel, tell me she's lying!"

For the first time since I had known him, Daniel had no answer.

Then his phone rang.

He looked at the screen, and all the colour drained from his face.

Elena gave a sad smile.

"You should answer that, Daniel. It might be the person who knows where Michael is."

Daniel slowly picked up the phone.

A strange voice came through the speaker.

"Daniel, your son is alive. And he wants to see his father."

My knees nearly gave way. 😳

I stared at Daniel, waiting for him to say something, anything. But he simply closed his eyes.

Then the voice spoke again.

"You have twenty-four hours to tell Amara the truth. Otherwise, I will tell her everything myself."

The call ended.

I looked at my husband, my heart breaking with every passing second.

"Daniel," I whispered, "what have you done?"

He opened his eyes and looked at me.

"Amara, there's something about our marriage you don't know."

To be continued...