Chapter 1

A top-rated comment caught my eye while I was browsing an online confession thread.

[I have a confession. My best friend and his wife tried everything to have a baby. After countless medical visits, they discovered the fertility issue was with him.]

[I felt so sorry for him that whenever he was away on business trips or at medical appointments, I secretly helped his wife try to conceive.]

[I never wanted to wreck their marriage. I just wanted him to have a child. But somewhere along the way, I started falling for her too.]

[A few years ago, she used overseas training as a cover to give birth and bring the child home. He even made me the kid’s godfather.]

[The kid’s five now, and his wife has somehow managed to balance the two of us perfectly.]

[Honestly, I think things are pretty good the way they are. I get to be with the woman I love, and I don’t have to lose someone important to me.]

The comments tore him apart, but he barely seemed to care. Instead, he uploaded a photo of a woman cooking in the kitchen.

[If you knew how good I’ve got it, you’d want to be me.]

I recognized the woman at a glance.

She was my wife.

Beside her Jaeger-LeCoultre watch was a black braided men’s bracelet. I had personally slipped it onto her wrist just last week.

Chapter 1

My hand trembled like a leaf as I clutched my phone, and a wave of violent cramps twisted through my stomach.

I shoved my chair back and bolted into the master bathroom, where I braced myself against the sink and doubled over, dry heaving.

That one line kept replaying in my head.

[His wife has somehow managed to balance the two of us perfectly.]

My best friend was Keith Jowett.

We had shared a dorm room throughout college.

After graduation, he struggled to find steady work, so I got him a job at a friend’s company.

When he went through a breakup and had nowhere to live, I let him stay in my guest room rent-free for more than six months.

I had always believed that, aside from Vera Skudder, my wife, Keith and I were each other’s strongest support in this concrete jungle.

But the man I had trusted with all my heart was recounting online how he had “felt sorry” for me and how he had been sneaking around with my wife right under my nose.

I had endured so much just to have a child.

I had severe male infertility caused by azoospermia and a varicocele, leaving me with almost no chance of fathering a child naturally.

For three long years, I tried countless herbal remedies, and my body was covered in rows of needle marks from the hormone injections.

During the microscopic sperm retrieval surgery, the intense pain left me shaking on the operating table.

After my third failed round of IVF, I suffered a severe postoperative infection and massive bleeding that nearly took my life. When I finally pulled through, Vera knelt beside my hospital bed and cried her heart out.

With tears filling her red-rimmed eyes, she gripped my hand tightly and said, “Honey, let’s stop trying. I can’t risk losing you. We can always adopt. Any child you raise will be our own.”

Back then, Keith stood outside my hospital room, his eyes red with emotion as he patted my shoulder.

“Vera’s right, Tate. Your health matters most. Don’t put yourself through this anymore.”

Later, Vera told me that her company had sent her overseas for a year of advanced training. After that, she came home with a newborn baby girl and told me she had adopted the child through an orphanage.

We named her Maya, and I poured every ounce of fatherly love and effort into raising her.

On the day Maya turned one month old, Vera returned home after completing her training.

With a smile, she suggested, “Honey, Keith is your best friend. Why don’t we make him Maya’s godfather? It’ll bring us even closer.”

I happily agreed.

For five years, I believed everything was real, only to learn that it had all been a carefully planned deception.

The so-called orphanage adoption was a complete lie. They had been carrying on behind my back and shamelessly brought their illegitimate child into my home.

They made me, the actual husband, look like a fool as I raised another man’s daughter for five years!

Chapter 2

I forced myself to wash my face with cold water. After the overwhelming rage passed, my mind settled into a terrifying calm.

I did not rush out to confront Vera, nor did I call Keith and curse him out. Tears and hysterics were weapons only the weak relied on.

Instead, I went into my study, opened my computer, and created a new anonymous account. Using the username from that confession post, I began digging through Keith’s online history.

He had been extremely careful. His main account showed nothing but the carefully crafted image of a successful man living a peaceful, perfect life.

Yet the anonymous account he used to pour out his thoughts revealed his deepest desires.

As I scrolled through his posts one by one, the timeline slowly overlapped with my own memories.

The posts dated back to May from six years ago.

[Today, I went with him to the hospital for his biopsy. I felt awful watching him break out in a cold sweat from the pain.]

[I have to put my plan into action. Someone else’s child will always be someone else’s. Only a child I give him will let me feel at ease.]

[But his wife is incredible. I think I’m starting to fall for her.]

That was my first round of IVF. Vera told me her company had an urgent business engagement, so she could not be there with me.

It turned out her so-called business engagement was actually her preparing this self-righteous “surprise” with Keith.

I came across another post from October five years ago.

[The baby kicked her today! I saw it during our video call, and I got so emotional that my eyes welled up. I wish I could be there with her, but I’ll have to wait until she finishes her training.]

By then, Vera had already been “abroad” for three months.

During that time, Keith disappeared for three or four days every month, claiming he was traveling out of town for work projects.

I found another post from three years ago dating back to New Year.

[Maya’s New Year gift actually came from her real dad. Seeing the three of them together as a happy family sometimes made me jealous. But then she secretly slipped into the guest room at night to kiss me, and I felt at peace again.]

The moment I read that, I felt my blood rush straight to my head.

Three years ago during New Year, Keith told me that his rental apartment felt too lonely with him all alone. I felt sorry for him, so I brought him home to celebrate with us.

That night, I had taken medicine for a cold and slept deeply.

Meanwhile, my dear wife and my best friend were in the guest room just a wall away, doing the most disgusting thing imaginable right under my nose.

I gritted my teeth until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Then, I picked up my phone and arranged for an expedited paternity testing service through a reputable local DNA lab.

The next morning, after Vera left for work, I went into Maya’s bathroom and carefully used tweezers to pick up several strands of hair with the follicles still attached from her brush. I placed them into a sealed bag.

My next stop was the guest room. Keith had come over for dinner the night before and taken an afternoon nap there earlier that day. I found several strands of his short hair on the pillow.

Finally, I collected a few strands of hair from Vera’s vanity.

I submitted all three sealed bags for expedited DNA testing.

“Vera, Keith, you two love keeping everything ‘balanced,’ don’t you? Let’s see if you can still keep it together after I rip away the cover hiding your shame,” I thought.

Chapter 3

Over the next two days, I pretended nothing had happened and continued playing the role of the loving, family-oriented husband.

On Friday evening, Vera came home unusually early, carrying takeout from my favorite seafood restaurant.

“Honey, work wasn’t busy today, so I came home to spend time with you and Maya.”

As she changed into her house slippers, she walked over and instinctively leaned in to kiss my forehead. I fought back the nausea rising in my stomach and subtly turned my head away, pretending to take the food from her hands.

“Perfect timing. Keith said he received a bonus today and wanted to stop by to see Maya. He’ll be here soon.”

Vera’s hand froze for a split second, but she quickly recovered, slipping back into her usual gentle smile.

“Is that so? That’s nice. The more, the merrier.”

Half an hour later, the doorbell rang.

Keith stood outside, holding an expensive Barbie Dreamhouse playset. He was dressed in a fitted casual shirt and wearing cologne, looking less like a friend dropping by for dinner and more like someone arriving for a date.

“Tate!” Keith called the moment he stepped inside. He gave my shoulder an affectionate pat before crouching down and opening his arms to Maya.

“Maya, come here and let me hug you. I’ve missed you so much!”

Maya squealed and ran into his arms.

“Keith, did you bring me a present?”

“Of course. You know I love you more than anyone.”

Keith smiled and kissed Maya on the cheek.

I stood to the side, coldly observing the tenderness between father and daughter.

I used to think Keith simply loved children. But the way he looked at Maya revealed a hidden possessiveness and an unmistakable paternal instinct.

At dinner, Vera, wearing an apron, placed the shrimp she had peeled onto my plate.

“Honey, you haven’t been looking well lately,” she said softly. “Eat a little more. You need to build your strength back up.”

Across the table, Keith’s expression darkened ever so slightly as he watched Vera fuss over me.

A moment later, he picked up a piece of belly meat from the fish with his fork and placed it on Maya’s plate.

In an offhand tone, he said, “Vera, I remember this has always been your favorite part of the fish. Maya really takes after you. Even her taste in food is the same.”

Vera’s hand paused midair. She instinctively glanced at me before forcing a laugh.

“Yeah. I mean, she’s been around me her whole life.”

“Indeed.” I set down my fork and gave Keith a faint smile that did not reach my eyes.

“Maya didn’t just inherit Vera’s taste. The older she gets, the more I swear she looks like you, Keith.”

The air seemed to freeze in an instant.

Keith’s smile stiffened, and his fork nearly slipped from his hand.

Vera’s expression changed just as quickly, but years in the corporate world had given her exceptional composure. She immediately jumped in to smooth things over.

“Honey, what are you talking about? Maya’s adopted. How could she look like Keith?”

“T-Tate… come on, don’t mess with me like that.”

Keith finally recovered and forced an awkward laugh to hide his panic.

“If I had a daughter that beautiful, I’d wake up smiling every day.”

“I was just kidding. Look how nervous you two got.” I let out a soft chuckle and picked up my fork again.

“But seriously, Keith, you’re not getting any younger. Aren’t you thinking about finding a girlfriend and settling down? You can’t be everyone else’s godfather forever.”

Keith lowered his head and picked at his food, his voice tight.

“I… I’m not in any rush. I’ll settle down when I meet the right person.”

I sneered inwardly as I watched the furtive glance they exchanged beneath the table.

“Keep pretending. Let’s see how much longer you can keep this up,” I thought.

After dinner, Keith offered to help me with the dishes and followed me into the kitchen.

Once the sliding door closed, we were completely hidden from view.

As he washed the plates, Keith cautiously asked, “Tate, did you and Vera fight recently? You’ve been acting a little strange today.”

I leaned against the counter and stared at the fake concern on his face. The whole thing suddenly felt utterly absurd.

“No,” I said flatly. “I just realized that some things aren’t yours, and even if you go to great lengths to take them, you can never truly hide them.”

The plate in Keith’s hand struck the sink with a loud clatter, sending water splashing everywhere.

He turned sharply toward me, and for a split second, pure terror flashed in his eyes.

Just then, my phone vibrated inside my apron pocket.

It was a text message from the DNA testing lab.

[Mr. Lunsford, your expedited DNA test results are ready. A digital copy has been sent to your email.]

Chapter 4

I ignored the suspicion and unease in Keith’s eyes, dried my hands, and walked straight out of the kitchen.

Back in the bedroom, I locked the door and opened the PDF file attached to the email.

I already knew what the results would say, but when I saw the bolded conclusion at the bottom of the report, it still felt as if an invisible hand was crushing my heart.

[DNA analysis confirms a biological mother-daughter relationship between Sample One (Vera Skudder) and Sample Two (Maya Lunsford).]

[DNA analysis confirms a biological father-daughter relationship between Sample Three (Keith Jowett) and Sample Two (Maya Lunsford).]

The evidence was undeniable. It was time to spring the trap.

The following day was Saturday.

Over breakfast, Vera took a call. When she hung up, she looked at me apologetically.

“Honey, there’s an emergency meeting at the office. The executives are all waiting for me, so I need to go in for a while. You and Maya stay home and be good, okay?”

“Okay. Don’t push yourself too hard,” I said as I gently straightened her collar.

After watching her hurry out the door, I immediately changed into a plain black tracksuit, put on a baseball cap and a mask, grabbed my car keys, and followed her.

Cloudview Residences was one of the most discreet luxury apartment complexes in the city.

Vera’s car never headed toward her office. Instead, she drove straight into the underground garage of Cloudview Residences with familiar ease.

I followed at a distance and watched her enter the elevator. The display stopped at the sixteenth floor.

I waited downstairs for thirty minutes before heading up.

There were two units on the floor, and only Unit 1601 had been renovated.

My hand barely paused as I entered the passcode. Keith’s birthday was my guess, and I was right. The lock clicked open.

I eased the door open and found Keith’s sneakers and Vera’s high heels scattered across the foyer.

The TV in the living room was off, but the master bedroom door was slightly ajar. From inside came nauseating sounds of heavy breathing and intimate whispers.

I stood outside the master bedroom, and their conversation came through clearly.

“Vera… yesterday, when Tate said Maya looked like me, my heart almost jumped out of my chest. If he learns the truth, he’ll be devastated. His health is already so fragile. I’m terrified he won’t be able to handle it.”

It was Keith’s voice, heavy with guilt and a deep, almost pitiful concern. He sounded as if he truly were the loyal best friend who always had my best interests at heart.

“Don’t worry, Keith. I’m here. He’ll never find out,” Vera reassured him gently. “Even if he does, Maya is still my daughter. What’s done is done.”

“Sometimes, I honestly feel so guilty,” Keith said with a soft sigh.

“Back then, when I saw how much pain he was in trying to get treatment, how many medications he took, and how many injections he endured every day, I truly just felt sorry for him. I only wanted to help him…

“I swear, in the beginning, I only wanted to help him have a child. I never thought I’d fall in love with you…”

“I know,” Vera said. “I know you’ve suffered—”

“I haven’t!” Keith cut her off immediately. “As long as I can see Tate happy, as long as I know you and Maya are doing well, what does a little hardship matter?

“I don’t need a place in your life. I don’t need you to divorce him either. As long as things can stay the way they are, and I can secretly be part of your lives, that’s enough for me…”

As I listened to his self-sacrificing speech outside the door, filled with his own sense of righteousness, my stomach twisted with disgust.

“How noble of him to do it all for my sake. How selfless of him to want nothing in return,” I thought.

He used his so-called concern for me as an excuse to sleep with my wife, father their child behind my back, and then play the role of a savior while enjoying Vera’s love and my friendship without the slightest guilt.

A hypocrite like him—someone who wanted love, friendship, and the satisfaction of seeing himself as morally superior—was far more terrifying than the kind of man who openly stole another man’s wife.

I stopped hesitating. I raised my phone, started recording, and pointed the camera at the half-opened bedroom door.

Then, I lifted my foot and kicked the door with all my strength.

It flew open with a thunderous crash.