A request filed that same morning
Inside the famous « wedding gift » was a copy of an emergency motion filed by my lawyer that very morning.
Daniel sought to reduce the child support payments by claiming to be experiencing financial difficulties.
But this claim was now being challenged using evidence showing his expenses.
Even when he was still living with us, he already considered seven sons to be expensive.
He now seemed to be discovering that his responsibilities did not simply disappear because he had left home.
« You used my son against me! » Daniel yelled.
Elliot moved slightly closer to the phone.
« No, Dad. »
His voice was surprisingly calm.
« You’re the one who taught me how to do it. »
Daniel didn’t reply.
Elliot continued:
« You always said that a man takes responsibility for his decisions. So I made sure you had the necessary documents to get started. »
Claire crosses a new boundary
I looked at my son, unable to find the words.
Elliot was only seventeen years old, yet he had spent several weeks trying to protect the family his father had left.
Then Claire snatched the phone from Daniel’s hands.
« You bitter little brat, » she snapped at Elliot.
At that moment, the atmosphere completely changed.
My six other sons had appeared in the doorway.
They had heard their aunt’s words.
Elliot’s face went blank.
He then uttered a sentence that immediately made me realize that I still didn’t know the whole story.
« Ask him what else was in the box, Dad. »
My heart skipped a beat.
There was something else.
Daniel’s voice became much lower.
« What else? »
For the first time since the start of the call, Elliot turned towards me.
Then he replied:
« A DNA test. »
I stopped breathing for a second.
Daniel also seemed to have become silent.
But Elliot hadn’t done that test to find out if Daniel was really his father.
He was trying to check something else.
The results had arrived that very morning.
And, according to Elliot, they revealed the real reason why Claire had wanted to marry Daniel.
It was at that moment that everything I thought I knew about their relationship was once again called into question.
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