Chapter 6 - THE FIFTH BABY
Amber was pregnant again.
That had triggered the original fight.
She had arrived at Tessa’s house with:
prenatal vitamins,
a due date,
and an assumption.
Tessa would help.
Again.
Tessa refused.
Amber exploded.
Now the pregnancy became another question.
Whose child?
Mark asked.
Amber said:
“Not yours.”
No one was surprised.
Then Tessa looked at Daniel.
His face hardened.
“No.”
Amber looked away.
Tessa’s stomach dropped.
“What?”
Daniel said:
“It can’t be mine.”
“Why not?”
“Because I haven’t touched her in almost two years.”
Amber stayed silent.
Grace said:
“Do not infer.”
Tessa turned to Amber.
“Is Daniel the father?”
Amber whispered:
“No.”
For the first time, Daniel looked relieved.
That relief disgusted Tessa.
Not because he should want another secret child.
Because he looked grateful the betrayal had a limit.
Mark asked:
“Then who?”
Amber refused.
The fifth pregnancy created a new layer.
The affair with Daniel had ended.
But Amber’s pattern had not.
She still expected Tessa to absorb the consequences.
Childcare.
Meals.
School runs.
Emergency pickups.
Tessa realized something.
Forced childcare had become family infrastructure.
Amber could keep creating chaos because Tessa made chaos survivable.
Then Sarah—Tessa’s friend and coworker—asked:
“What happens if you stop?”
Tessa had always thought the children would suffer.
That was why she never stopped.
But maybe adults relied on that fear.
Mark had a responsibility.
Amber had a responsibility.
The children had schools.
Doctors.
Other relatives.
Tessa was not the only barrier between them and disaster.
Then Grace found another document.
Four pediatric emergency-contact forms.
Each listed:
Primary backup caregiver:
Tessa Carter.
Secondary:
Daniel Carter.
Mark’s name appeared as parent.
Amber’s as parent.
But Daniel had signed two of the forms himself.
Relationship to child:
May you like
UNCLE.
He had knowingly signed legal-adjacent paperwork calling himself uncle to children he believed might be his.
