The Child Who Looked Like Him

Chapter four

Daniel Bennett returned to the hospital the following morning with a small bag in his hand.

He had spent most of the night thinking about Lia. He had told himself that he was only concerned about the child’s health, but deep down, he knew there was more to it.

What if she really was his daughter?

What if he had missed five years of her life because of a lie?

He pushed the thoughts aside and entered her room.

Lia was sitting on the bed, drawing in a small notebook while Maya arranged her medication.

“Good morning,” Daniel said.

Lia looked up and smiled. “You came back!”

Something softened inside him.

“Yes, I did.”

He placed the bag on her bed. Inside was a teddy bear, a coloring book, and a box of crayons.

“For me?” Lia asked excitedly.

“If you like them.”

“I love them!”

She hugged the teddy bear tightly, and Daniel found himself smiling without trying.

Maya watched them quietly. The sight brought back memories of the future she had once imagined with him. For a moment, she wondered what their lives might have been like if they had never been separated.

Then she reminded herself that nothing had been confirmed.

Daniel sat beside Lia.

“What are you drawing?”

“My family.”

He looked at the paper. There were three figures: a little girl, a woman with long hair, and a tall man.

“Who’s the man?” he asked.

Lia pointed at him.

“That’s you.”

Daniel’s smile disappeared.

“Why did you draw me?”

“Because Mummy said you might be my daddy.”

He glanced at Maya, who looked embarrassed.

“I didn’t tell her that you definitely were,” she explained. “She asked questions, and I didn’t want to lie to her.”

Daniel looked back at the drawing.

The little girl had drawn the man with dark hair and a small mark beside his eyebrow.

Daniel touched the faint scar near his own eyebrow.

His heart skipped.

He had received that scar when he fell from a bicycle as a child. His mother used to tease him about it.

How could Lia have drawn such a detail?

Perhaps it was a coincidence.

But as he studied her face, he noticed other similarities: the shape of her eyes, the way she tilted her head when thinking, and the small crease between her eyebrows.

He could no longer pretend not to see them.

⸻

Later that morning, a nurse arrived to collect the samples needed for the paternity test.

Maya held Lia’s hand while the procedure was completed.

“Will it hurt?” Lia asked.

“Just a little pinch, sweetheart,” Maya reassured her.

Daniel stood nearby, unusually quiet.

When it was over, Lia returned to her coloring book as though nothing important had happened.

Daniel, however, felt as if his entire future depended on the results.

He looked at Maya.

“When will we know?”

“They said it may take a few days.”

He nodded.

A few days.

He had waited six years for answers. Surely he could manage a few more.

Yet, as he watched Lia laugh at something in her coloring book, he realized that no result could change one thing.

He already cared about her.

And that frightened him.

⸻

That afternoon, Daniel stepped into the hospital corridor to answer a call.

It was Adrian, his closest friend.

“You sound distracted,” Adrian said. “What’s going on?”

Daniel hesitated.

“Maya is back.”

There was silence on the other end.

“Maya Collins?”

“Yes.”

“What does she want?”

“She has a daughter. She says the child is mine.”

Adrian exhaled slowly.

“Daniel, are you sure you want to get involved?”

“What choice do I have if the girl is mine?”

“I’m not saying you should abandon a child. I’m asking whether you’ve considered that Maya might be telling the truth about what happened between you.”

Daniel leaned against the wall.

“Both of us received messages that ended the relationship. Neither of us sent them, apparently.”

“That sounds suspicious.”

“Someone has also been sending me warnings.”

Adrian’s tone changed.

“What kind of warnings?”

“One told me to ask my mother what happened six years ago.”

Adrian was quiet for a moment.

“Then find out who sent those messages before confronting anyone.”

Daniel ended the call, but Adrian’s advice stayed with him.

He needed evidence.

⸻

When Daniel returned to Lia’s room, he found Maya standing beside the window.

“Is everything all right?” he asked.

She nodded, though her expression suggested otherwise.

“I’m just thinking.”

“About what?”

“About what happens if the test confirms you’re her father.”

Daniel moved closer.

“Then I’ll be part of her life.”

“And what about us?”

The question escaped before Maya could stop herself.

Daniel stared at her.

For a moment, the years between them seemed to disappear. He remembered holding her close, promising never to let anything separate them.

Then the memories of their painful separation returned.

“I don’t know, Maya,” he admitted. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

She lowered her eyes.

“Neither do I.”

Before either could say more, Daniel’s phone vibrated.

An email had arrived from an unfamiliar address.

There was no greeting, only one sentence.

Your mother did not want Maya in your life. Ask her what she offered Maya before the wedding that never happened.

Daniel read the words twice.

Before the wedding?

He had never told anyone outside his family how serious their relationship had become.

His fingers tightened around the phone.

Someone knew their secret.

Someone knew what had happened six years ago.

And whoever it was wanted him to discover the truth.

Daniel looked through the window at Lia, who was laughing with her mother.

For the first time, he understood that the past wasn’t finished with them.

It was only beginning to reveal itself.