Jake: “Mom, what is she talking about?”
Linda remained standing beside the table.
Linda: “She doesn't understand what she's saying.”
Jake: “Then explain it.”
Noah looked between them.
Noah: “Is Dad okay?”
Linda finally sat down.
Linda: “Your father doesn't know everything.”
Jake stared at her.
Jake: “About what?”
Linda took a deep breath.
Linda: “About Emily's biological father.”
The room went completely silent.
Emily stopped in the hallway.
She turned around slowly.
Emily: “You said you would never tell them.”
Linda: “I never wanted this to happen.”
Emily: “You started it.”
Jake looked shocked.
Jake: “Emily has a different father?”
Linda nodded.
Linda: “Before I met your father, I had a relationship with someone else.”
Jake: “And Emily is his daughter?”
Linda: “Yes.”
Noah looked at Emily.
Noah: “Does Dad know?”
Linda shook her head.
Emily: “He thinks I'm his daughter.”
Jake sat back down.
Jake: “How long have you known?”
Linda: “Since Emily was born.”
Emily began crying.
Emily: “And you made me feel guilty every time I asked questions.”
Linda: “I was trying to protect our family.”
Emily: “By making me believe there was something wrong with me?”
Linda couldn't answer.
Jake stood up.
Jake: “Where is her biological father?”
Linda looked toward the window.
Linda: “He passed away two years ago.”
Emily closed her eyes.
Emily: “That's why I was leaving the house.”
Jake looked at her.
Emily: “I found his sister online. She has photographs of him.”
Emily: “I just wanted to know what he looked like.”
Noah walked toward her.
Noah: “Why didn't you tell us?”
Emily: “Because Mom told me you'd hate me.”
Jake immediately looked at Linda.
Jake: “You told her that?”
Linda started crying.
Linda: “I was scared.”
Jake: “You were scared, so you made her carry this alone?”
Emily wiped her face.
Emily: “There was one more thing.”
Linda looked up.
Emily: “His sister gave me a letter.”
She pulled a folded envelope from her pocket.
Linda's face changed immediately.
Linda: “Where did you get that?”
Emily: “She said my father wrote it before he died.”
Jake slowly walked closer.
Jake: “What does it say?”
Emily opened the envelope.
Her hands were shaking.
Emily: “He knew about me.”
Linda covered her mouth.
Emily: “He tried to contact you.”
Linda began crying.
Emily: “You never gave him a chance to meet me.”
The truth finally came out.
But Emily still had one question left.
Why had her mother spent seventeen years hiding it?