My Aunt Gifted My Baby A “Daddy’s Maybe” Onesie At Her First Birthday Party. I Responded By Revealing Her $22,000 Theft From My Dying Grandma. Am I The One Who Went Too Far?

Picking Up the Pieces

When we walked back to the living room, people were already gathering their things and heading for the door. Nobody looked at me directly. They all found reasons to study their phones or check on their kids or remember something they forgot in their car. The whole party cleared out in less than 20 minutes with people making awkward excuses about early mornings and long drives.

Scarlet was one of the last ones to leave, and she pulled me into a tight hug before she walked out. She whispered right in my ear that it was about time someone stood up to Beverly. She said she was sorry she didn’t say something sooner. That she should have told me about the betting pool weeks ago instead of waiting. I hugged her back and told her I understood and I wasn’t mad at her. She squeezed my hand once more before heading out to her car.

The house felt strange and quiet after everyone left, with half-eaten cake on plates and decorations still hanging everywhere. I walked down the hallway to our bedroom and knocked softly on the door. I said everyone was gone and it was just us now.

The lock clicked and Daniel opened the door slowly, moving carefully like he didn’t want to wake the baby. Lily was asleep on his shoulder with her little hand curled against his neck and her red hair sticking up in every direction. Daniel’s eyes were red and puffy and I could see tear tracks on his cheeks. He didn’t say anything, just stepped back to let me in before closing the door behind us.

We sat on the bed next to each other, not touching at first, just watching Lily sleep between us on the blanket. Her chest moved up and down with tiny breaths and she made little sounds in her sleep. Daniel and I sat there for what felt like forever, neither of us knowing what to say or how to start.

Finally, he spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper. He said he was sorry for doubting me, sorry for letting Beverly’s poison get into his head, sorry for not defending me better to his family. I told him I was sorry too. Sorry I let it go on so long before I fought back. Sorry I didn’t shut Beverly down the first time she made a joke.

We sat in silence for another few minutes before Daniel reached over and took my hand.

The Decision

That night, after we put Lily in her crib and turned on her nightlight, Daniel sat on the edge of our bed and told me something that made my stomach drop. He said he’d actually made an appointment for a DNA test next week at a lab downtown. His voice shook when he talked and he couldn’t look at me.

He said he felt disgusted with himself for even considering it, but Beverly’s constant comments had gotten so deep into his head that he couldn’t stop the doubts from creeping in. He said he’d lie awake at night looking at Lily’s red hair and wondering, hating himself for wondering, but unable to stop. He told me he’d been planning to go alone without telling me, just to get the test done and prove to himself that he was being crazy.

I sat down next to him and put my hand on his back. I told him I understood why he felt that way and I wasn’t angry at him. I said, “If taking the test would give him peace and kill the doubts Beverly planted, then we should do it together.”

Daniel’s face crumpled and he started crying, really crying in a way I’d never seen before. He put his head in his hands and his whole body shook. He said he didn’t want to be the kind of husband who needed proof. Didn’t want to be the kind of father who looked at his daughter and questioned if she was really his. He said he loved Lily more than anything in the world and he hated that Beverly had made him doubt something he knew in his heart was true.

I held him while he cried and told him it was okay. That we’d get through this together. We talked for another hour about what to do and finally decided together that we’d do the DNA test. Not because either of us actually doubted the results, but because we needed to kill the poison Beverly had planted once and for all. We needed something concrete that Daniel could look at when the doubts crept in at night. Something that would shut down any future comments from anyone.

Daniel got his laptop and ordered a home test kit right there, paying extra for rush processing so we’d get results in 3 to 5 days instead of 2 weeks. We both felt sick about needing to do it, but also relieved that we’d finally have proof we could point to.

Family Fallout

My phone rang early the next morning while I was making coffee. Mom’s name showed up on the screen and I almost didn’t answer, but I figured I should get it over with. She started talking before I even said hello, her voice tight and angry.

She said Beverly had been blowing up her phone since last night claiming I was trying to destroy her reputation with lies. Beverly was telling everyone in the family that I’d made up the whole estate theft story to get revenge for her jokes. Mom’s voice got quiet and serious when she asked me point blank if the theft was real or if I’d just said it to hurt Beverly.

I took a deep breath and told her yes, it was completely real and I had copies of all the forged checks in my safe deposit box at the bank. I said I could show them to her anytime she wanted to see proof.

An hour later my phone rang again and Dad’s name showed up. I picked up and he didn’t even say hello, just asked why I never told him about the theft. His voice sounded tight and angry in a way I’d never heard before.

I took a breath and explained that grandmother had just died when I found those forged checks. Everyone was grieving and falling apart. I didn’t want to tear the whole family into pieces over money when we’d already lost her. The funeral had been hard enough without adding accusations and police reports.

Dad went quiet for a minute and I could hear him breathing on the other end. Then he said he understood I was trying to protect everyone, but Beverly had been using my silence like a shield to hurt my family for a whole year. He told me he was going to handle Beverly himself now and I should just focus on fixing things with Daniel. He said not to worry about the family drama anymore because he’d take care of it.

We hung up and I sat there staring at my phone, feeling weird about the whole thing. Part of me felt relieved that Dad believed me and was stepping in. Another part felt guilty for keeping the theft quiet for so long.