My six-year-old handed me my husband’s ringing phone and whispered, “Daddy’s other wife is calling.” I confronted him immediately, but when he pulled out a huge box, I realized my husband had been hiding something far worse than an affair.Right before my life imploded, I thought my biggest problem was my daughter’s mysterious illness. For weeks, Lily had been fading in small ways, and no one could tell me why.Mark had taken over her appointments two months earlier.You’re too emotional with doctors, Claire,” he had told me gently. “Let me handle this.”I’d believed he was being a good dad and a good partner, but I was about to discover the true reason he’d wanted to take charge of Lily’s appointments.Lily appeared in the doorway in her dinosaur pajamas, one small hand pressed against her stomach the way she had for weeks.

“Is your tummy hurting badly?” I asked.She shook her head and held something out toward me. Mark’s phone, screen lit up, buzzing in her tiny palm.Mommy,” she whispered. “Daddy’s other wife is calling.”I/ almost laughed. Kids said the strangest things when they were tired. I took the phone, and all my good humor died when I saw the caller ID.Emily Wife #2.”Daddy’s other wife is calling.””Where did you find this, Lily?” I asked, staring at the screen.Under his pillow. I was looking for my unicorn sock.”The ringing stopped. A heartbeat later, a text notification slid down the screen, bright and impossible to ignore.DON’T COME TONIGHT. SHE’S STARTING TO NOTICE.I read the words twice before they made sense. Then a second message dropped beneath the first.I was about to ask Lily if her father had introduced her to anyone named Emily, but then Mark walked into the living room holding a half-folded towel.His eyes went straight to the phone in my hand, but his face gave nothing away — no panic, no guilt, not even surpriseMark,” I said carefully, pulling Lily behind me as I stood, “who is Emily?”