AMBUSHED BY EMILY

Emily nodded. "Yes. A little girl. He's been... hiding her from you. We used to be classmates, and the mother of the child is also a classmate of ours. Or she was, but she had to drop out of college after getting pregnant."

She didn’t mention that she was Ellis’ ex-girlfriend, to give more credibility to her story. She didn’t want Zoey to suspect that this was being done out of jealousy. And it was a bit of petty revenge since Ellis hadn’t even discussed about her with his new girl.

Zoey stood frozen, the colour slowly draining from her face. Emily plunged on, weaving a narrative of concern and empathy, careful not to implicate herself as the source. She spoke of accidental encounters with Ellis and the child, painting a picture of a secret life he had kept hidden. She kept saying she could introduce Zoey to the mother of the child at any time, and she could also meet the child too as a form of confirmation. That was a lie but she said it so confidently in order to look genuine. All o