Chapter 8
The visiting room was colder than I expected.
A thick window separated me from Derek.
He wore plain jail-issued clothing.
His hair was uncombed.
The expensive watch was gone.
The man who had looked so powerful at my graduation now seemed strangely small.
I sat down.
He picked up the telephone on his side.
I picked up mine.
For a moment, we simply stared at each other.
Then he smiled weakly.
"Princess."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Please don't call me that."
His smile disappeared.
"Maya."
I nodded.
"That's better."
He looked down.
"Thank you for coming."
I didn't respond.
He rubbed his forehead.
"I know you're angry."
I almost laughed.
Angry?
I had been angry when Arthur wouldn't buy me a new car.
Angry when I failed an exam.
Angry when someone forgot my birthday.
What I felt now was bigger.
It was grief for a father I had invented in my imagination.
"I came because I need to ask you something," I said.
Derek nodded.
"Anything."
I took a breath.
"Why didn't you raise me?"
He froze.
I waited.
He looked toward the wall.
"Maya, you know things were complicated."
"No."
My voice was steady.
"I know you told me things were complicated. Now I want the truth."
He rubbed his face.
"Your mother and I couldn't get along."
"That's about your relationship with her."
I leaned forward.
"I'm asking why you stayed away from me."
He looked uncomfortable.
"I had business responsibilities."
I swallowed.
"More important than your daughter?"
He didn't answer.
"Did you love me?"
He closed his eyes.
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you call?"
His jaw tightened.
"I didn't know what to say."
I stared at him.
"You could have said hello."
He looked down.
"You could have asked about school."
Silence.
"You could have sent me a birthday card."
His eyes filled.
"Maya."
I shook my head.
"I spent years wondering what was wrong with me."
"Nothing was wrong with you."
"Then why wasn't I enough?"
His face crumpled.
For a moment, I almost felt sorry for him.
Then I remembered Lorraine.
The forged documents.
The lies.
And Arthur standing alone on my graduation lawn.
Derek whispered, "I was selfish."
I stared at him.
He continued.
"I told myself I'd come back when I had money. When I could give you the kind of life you deserved."
His voice broke.
"But the longer I stayed away, the harder it became."
I swallowed.
"Then you found out about my inheritance."
He lowered his eyes.
"Yes."
The truth hurt even though I already knew it.
"You came back because you needed money."
He nodded slowly.
"At first."
My hands tightened around the telephone.
"At first?"
"I started talking to you. Getting to know you."
His eyes filled.
"And I realized how much I'd missed."
I looked away.
"You should have realized that when I was six."
He covered his face.
"I know."
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then he leaned forward.
"There are financial records my attorney can give investigators. They show where some of the money went."
I nodded.
"Then give them to your attorney."
"I wanted you to know I was trying to make things right."
"You can start by telling the truth without asking for anything in return."
He looked at me.
For once, he didn't argue.
I took a shaky breath.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"I spent my graduation day telling everyone you were my real father."
Tears began sliding down my cheeks.
"And I treated Arthur like he was nothing."
Derek looked away.
"I know."
"You stood there and let me do it."
His mouth trembled.
"I'm sorry."
I shook my head.
"You watched me break the heart of the only man who never abandoned me."
The words came out through tears.
"And you smiled for the camera."
Derek began crying.
But I didn't reach toward the glass.
I didn't comfort him.
For once, his emotions weren't more important than mine.
"I hope you take responsibility," I whispered.
He nodded.
"But I can't be the person who saves you."
He looked devastated.
I stood.
"Maya, wait."
I paused.
"I do love you."
I looked at him one final time.
"Then prove it by becoming someone who stops hurting people."
I put down the telephone.
And walked away.
***
Arthur was waiting outside.
He stood beside his truck, holding two bottles of water.
When he saw me, he didn't ask questions.
He opened his arms.
I walked straight into them.
And cried.
Not because I wanted Derek back.
But because I finally understood that I could love the idea of a father while accepting the reality of who he was.
Arthur held me until I could breathe again.
"Did you get what you needed?" he asked.
I wiped my face.
"Not exactly."
He nodded.
"Sometimes answers don't fix the pain."
I leaned against him.
"No. But they help you stop blaming yourself."
He kissed the top of my head.
"That they do."
***
Over the next two months, the investigation expanded.
Derek's attorney provided records identifying several accounts and transactions.
Investigators traced funds through his business.
Some money had been spent.
Some had been transferred to other accounts.
A portion remained available for potential recovery.
The process was complicated.
There were legal fees.
Court hearings.
Victims with different claims.
And no guarantee that everyone would recover everything.
But the case was moving forward.
Derek eventually entered a guilty plea to several financial offenses as part of a negotiated resolution.
His sentencing was scheduled for later in the year.
I attended one hearing with Arthur.
Lorraine was too weak to come, but her niece attended.
When I saw her in the hallway, I hugged her.
"How is Miss Lorraine?"
"Getting stronger."
I smiled.
"Tell her I'll visit Sunday."
"She'd love that."
Then she squeezed my hand.
"Maya, you helped her more than you know."
I shook my head.
"I didn't do much."
"You spoke up."
Her eyes filled.
"Sometimes that's the hardest thing."
***
A week later, I received an email that changed my future.
I had applied for a position at a nonprofit financial assistance organization.
They helped families understand bills, avoid financial exploitation, and connect with legal and community services.
I wanted the job desperately.
The email invited me for a final interview.
I screamed so loudly Arthur ran into the kitchen.
"What happened?"
I held up my phone.
"I got the interview!"
His face lit up.
"That's my girl!"
He hugged me.
I laughed through tears.
Then he pulled away.
"You need a new outfit."
I grinned.
"Don't start."
He raised his hands.
"I'm just saying."
"I can buy my own interview clothes."
His smile widened.
"I know you can."
That night, I prepared for the interview.
I practiced questions.
Reviewed the organization's work.
And wrote down why I wanted the position.
At first, I struggled.
How could I explain my passion without exposing my family's private pain?
Then I realized I didn't need to tell every detail.
I could simply tell the truth.
I believed financial dignity mattered.
I believed people deserved clear information.
And I believed asking for help should never make someone feel ashamed.
The morning of the interview, Arthur waited in the driveway.
He looked at my outfit.
A navy dress.
Comfortable heels.
My mother's small gold necklace.
He smiled.
"You look like her."
I touched the necklace.
"Really?"
He nodded.
"Same determined eyes."
I swallowed.
"Do you think she'd be proud of me?"
Arthur stepped closer.
"Maya, your mother loved you even when you were making mistakes."
He smiled.
"And I think she'd be very proud of the woman you're becoming."
I hugged him.
Then I drove to the interview.
For the first time, I wasn't trying to impress Derek.
I wasn't chasing anyone's approval.
I was doing something for myself.
***
Three days later, the organization offered me the position.
I sat in my car reading the email.
I read it twice.
Then three times.
Finally, I called Arthur.
"Dad?"
"Hey, sweetheart."
My voice trembled.
"I got the job."
There was a loud crash on his end.
"Dad?"
"I'm fine!"
I heard him laughing.
"Dropped my wrench!"
I burst out laughing.
He shouted to someone in the background.
"My daughter got the job!"
The sound of his pride filled my car.
And I realized something.
Arthur had never needed me to become rich.
Or famous.
Or successful enough to impress strangers.
He just wanted me to build a life I loved.
A life where I was safe.
May you like
A life where I knew my worth.
And now, for the first time, I believed I could.
