Chapter 2
"Don't you dare delete anything."
My father's voice made the photographer freeze.
Vanessa spun toward him.
"Marcus, this is ridiculous."
Dad ignored her.
He looked directly at the photographer.
"What's your name?"
"Daniel Harris, sir."
"Daniel, were you recording?"
The man hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Yes, sir."
Vanessa stepped forward.
"You had no permission to record our private conversation!"
Daniel looked confused.
"Ma'am, I was hired to document the entire celebration."
Dad's expression hardened.
"Which is exactly why I want the footage preserved."
Vanessa gave a nervous laugh.
"For heaven's sake, Marcus. It was a misunderstanding."
I stared at her.
Five minutes earlier, she'd told me I wasn't part of the family.
Now she wanted everyone to believe it had been an accident.
Dad looked down at me.
"Maya, sweetheart, would you like to sit somewhere quiet?"
I nodded.
My stomach hurt.
My arm still ached where Vanessa had grabbed me.
And I couldn't stand the thought of another fifty people staring.
Dad guided me toward a small garden pavilion.
Grandma Evelyn followed us.
She was my father's mother, seventy years old, with silver curls and the kindest eyes I'd ever seen.
When she reached me, she opened her arms.
I ran into them.
"Oh, my baby."
Her voice trembled.
I buried my face against her shoulder.
"Grandma, why doesn't she like me?"
I hadn't meant to ask.
The words escaped before I could stop them.
Grandma held me tighter.
"Sweetheart, none of this is your fault."
I started crying harder.
"I tried so hard."
She stroked my braids.
"I know."
"I didn't even say anything."
"I saw."
I pulled back.
"Did I ruin the party?"
Her face changed.
"Absolutely not."
I swallowed.
"But Vanessa said—"
"Vanessa is responsible for her own behavior."
I looked toward the lawn.
Dad was speaking with Daniel.
Vanessa stood nearby, waving her hands angrily.
Then I noticed Noah.
He was standing beside a flower arrangement.
Alone.
His shoulders were hunched.
His eyes were wet.
I immediately felt guilty.
"Grandma, can Noah come here?"
She followed my gaze.
"Of course."
She called him over.
Noah walked toward us slowly.
When he reached the pavilion, he looked at me.
"I'm sorry."
My heart tightened.
"For what?"
He shrugged.
"Mommy said you made Daddy mad."
I stared at him.
Grandma's expression darkened.
"Noah, sweetheart, your sister didn't do anything wrong."
He looked confused.
"But Mommy said Maya always tries to take Daddy away."
I felt like someone had punched me.
I'd never tried to take Dad away from Noah.
I helped him with homework.
Read him bedtime stories.
Shared my toys.
When he was sick, I sat beside him until he fell asleep.
He was my little brother.
I loved him.
"Do you believe that?" I whispered.
Noah shook his head immediately.
"No."
My eyes filled.
He continued.
"I like when we all do things together."
I hugged him.
"Me too."
He wrapped his arms around my waist.
Then whispered something that made Grandma go completely still.
"Mommy said after today, Maya wouldn't live with us anymore."
I pulled back.
"What?"
Noah looked frightened.
He glanced toward the lawn.
Then lowered his voice.
"She said Daddy was going to send you away."
My chest tightened.
"Where?"
He shrugged.
"To boarding school."
The world seemed to tilt.
Boarding school?
Dad had never mentioned boarding school.
Not once.
I looked toward Grandma.
Her face had gone pale.
"Did Vanessa tell you that?" she asked.
Noah nodded.
"Yesterday."
I couldn't breathe properly.
For weeks, Vanessa had been telling me that Dad needed more space.
That I was becoming too dependent.
That I should learn how to live without him.
But I'd never imagined she was actually planning to send me away.
Grandma stood.
"Stay here, both of you."
I grabbed her hand.
"Please don't leave us."
She looked down.
Her expression softened.
"I'm only going to speak to your father."
I nodded reluctantly.
She kissed my forehead.
Then walked toward the lawn.
I sat beside Noah.
He looked up at me.
"Are you leaving?"
I shook my head.
"I don't know."
His lower lip trembled.
"But I don't want you to."
My eyes filled again.
"I don't want to either."
He leaned against me.
For several minutes, we sat quietly.
Then Dad appeared at the pavilion.
Grandma stood beside him.
His expression was serious.
"Maya."
I immediately stood.
"Dad, am I going to boarding school?"
He froze.
"What?"
My voice broke.
"Vanessa told Noah you're sending me away."
Dad looked toward Grandma.
Then back at me.
"Sweetheart, I never agreed to anything like that."
I felt relief.
But only for a moment.
Because he continued.
"Vanessa mentioned a school recently."
My stomach dropped.
I stepped backward.
"So it's true?"
"No."
He reached for me.
I pulled away.
"Dad, why didn't you tell me?"
His face crumpled.
"Maya, I told her we weren't making any decisions."
I stared at him.
"But you talked about sending me away?"
He looked devastated.
"I thought we were discussing educational opportunities."
My eyes burned.
"Without me?"
He didn't answer.
And that silence hurt.
Because I realized Vanessa had already convinced him to consider a future where I wasn't home.
Then Grandma spoke.
"Marcus, there's something else you need to know."
Dad turned.
She looked toward Noah.
"Vanessa told this little boy that Maya was going to disappear from the family."
My father's expression changed.
He slowly looked toward the lawn.
Vanessa was standing beside Daniel, trying to look at the camera.
Dad's jaw tightened.
"Stay here."
He turned and walked toward her.
I watched him cross the grass.
Vanessa smiled when she saw him.
Then he said something I couldn't hear.
Her smile disappeared.
She shook her head.
Dad pointed toward the pavilion.
Vanessa looked directly at me.
And the hatred in her eyes frightened me.
Then Daniel approached Dad with his camera.
He showed him something on the screen.
My father went completely still.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then he looked toward Vanessa.
His expression was colder than I'd ever seen.
May you like
And I realized the photographer had captured something else.
Something Vanessa hadn't expected anyone to see.
