Chapter 5
I took the adoption petition from Daniel's hand.
The paper was old.
Creased.
Dated seven years earlier.
My name appeared near the top.
Maya Elizabeth Carter.
Below it was Marcus Bennett's name.
And beneath that, a section identifying him as the proposed adoptive parent.
I stared at the document.
My chest tightened.
“Marcus?”
He stood near the bottom of the stairs.
His face was pale.
“It's real,” he said.
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Of course it's real.”
I ignored him.
I looked at Marcus.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Marcus took a breath.
“Because the petition never moved forward.”
“Why?”
He glanced at Daniel.
“Your father objected.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Because I'm her father.”
My mother crossed her arms.
“Then perhaps you should have acted like one.”
Daniel turned sharply.
“Claire, don't start.”
She didn't move.
“I've spent eleven years not starting, Daniel.”
I looked between them.
“Please.”
Everyone became quiet.
I held up the paper.
“I need to understand.”
Marcus nodded.
“When you were eleven, you started calling me Dad sometimes.”
I remembered.
At first, I'd done it accidentally.
Then more often.
Eventually, it felt natural.
But every time Daniel called, I'd switch back to Marcus.
I was afraid Daniel would think I loved him less.
Marcus continued.
“One night, you asked why your last name was different from mine.”
My throat tightened.
I remembered that too.
We had been sitting at the kitchen table.
I was doing homework.
Marcus was fixing a broken lamp.
I'd asked whether we could all have the same name.
He'd told me families didn't need matching names to belong together.
“But you also said you wished we could,” I whispered.
He nodded.
“I did.”
My mother stepped closer.
“After that, Marcus and I spoke with an attorney.”
Daniel interrupted.
“Behind my back.”
Claire turned toward him.
“We contacted you through the proper process.”
“You wanted to erase me.”
“No,” Marcus said firmly.
“I wanted Maya to have legal security.”
Daniel laughed.
“Legal security?”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
He glanced at me.
“If something happened to Claire, I wanted to know I could continue caring for Maya without a fight.”
My stomach dropped.
I looked at my mother.
“Were you sick?”
She shook her head.
“No, baby.”
Marcus continued.
“But we had seen how unpredictable life could be.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You didn't have the right.”
Marcus looked at him.
“You had the right to object.”
“And I did.”
“Yes.”
The room became painfully quiet.
I stared at Daniel.
“Did you ever ask what I wanted?”
He hesitated.
“What?”
“When they asked about adoption. Did you ask me?”
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“You were a child.”
“So?”
“You didn't understand.”
I felt anger rising.
“I understood who took care of me.”
“Maya.”
“I understood who came to my school.”
Daniel looked away.
“I understood who sat beside my hospital bed.”
His jaw tightened.
“And I understood who didn't.”
He looked at me sharply.
“That's unfair.”
I almost laughed.
“Unfair?”
“I was trying to build a career.”
I stared at him.
“Marcus was working too.”
“That's different.”
“How?”
Daniel opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
I stepped closer.
“How was it different?”
He looked toward Claire.
“This is exactly what I was afraid of.”
My mother frowned.
“What?”
“You've turned her against me.”
Something inside me snapped.
“No.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Maya—”
“No, Dad.”
My voice shook.
“They didn't turn me against you.”
I pointed toward the door.
“You left.”
He stared at me.
“At birthdays. At concerts. At graduation.”
I felt tears spilling down my face.
“And every time, they were the ones explaining why you weren't there.”
Daniel's expression changed.
For a second, I saw shame.
Then anger covered it.
“You have no idea what I've sacrificed.”
I looked at him.
“Then tell me.”
He went silent.
“Tell me what you sacrificed for me.”
He looked down.
Nothing.
I waited.
He finally spoke.
“I paid child support.”
My mother gave a bitter laugh.
“Occasionally.”
Daniel turned toward her.
“Claire!”
“No.”
She stepped forward.
“You don't get to rewrite history in my living room.”
Marcus reached for her arm.
“Claire.”
She looked at him.
Then took a breath.
But Daniel wasn't finished.
“You think Marcus is some kind of saint?”
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel pointed at him.
“Ask him why he really wanted to adopt you.”
Marcus's expression hardened.
“Daniel, stop.”
I looked between them.
“What are you talking about?”
Daniel smiled coldly.
“Your stepfather had a business opportunity back then.”
My mother shook her head.
“Don't.”
“A family-owned property. A possible inheritance.”
Marcus looked furious.
“That had nothing to do with Maya.”
Daniel turned toward me.
“He wanted to secure his place in the family.”
I stared at Marcus.
“Is that true?”
He looked at me directly.
“No.”
Daniel laughed.
“Of course he'd deny it.”
My mother stepped between them.
“Enough.”
But I needed answers.
“What property?”
Marcus sighed.
“My father had offered to help me buy a small garage.”
I frowned.
“Grandpa James?”
“Yes.”
“He said he'd provide a loan if I could show a stable business plan.”
I waited.
“And?”
“The adoption wasn't part of that.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Convenient story.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Do you really want to discuss money?”
Daniel froze.
My mother looked away.
I felt the atmosphere change.
“What money?” I asked.
Nobody answered.
I looked at Marcus.
“Please.”
He hesitated.
Then spoke carefully.
“Daniel borrowed money from your mother several years ago.”
Daniel's face went red.
“That's private.”
“How much?” I asked.
My mother sighed.
“Twelve thousand dollars.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“He said he needed help keeping his business open.”
“Did he repay you?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
I looked at Daniel.
He didn't meet my eyes.
Then I remembered the college fund.
The sudden phone calls.
The graduation visit.
The documents.
Everything began fitting together.
“Is that why you're here?”
Daniel looked up.
“What?”
“Because you need money?”
His face hardened.
“Don't be ridiculous.”
“Then why did you ask about my college fund?”
He stared at me.
“I was trying to help you.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Maya.”
“You were trying to help yourself.”
Daniel stepped backward.
His expression became cold.
“You know what? Fine.”
He straightened his jacket.
“If that's what you believe, maybe I shouldn't have come.”
The old familiar fear rose inside me.
The fear that made me apologize whenever he threatened to leave.
But this time, something had changed.
I wasn't six years old anymore.
I wasn't waiting by the window.
I looked at him.
“You're right.”
He froze.
“What?”
“Maybe you shouldn't have come if all you wanted was money.”
His face twisted.
“You'll regret talking to me like this.”
I felt my hands shaking.
But I didn't move.
“No.”
I swallowed.
“I regret making Marcus step out of my graduation picture.”
Daniel stared at me.
Then he looked at Marcus.
For a moment, I thought he might apologize.
Instead, he said something that made my blood run cold.
“You think this is over?”
Marcus stepped forward.
“Leave, Daniel.”
Daniel smiled.
“Not until I get what I'm owed.”
He walked out.
The front door slammed.
I stood frozen.
Then my mother slowly sat down on the sofa.
Marcus locked the door.
And for the first time, I realized Daniel wasn't simply a disappointing father.
He was becoming someone I was afraid of.
My phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
I opened it.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Marcus leaving a bank.
Beside him was a woman I'd never seen before.
The message beneath it read:
YOUR STEPFATHER HAS BEEN HIDING MONEY FROM YOUR MOTHER.
I stared at the screen.
May you like
Then looked toward Marcus.
And suddenly, the night became much more complicated.
