Chapter 2
"Pack your things, Vanessa."
My words seemed to stop the air inside the house.
Vanessa stared at me.
"What did you just say?"
I didn't raise my voice.
I didn't need to.
"I said you need to leave tonight."
Her mouth fell open.
Then she laughed.
It was a sharp, disbelieving sound.
"You're joking."
I shook my head.
"No."
She looked toward Jordan.
Then back at me.
"Marcus, you cannot throw me and my child out because Maya had a little tantrum."
Maya flinched beside me.
I tightened my hand around hers.
"A tantrum?"
Vanessa folded her arms.
"She refused to cooperate."
I stared at my wife.
"You grabbed her, shoved her, packed her clothes, and told her she didn't belong here."
"That's not what happened."
I looked toward the suitcase.
"Then explain that."
Vanessa said nothing.
I stepped closer.
"Explain why my daughter was on the floor crying when I walked in."
She looked away.
For the first time, I saw uncertainty in her expression.
But it disappeared quickly.
"You always take her side."
I took a breath.
"This isn't about sides. This is about what you did."
Jordan stood silently near the staircase.
I looked at him.
"Jordan, go sit in the living room."
His eyes widened.
"Am I leaving too?"
The question surprised me.
He was thirteen.
He hadn't shoved Maya.
He hadn't packed her suitcase.
And although he'd smiled at first, he now looked genuinely frightened.
"You're not being punished for your mother's decisions," I told him.
Vanessa scoffed.
"How generous."
I ignored her.
"Jordan, please."
He nodded and walked away.
Maya pressed closer to me.
"Daddy, is she really going?"
I looked down.
"You're staying right here, sweetheart."
Her eyes filled.
"Promise?"
I knelt.
I wanted her to see my face.
"I promise."
She wrapped her arms around my neck.
I held her until her breathing slowed.
Then I picked up the turquoise suitcase.
I placed her clothes back inside.
Not because she was leaving.
Because I refused to let her belongings remain scattered where Vanessa had thrown them.
Vanessa watched silently.
When I finished, I carried the suitcase upstairs.
Maya followed, holding my hand.
Her bedroom was at the end of the hall.
It had pale-yellow walls and white furniture.
Danielle had helped choose everything before she became sick.
Above Maya's bed hung a framed photograph of her mother.
Danielle was smiling.
Her arms were wrapped around our daughter.
I felt a familiar ache in my chest.
Maya stood beside me.
"Mommy picked those curtains."
I nodded.
"I remember."
She looked toward her closet.
Then whispered, "Vanessa said I don't need this room anymore."
I swallowed.
"She was wrong."
Maya sat on the bed.
Her eyes were red.
I placed the suitcase beside her dresser.
Then I noticed something.
Several drawers were empty.
Her schoolbooks were gone.
The little jewelry box Danielle had given her was missing.
My heart tightened.
"Maya, where are your things?"
She looked down.
"Vanessa put them in the garage."
I stared at her.
"When?"
"Yesterday."
Yesterday.
That meant this wasn't a sudden argument.
Vanessa had been preparing to remove my daughter before I came home.
I sat beside Maya.
"Did she tell you where you were supposed to go?"
She nodded.
"Aunt Renee's house."
Renee was my younger sister.
She lived across town with her husband and three children.
I loved her.
But she had never agreed to take Maya permanently.
At least, I hoped she hadn't.
"Did Vanessa call Aunt Renee?"
Maya shook her head.
"I don't know."
I reached for my phone.
Then stopped.
First, I needed to make sure Maya was okay.
"Did Vanessa hurt you anywhere?"
She touched her upper arm.
"It hurts a little."
My stomach twisted.
I gently examined the area.
A faint red mark crossed her skin.
I felt anger rising again.
But I forced myself to remain calm.
"Did anything else happen?"
Maya hesitated.
Then nodded.
"She took my phone."
My chest tightened.
"Why?"
"Because I tried calling you."
I stared at her.
"She stopped you from calling me?"
Maya nodded.
"She said you were too busy."
I closed my eyes.
I had spent the afternoon meeting a client.
My phone had been on silent.
Even if Maya had called, I might not have answered immediately.
But Vanessa had taken away her chance.
I looked at my daughter.
"Where is your phone now?"
"In Vanessa's bedroom."
I kissed Maya's forehead.
"Stay here for a minute."
She grabbed my sleeve.
"Don't leave me."
My heart broke.
"I'm just going downstairs."
She shook her head.
"Please."
I sat back down.
"Okay."
I called Renee.
She answered after two rings.
"Hey, big brother."
"Renee, did Vanessa ask you to take Maya?"
Silence.
Then she said, "What?"
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Did she contact you about Maya living there?"
Renee sounded confused.
"No. Why?"
I looked at my daughter.
Her eyes filled.
"Vanessa told Maya she was going to stay with you."
Renee gasped.
"Marcus, nobody asked me anything."
I closed my eyes.
"Okay."
"What happened?"
I told her.
She became furious.
"She did WHAT?"
I held the phone away slightly.
"Renee, please."
"No. I'm coming over."
I hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
Before hanging up, Renee said something that stayed with me.
"Marcus, I've been worried about Vanessa for months."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
She sighed.
"Remember Easter?"
I remembered.
Vanessa had complained that Maya embarrassed everyone by crying when she saw Danielle's favorite flowers.
Renee continued.
"She told me Maya needed to stop acting like your first wife was still part of the family."
My chest tightened.
"She said that?"
"Yes."
I stared at the photograph above Maya's bed.
I had no idea.
Renee's voice softened.
"Marcus, there are things you need to know."
I swallowed.
"Then tell me."
She hesitated.
"I think Vanessa has been trying to push Maya out for longer than you realize."
My heart pounded.
After we ended the call, I looked at my daughter.
She was twisting the stuffed rabbit's ear.
"Maya?"
She looked up.
"Has Vanessa been treating you badly when I'm at work?"
Her face changed.
She looked frightened.
Then she whispered, "Am I allowed to tell you now?"
Those seven words made my blood run cold.
I stared at my daughter.
"Of course you are."
Her lip trembled.
"She said if I told you, you'd stop loving me."
I felt something inside me break.
I pulled her into my arms.
May you like
And I realized the worst part of this betrayal wasn't what Vanessa had done in the hallway.
It was everything she had convinced my daughter to hide.
