Chapter 2
The man outside the door wasn't a stranger.
That was what frightened me most.
I recognized his shoes before I saw his face.
Black leather.
Silver buckle.
A small scratch near the heel.
I had seen those shoes at Christmas.
At Thanksgiving.
And at our house almost every Sunday.
"Uncle Daniel?"
My voice sounded tiny.
The man slowly stepped into the doorway.
It was Daddy's younger brother.
Daniel Carter.
He was thirty-five years old.
Tall.
Handsome.
Always smiling.
Except he wasn't smiling now.
His face looked almost as pale as Claire's.
Daddy was standing beside the hospital chair, holding Noah securely in his arms.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Daddy looked at Daniel.
"Why are you here?"
Daniel swallowed.
"Marcus, we need to talk."
Daddy's eyes narrowed.
"Why are you standing outside my wife's hospital room?"
Daniel looked toward Claire.
She shook her head.
It was a tiny movement.
But I saw it.
So did Daddy.
His expression changed.
"Daniel."
My uncle looked down.
Daddy stepped closer.
"Tell me you're not the reason Claire has been lying."
Daniel didn't answer.
I felt cold all over.
Claire suddenly sat up.
"Marcus, please don't do this here."
Daddy turned toward her.
"Do what?"
"Make a scene."
He stared.
"You just told my daughter her baby brother wasn't her real family."
Claire looked away.
Daddy continued.
"Then I found out the child I've been preparing to raise isn't biologically mine."
His voice broke.
"And now my brother is standing outside the door looking terrified."
Daniel rubbed his face.
"Marcus, it wasn't supposed to happen."
The room went completely silent.
I looked at Daddy.
His mouth opened slightly.
"What?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
Claire began crying.
I didn't understand everything.
But I understood enough.
Something terrible had happened.
Something involving Daddy.
Claire.
And Uncle Daniel.
Daddy took one careful breath.
"Is Noah your son?"
Daniel looked toward the baby.
Then slowly nodded.
"Yes."
I felt my knees weaken.
Uncle Daniel?
Noah's father?
But Daddy was married to Claire.
And Daniel was Daddy's brother.
My mind couldn't put the pieces together.
Daddy stared at Daniel for a long time.
Then he laughed once.
It was a terrible sound.
Not happy.
Not even angry.
Just broken.
"My own brother."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Marcus, listen."
Daddy raised one hand.
"Don't."
Daniel stopped.
Claire wiped her cheeks.
"Marcus, it happened during a difficult time."
Daddy turned toward her.
"A difficult time?"
She nodded.
"When you were working so much."
I saw his expression change.
"You are not going to blame my job."
Claire's voice rose.
"I was lonely!"
Daddy stared at her.
Then looked at Daniel.
"And you helped her feel less lonely?"
Daniel lowered his head.
I had never heard Daddy sound like that.
So hurt.
So disappointed.
I wanted to hug him.
But Noah was still in his arms.
The nurse gently stepped forward.
"Mr. Carter, would you like me to settle the baby in the bassinet?"
Daddy blinked.
For a moment, he seemed to have forgotten where he was.
Then he nodded.
"Please."
The nurse carefully took Noah and placed him in the bassinet.
She checked that he was safe.
Then looked at the adults.
"I think this conversation should continue somewhere quieter."
Daddy nodded.
He looked toward me.
"Maya, sweetheart."
I immediately stepped closer.
"Yes, Daddy?"
He knelt.
His eyes were red.
"Are you okay?"
I shook my head.
He opened his arms.
I ran into them.
For a moment, he held me so tightly that I could hear his heartbeat.
"I'm sorry, baby."
I started crying.
"Is Noah still my brother?"
Daddy pulled back.
His expression crumpled.
He looked toward the bassinet.
Then back at me.
"Sweetheart, none of this is your fault."
I swallowed.
"But Claire said—"
"I know."
He gently wiped my face.
"And she was wrong to hurt you."
I looked toward Noah.
He was sleeping again.
He didn't know any of this was happening.
He was just a baby.
A tiny baby who hadn't done anything wrong.
Daddy seemed to understand what I was thinking.
He kissed my forehead.
"We'll figure out the grown-up problems."
I nodded.
"Okay."
He asked the nurse whether I could wait in the family lounge with a trusted relative.
Then he called Aunt Renee.
She was Daddy's older sister.
She lived fifteen minutes from the hospital.
When she arrived, she looked worried.
The moment she saw me, she knelt.
"Maya, sweetheart."
I ran into her arms.
She hugged me tightly.
"What happened?"
I started crying.
"I don't know."
That was the truth.
I didn't know how to explain what I had just seen.
I only knew Daddy looked like somebody had broken his heart.
Aunt Renee took me into the family lounge.
She bought me a juice box.
Then sat beside me.
For a while, we didn't speak.
Finally, I asked, "Can grown-ups stop being family?"
She looked at me.
"What do you mean?"
I stared at the juice box.
"If people lie, do they stop belonging?"
Aunt Renee's eyes filled.
She gently held my hand.
"Sometimes relationships change because people hurt each other."
I swallowed.
"But children don't cause that."
I looked up.
"Even babies?"
"Especially babies."
My throat tightened.
I thought about Noah.
His tiny fingers.
His soft blanket.
The way he looked when he slept.
Then I asked another question.
"Can Daddy still love him?"
Aunt Renee hesitated.
"That's something your dad will need to decide."
I nodded.
I didn't like that answer.
But I knew she was telling the truth.
An hour later, Daddy came into the lounge.
His eyes were swollen.
He sat beside me.
I climbed into his lap.
He held me silently.
Then Aunt Renee asked what had happened.
Daddy looked toward the floor.
"Daniel admitted the affair."
Her expression changed.
"What?"
Daddy nodded.
"He says it started last year."
Aunt Renee covered her mouth.
Then Daddy said something that made me look up.
"Claire claims Daniel promised her something."
Aunt Renee frowned.
"What?"
Daddy swallowed.
"She says he promised they'd have access to money Dad left in the family trust."
My stomach tightened.
Grandpa's trust?
Daddy continued.
"And Daniel claims Claire knew something about those accounts before they ever got involved."
Aunt Renee became very still.
I looked between them.
Because suddenly, the secret wasn't only about Noah.
There was money involved.
May you like
Family money.
And I had the terrible feeling that Uncle Daniel had been hiding much more than one baby.
