Chapter 3
I stared at the photograph until the faces blurred.
My father looked so young.
His hair was longer.
His smile was wider.
He was standing beside Arthur as though they loved each other.
I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen Dad smile like that.
After Mom died, he became quieter.
He still laughed with me.
Still danced badly while cooking breakfast.
Still celebrated every little achievement.
But there was sadness behind his eyes.
I'd always believed that sadness came from losing my mother.
Now I wondered whether he'd been carrying another loss.
"How could you have been looking for us?"
My voice sounded small.
Arthur wiped his cheeks.
"Your father disappeared after a terrible argument."
I shook my head.
"He said you threw him out."
Arthur looked devastated.
"I never did."
I stared at him.
"He said you accused him of stealing."
Arthur closed his eyes.
For a moment, I thought he wasn't going to answer.
Then he nodded.
"There was an accusation."
My stomach tightened.
"So it was true?"
"No."
His voice cracked.
"The accusation happened. But I never believed Daniel stole from me."
I looked down.
That wasn't what Dad had told me.
Arthur leaned forward.
"Your uncle Victor managed the family company's financial records."
I remembered Victor vaguely.
He was Dad's older brother.
Tall.
Always dressed in expensive suits.
He used to bring me toys when I was little.
After Dad left the family, Victor disappeared from our lives too.
Arthur continued.
"Fifteen years ago, several million dollars went missing from one of our business accounts."
My heart began pounding.
"How much?"
"Almost three million."
I swallowed.
Arthur looked toward the window.
"Victor told me Daniel had transferred it."
I stared at him.
"He showed me documents bearing your father's signature."
My stomach tightened.
"What did Dad say?"
"He denied everything."
I nodded.
"Of course he did."
Arthur's eyes filled.
"I wanted an independent investigation."
I leaned forward.
"Then why did Dad leave?"
Arthur looked ashamed.
"Because Victor told him I'd already decided he was guilty."
I stared at him.
"He said that?"
Arthur nodded.
"And apparently told me Daniel refused to cooperate."
I felt sick.
Two brothers.
One father.
A missing fortune.
And a story that had separated our family for fifteen years.
I looked directly at Arthur.
"Did you ever try to call him?"
"Every week at first."
I shook my head.
"Dad said you never called."
Arthur's face tightened.
"Victor handled my personal office communications then."
The room went silent.
I thought about Dad working at the mechanic shop.
Coming home with grease on his hands.
Saving every dollar.
Refusing help even when we were struggling.
What if he'd believed his father hated him?
What if Arthur had believed his son wanted nothing to do with him?
I couldn't breathe.
Arthur continued.
"I hired someone to find Daniel after he stopped answering letters."
My stomach tightened.
"What happened?"
"The investigator reported that Daniel had moved several times and wanted no contact."
I looked down.
Dad and I had moved twice.
But we had never hidden.
We lived in the same Atlanta neighborhood for years.
Our address was on my school records.
Dad worked at the same repair shop until he died.
I looked up.
"That doesn't make sense."
Arthur nodded slowly.
"I know that now."
Before I could respond, someone knocked.
A woman in a navy business suit entered.
She introduced herself as Camille Brooks, the foundation's legal counsel.
Arthur had asked her to come after the confrontation.
She looked at me gently.
"Miss Carter, I'm sorry about what happened."
I nodded.
Camille reviewed the incident report.
The security team had preserved the footage.
Several guests had given statements.
One woman had even recorded Vanessa pulling my braid.
I felt embarrassed.
But Camille explained that the evidence mattered.
I could choose whether to pursue a formal complaint.
I didn't have to decide immediately.
Arthur looked at my damaged sketches.
"Can we have these professionally restored?"
I shook my head.
"Some of them might be beyond repair."
He studied the blue gown.
"Do you still have the original digital files?"
I hesitated.
"Some."
"Then we may be able to reconstruct the collection."
I looked at him.
"Why are you helping me?"
He seemed surprised.
"Because you're my granddaughter."
I felt anger rise.
"That didn't matter for fifteen years."
He flinched.
The room became quiet.
I immediately felt guilty.
But I couldn't take it back.
I'd spent years wondering why my grandfather didn't love me.
I'd watched Dad struggle.
I'd gone without things other children had.
And now this wealthy man was offering to repair my drawings as though everything could suddenly become normal.
Arthur looked down.
"You're right to be angry."
I stared at him.
He continued.
"I don't deserve your trust simply because we're related."
My throat tightened.
"I don't even know you."
He nodded.
"Then let me earn the chance."
I looked away.
I wanted to believe him.
But trust had become something I guarded carefully.
Camille finished reviewing the incident.
Then her phone vibrated.
She glanced at the screen.
Her expression changed.
"Mr. Carter, there's something you should see."
Arthur looked up.
"What?"
She turned her tablet toward him.
I couldn't see the screen at first.
But his face hardened.
Then he looked at me.
"Was Vanessa the person who approved your invitation?"
I shook my head.
"I don't know."
Camille checked another record.
"Her office requested that Maya's application be removed from the finalist list."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
Camille continued.
"The request came three days ago."
Arthur looked furious.
"On what grounds?"
"Conflict of interest."
I stared at her.
"Why would Vanessa care about my application?"
Camille hesitated.
Then answered.
"Because Vanessa Whitmore is engaged to your uncle Victor."
I stopped breathing.
My uncle.
The man involved in the accusation that destroyed my father's relationship with his family.
And now his fiancée had attacked me at the gala.
Arthur stood so suddenly that his chair scraped against the floor.
His expression was no longer simply angry.
He looked frightened.
I watched him take out his phone.
"Get Victor here."
Then he looked at me.
"Maya, I think what happened today may have been planned."
May you like
And suddenly, I understood that Vanessa hadn't humiliated me because I was poor.
She might have known exactly who I was.
