Chapter 2
"Give me the phone, Vanessa."
My voice sounded unfamiliar.
Cold.
Controlled.
The kind of voice that comes from a place beyond anger.
Vanessa pressed her white handbag against her chest.
"Daniel, you're frightening me."
I looked down at Maya, still trembling in my arms.
"No. What frightens me is that my daughter says her missing mother called you yesterday."
Vanessa glanced toward the door.
"She's confused."
"Then explain it."
"Not here."
"Here is exactly where you're going to explain it."
She shook her head.
"You don't understand what's happening."
"Then help me understand."
For several seconds, she stared at me.
Then she said something that made my stomach twist.
"Your wife didn't disappear because she wanted to leave you."
I stopped breathing.
"What?"
"Alicia found something she wasn't supposed to find."
Before I could respond, footsteps sounded in the hallway.
Someone knocked.
"Vanessa? Honey? The photographer is waiting."
It was Vanessa's mother, Evelyn.
Vanessa's entire expression changed.
The fear vanished beneath a practiced smile.
"Just a minute, Mom!"
I stared at her.
How could she sound so normal?
How could she pretend we were discussing wedding photographs when she had just suggested my missing wife was in danger?
I stepped toward the door and opened it.
Evelyn stood outside in an expensive champagne-colored dress.
Her smile collapsed when she saw Maya.
Then her eyes moved to Vanessa's face.
"What on earth happened?"
"The wedding is canceled," I said.
Evelyn blinked.
"Daniel, don't be ridiculous."
"Vanessa struck my daughter and destroyed her dress."
Evelyn looked at Maya.
For one brief second, I saw recognition in her eyes.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
Then she turned toward Vanessa.
"What did you do?"
Vanessa's voice cracked.
"Mom, please."
Evelyn stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
"Daniel, whatever happened, we can discuss it after the ceremony."
"There won't be a ceremony."
Her expression hardened.
"Think carefully before you do something you'll regret."
I almost laughed.
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm reminding you that families have complications."
Maya tightened her arms around my neck.
I felt her shaking again.
That was enough.
I walked toward the door.
Evelyn moved to block me.
"Where are you taking her?"
"Somewhere safe."
"Daniel, we have guests waiting."
"Then tell them the truth."
I pushed past her and entered the hallway.
Behind me, Vanessa shouted my name.
I didn't stop.
The wedding venue was a restored mansion outside Atlanta.
Guests filled the ballroom.
White roses lined the staircase.
A string quartet played somewhere below.
I had spent almost forty thousand dollars creating what I thought would be the beginning of a new family.
Now every decoration seemed like a cruel joke.
My best friend, Marcus Reed, met me near the stairs.
He was also my best man.
"Daniel? What's wrong?"
Then he saw Maya.
His expression changed instantly.
"Who did that?"
"Vanessa."
Marcus stared at me.
"What?"
"I'll explain later. Get my car."
He took one look at my face and didn't ask another question.
As he hurried toward the parking lot, Maya whispered into my ear.
"Daddy, are you mad at me?"
I stopped walking.
I turned toward her.
"Why would I be mad at you?"
"Because the wedding is ruined."
My chest tightened.
"Oh, sweetheart."
I kissed her forehead.
"You didn't ruin anything."
"But Vanessa said you would hate me if I told."
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
The real reason Maya had been so quiet lately.
The nightmares.
The nervous stomachaches before school.
The way she stopped talking whenever Vanessa entered a room.
I had seen the signs.
And I had explained them away.
"I will never hate you," I whispered. "Never."
Maya looked at me with uncertain eyes.
"Even if Mommy comes back?"
My knees nearly gave out.
"Especially then."
She lowered her voice.
"Vanessa said Mommy was bad."
"What else did she say?"
Maya glanced over my shoulder.
"She said Mommy would take me away if I told you about the phone."
I felt anger rising again.
But I forced myself to remain calm.
"Baby, did you hear Mommy's voice?"
She nodded.
"On speaker."
"What did she say?"
Maya thought for a moment.
"She said, 'Please, Vanessa. I just want to know if Maya is okay.'"
I stared at her.
Alicia had asked about our daughter.
After three years.
She hadn't forgotten us.
She hadn't stopped caring.
"Maya, did Mommy say where she was?"
"No."
"Did Vanessa answer her?"
Maya nodded.
"She said, 'You weren't supposed to call this number.'"
I felt cold spread through my body.
Then Maya added something else.
"Mommy was crying."
Marcus arrived with the car.
I carried Maya outside and strapped her into the back seat.
He handed me the keys.
"Want me to handle the guests?"
"Yes."
"What should I tell them?"
"The truth. Vanessa hurt Maya. The wedding is over."
Marcus looked at my daughter.
His jaw tightened.
"Consider it done."
I started the engine.
But before I could pull away, my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then something made me answer.
"Hello?"
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then a woman's voice whispered.
"Daniel?"
My fingers went numb.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it in dreams.
In old birthday videos.
In recordings I couldn't bring myself to delete.
"Alicia?"
A shaky breath came through the phone.
"Oh, God. Daniel."
I gripped the steering wheel.
"Where are you?"
"I don't have much time."
"Are you safe?"
"No."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"What happened to you?"
"Vanessa isn't who you think she is."
"I know. I canceled the wedding."
Alicia made a strangled sound.
"Thank God."
"Tell me where you are."
"I can't."
"Alicia, please."
There was movement behind her.
A door closing.
Then she whispered something so quietly I almost missed it.
"Don't take Maya home."
"Why?"
"Someone has been watching your house."
I looked at the rearview mirror.
Maya was staring at me.
Her little face had gone pale.
"Alicia, who?"
"Daniel, listen carefully. The accident wasn't an accident."
The line crackled.
"What accident?"
"The night I disappeared."
I felt every muscle in my body tighten.
"I know who forced me off the road."
Before I could ask another question, she whispered one final sentence.
"And Vanessa's mother knows exactly where I've been."
Then the call disconnected.
I sat frozen behind the steering wheel.
Three years of unanswered questions had just collapsed into a terrifying possibility.
My wife was alive.
May you like
Vanessa's family knew it.
And the woman who had almost become Maya's stepmother might have been placed in our lives for a reason.
