Chapter 3
I didn't know whether to run toward the door or hide beneath the table.
My father was coming.
A man I'd never met.
A man Grandma said didn't want me.
A man who apparently had spent years trying to reach me.
I clutched the photograph against my chest.
Daniel crouched beside my chair.
"Maya, you don't have to meet him today if you're not ready."
I stared at him.
"Does he want to meet me?"
His expression softened.
"Very much."
My throat tightened.
"How do you know?"
"Because I spoke with him this morning."
I looked up.
"What did he say?"
Daniel hesitated.
Then smiled sadly.
"He asked whether you were safe."
I started crying again.
Not because the question was frightening.
Because it was the kind of question Grandpa used to ask.
Are you safe, sunshine?
Did you get home okay?
Did you eat lunch?
Suddenly, I wanted to hear my father's voice.
"Can I call him?"
Claire stepped forward.
"Absolutely not."
Daniel stood.
"Claire."
She pointed at me.
"That man has no business speaking to this child."
I looked at her.
"I'm not a baby."
"You are thirteen."
"I know how old I am."
Her eyes widened.
I had never spoken to her like that.
My aunt Renee hurried toward us.
"Mom, please stop."
Claire turned.
"Don't involve yourself."
Renee looked at me.
Then at Daniel.
"Is this about Adrian?"
I froze.
"You know him?"
My aunt's face changed.
She looked ashamed.
"Maya..."
I stood.
"You knew my father?"
Renee swallowed.
"Yes."
My chest tightened.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
She looked at Claire.
Grandma's expression was deadly.
"Renee, don't."
My aunt's eyes filled.
"I'm sorry, Maya."
I stared at her.
Another adult.
Another secret.
I felt something inside me breaking.
"Did everybody know except me?"
Nobody answered.
I looked toward Grandpa's portrait.
He had always told me honesty mattered.
He said a family without truth was like a house without a foundation.
Now the people standing beneath his photograph were lying to me.
Or hiding things.
Or telling half-truths.
I didn't know who to believe.
Daniel gently offered me his phone.
"Would you like me to call Adrian?"
I stared at it.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
Claire grabbed my arm.
"If you do this, don't expect me to welcome that man into my home."
I pulled away.
"You said it was my home."
Her face turned red.
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
But I didn't regret them.
Daniel stepped between us.
"Claire, you need to give her space."
Then he dialed.
My hands shook so badly I could barely hold the phone.
It rang once.
Twice.
Then a man's voice answered.
"Daniel?"
My throat closed.
Daniel nodded encouragingly.
I whispered, "Hello?"
Silence.
Then the man spoke.
"Maya?"
I pressed my free hand against my chest.
"Yes."
His breathing changed.
"Oh, sweetheart."
I began crying.
I had never heard his voice before.
But something about it felt warm.
Careful.
Like he was afraid of frightening me.
"Are you my dad?"
He was silent for several seconds.
Then his voice broke.
"Yes, baby. I am."
My knees felt weak.
I sat down.
"Why didn't you come?"
He began crying.
I could hear it.
A grown man crying because his daughter asked why he'd stayed away.
"I tried, Maya."
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"I promise you, I tried."
I looked toward Grandma.
She had turned away.
Adrian continued.
"I wrote letters. I called. I went to court. I never stopped wanting to know you."
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Grandma said you didn't want me."
His voice cracked.
"Oh, baby, no."
I covered my mouth.
"I've wanted you every single day."
The room disappeared around me.
I could hear nothing but his voice.
I whispered, "Do you remember my mom?"
A long pause.
Then he answered.
"Every day."
My heart tightened.
"Was she nice?"
He gave a soft, broken laugh.
"She was wonderful."
I smiled through my tears.
"What was she like?"
"She loved music. She laughed when she was nervous. And she could never remember where she put her keys."
I laughed.
A tiny laugh.
My first since Grandpa died.
Adrian continued.
"She loved you more than anything."
I looked at my hands.
"Do you have pictures?"
"Boxes of them."
I began crying harder.
Grandma had kept only a small album of Mommy's photographs.
Whenever I asked for more, she said there weren't any.
Adrian's voice softened.
"Maya, I'd like to show you everything someday."
I whispered, "Okay."
Then I heard a car door close in the background.
I sat straighter.
"Where are you?"
"I'm outside the memorial hall."
My heart stopped.
"Right now?"
"Yes."
I looked toward the entrance.
The double doors were still closed.
He continued.
"I won't come inside unless you want me to."
I stared at Daniel.
He nodded gently.
The choice was mine.
For once, someone was asking what I wanted.
I swallowed.
"Can you come in?"
Adrian began crying again.
"Of course, sweetheart."
The call ended.
I stood.
My legs were trembling.
Aunt Renee reached for my hand.
I stepped away.
I wasn't ready for her comfort.
Not yet.
Daniel remained beside me.
The doors opened.
A tall Black man entered wearing a dark charcoal suit.
His hair was closely cropped.
His beard was neatly trimmed.
He looked around the room.
Then his eyes found mine.
He stopped.
I recognized those eyes.
Because I saw them every morning in my bathroom mirror.
He took one step forward.
Then stopped again.
"Maya?"
I nodded.
He covered his mouth.
I watched his shoulders shake.
For thirteen years, I'd imagined meeting my father.
Sometimes I pictured him as angry.
Sometimes as cold.
Sometimes as someone who wouldn't recognize me.
But the man standing in front of me was crying.
He looked like he'd found something precious he'd thought he'd lost forever.
He opened his arms slightly.
"May I hug you?"
My throat closed.
I nodded.
Then I ran.
He caught me against his chest.
His arms wrapped around me.
Warm.
Strong.
Careful.
I buried my face in his jacket and cried.
He kept whispering my name.
"Maya. My baby girl. Maya."
I held him tighter.
For the first time since Grandpa died, I felt like someone might catch me if I fell apart.
Then Grandma's voice cut through the room.
"Get your hands off her!"
I froze.
Adrian gently moved me behind him.
Claire marched toward us.
"You have no right!"
Adrian's expression changed.
He remained calm.
"Claire, I'm not here to fight."
She pointed toward the door.
"Leave."
I stepped forward.
"No."
Grandma turned.
"Maya!"
I looked directly at her.
"I asked him to come."
She stared at me.
Then she spoke quietly enough that only those closest could hear.
"If you leave with him, you will regret it."
Adrian looked toward Daniel.
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Claire, threatening Maya is unacceptable."
Grandma laughed.
"You think you can take her away because you have a few papers?"
Daniel opened his portfolio.
"Those papers matter."
She stepped closer.
"So does the agreement Marcus made."
Daniel froze.
My stomach tightened.
"What agreement?"
Grandma looked at him.
Then at Adrian.
Her lips curled into a bitter smile.
"You didn't tell her?"
Daniel's face changed.
Adrian stepped closer.
"Claire, what are you talking about?"
She reached into her purse.
Then she removed a folded document.
I stared at it.
Grandma held it up.
"Marcus signed this before he died."
Daniel approached carefully.
He examined the page.
His expression went completely still.
I grabbed Adrian's hand.
"What is it?"
Daniel looked at Claire.
"Where did you get this?"
She smiled.
"From my husband's files."
Daniel looked down again.
Then he whispered something that frightened me more than Grandma's threats.
May you like
"This signature doesn't look right."
And suddenly, I realized someone might have been using Grandpa's name to hide one last terrible lie.
