Chapter 5: The Man Who Came Back
The word hit me harder than anything else that day.
Son.
I couldn't move.
The man standing in the doorway looked older than the photograph, but there was no mistaking him.
Same eyes.
Same jaw.
Same face my mother had once touched with the kind of tenderness I'd only seen in old memories.
Daniel.
My biological father.
Arthur stepped backward, putting his body between us.
“You shouldn't be here.””
Daniel's smile disappeared.
“I had every right to be.””
“You lost that right twenty-five years ago.””
Daniel's eyes moved past him.
They landed on me.
“I came for my son.””
Arthur's hands curled into fists.
“You don't get to call him that.””
Daniel's voice was calm.
“I don't need your permission.””
Dean Walker approached them.
“Daniel, this is not the place.””
Daniel looked at him.
“You said the same thing twenty-five years ago.””
The dean stopped.
I looked at him.
“You knew?””
He lowered his eyes.
“Yes.””
My chest tightened.
“Everybody knew.””
Nobody answered.
I stepped around Arthur.
He grabbed my shoulder.
“Marcus, don't.””
I pulled away.
“No.””
Daniel took another step.
Arthur immediately blocked him.
“Stay away from him.””
Daniel stared at Arthur.
“You've done enough.””
Arthur's expression hardened.
“Don't talk to me about enough.””
“I know what you did.””
“I kept him alive.””
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“You stole my family.””
“I saved your family.””
“You kidnapped my son.””
“I protected him from you.””
Daniel's eyes flashed.
“You think that makes you a hero?””
Arthur laughed without humor.
“No. I think it makes me his father.””
I stood between them.
“Stop.””
Both men went silent.
I looked at Daniel.
“Did you know about me?””
“Yes.””
“Where were you?””
He hesitated.
“Gone.””
“That isn't an answer.””
“I was trying to survive.””
“While my mother was raising me?””
Daniel looked at Arthur.
“Your mother wasn't raising you.””
My stomach dropped.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel's voice softened.
“She was afraid someone would find you.””
“Who?””
He looked at Dean Walker.
The dean said nothing.
Daniel continued.
“The people who were after me.””
I shook my head.
“Then why did you leave?””
“Because staying would have gotten you killed.””
“Did you ever try to come back?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Many times.””
Arthur interrupted.
“You never came near him.””
“Because you threatened me.””
“I warned you.””
“You told me if I came back, Marcus would disappear.””
I turned toward Arthur.
“Is that true?””
Arthur looked away.
“I did what I had to do.””
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“You always say that.””
I felt anger rising in my chest.
“You both keep talking like I'm a package you passed between each other.””
Daniel looked at me.
“You're right.””
His voice softened.
“I should have fought harder.””
I wasn't prepared for that.
He reached inside his jacket.
Arthur immediately tensed.
“What are you doing?””
Daniel slowly pulled out a photograph.
He held it toward me.
“This was taken the day you were born.””
I didn't take it.
“Why do you have it?””
“Because your mother gave it to me.””
“Then why didn't you come back?””
His eyes filled with tears.
“Because three days later, someone tried to kill me.””
The room went still.
“Who?””
Daniel looked at Arthur.
Arthur whispered, “Don't.””
Daniel ignored him.
“The person who ordered it was someone your mother trusted.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't know if you're ready.””
I almost laughed.
“Apparently that's everyone's favorite sentence today.””
He looked at me sadly.
“I deserve that.””
He lowered the photograph.
“But there's something else you need to know.””
“What?””
“Your mother didn't die when you were six.””
My entire body went cold.
I stared at him.
Arthur shut his eyes.
“Daniel.””
Daniel looked at me.
“She disappeared.””
“What?””
“Your mother was alive after the day you were told she died.””
I looked at Arthur.
He didn't deny it.
“Dad?””
His face was devastated.
“I didn't know where she went.””
“But you told me she died.””
“She wanted you to believe that.””
“No.””
I stepped backward.
“No, you told me she died in a car accident.””
Arthur's voice broke.
“I lied.””
The word echoed through the hall.
I felt something inside me crack.
“You lied about my mother.””
“Yes.””
“You lied about Daniel.””
“Yes.””
“You lied about everything.””
Arthur wiped his face.
“I lied because I was scared.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“And I stayed away because I was scared.””
I looked between them.
Two men.
Two versions of my life.
Neither one made sense.
Then Dean Walker spoke.
“There is one person who can settle this.””
I turned toward him.
“Who?””
He pointed toward the sealed document.
“Your mother.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
“She left a complete account of what happened.””
“Where is she?””
The dean didn't answer.
I felt my hands go cold.
“Where is my mother?””
Daniel looked down.
Arthur whispered, “Marcus…”
“Where?””
Dean Walker finally said it.
“She is alive.””
The world seemed to tilt.
I stared at him.
“What?””
“She has been alive all these years.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
Arthur looked like a man facing the consequences of every decision he'd ever made.
I turned toward him.
“You knew.””
He didn't answer.
“You knew my mother was alive?””
Arthur's silence was enough.
I stumbled backward.
A lifetime of memories rearranged themselves in seconds.
Every birthday.
Every Mother's Day.
Every time I'd asked what she looked like.
Every night I'd wondered why I couldn't remember her voice.
She had been alive.
Somewhere.
While I grew up believing she was dead.
I looked at Daniel.
“Where is she?””
He shook his head.
“I don't know.””
I looked at the dean.
“You do.””
Dean Walker's face went pale.
“I know where she was last seen.””
“Where?””
He reached into his robe and pulled out another envelope.
This one wasn't sealed with wax.
It had my name written across it.
*MARCUS REED*
Underneath, in handwriting I recognized instantly from the few birthday cards my mother had written before her supposed death, were six words:
If you're reading this, find me.
My knees nearly gave out.
Arthur grabbed my arm.
Then every light in the graduation hall suddenly went off.
A phone rang somewhere in the darkness.
One sharp sound.
Then another.
Daniel whispered, “That's impossible.””
I heard the dean answer.
“Hello?””
Silence.
Then his face changed.
He slowly lowered the phone.
“Marcus,” he said.
May you like
“What?””
“The caller asked for you.””
