Chapter 6: The Call
Emergency lights flickered on, bathing the graduation hall in dim red.
Families whispered nervously.
Someone near the back asked whether they should leave.
Graduates stood frozen in their burgundy gowns.
The dean still held the phone.
I stared at him.
“What did they say?””
Dean Walker swallowed.
“They said your mother is waiting.””
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Where?””
The dean looked toward the old photograph in my hand.
“At the place where she first asked us to hide you.””
I frowned.
“Where is that?””
Before he could answer, Arthur stepped forward.
“No.””
The dean looked at him.
Arthur shook his head.
“You promised me.””
“That promise ended when Marcus opened the envelope.””
Arthur's voice hardened.
“You don't understand what you're doing.””
Daniel moved closer.
“I think he does.””
Arthur turned on him.
“Stay out of this.””
“No.””
Daniel looked at me.
“I've stayed out of it for twenty-five years.””
Then he pointed toward the envelope.
“Not anymore.””
I looked at both men.
“Take me there.””
Arthur immediately said, “Absolutely not.””
I turned toward him.
“You don't get to decide anymore.””
His face tightened.
“Marcus, listen to me.””
“No.””
“You don't know what you're walking into.””
“Neither did I when you decided my mother was dead.””
Arthur recoiled.
The words landed.
I hated myself for saying them.
But I couldn't take them back.
Daniel stepped beside me.
Arthur stared at him.
“You think you can walk back into his life and fix this?””
“No.””
Daniel's voice was quiet.
“I think I can finally tell him the truth.””
I looked at the dean.
“Where?””
He took a slow breath.
“An old medical research building on the eastern edge of campus.””
“Why would my mother be there?””
“She worked there.””
I frowned.
“My mother was a nurse.””
“She was.””
Dean Walker nodded.
“But before you were born, she was part of a research program.””
“What kind?””
He hesitated.
“Something involving patient records and genetic identification.””
I stared at him.
“That sounds like DNA testing.””
“Yes.””
My pulse quickened.
“Why would that matter?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Because your mother was trying to prove something.””
“What?””
“That Daniel was your father.””
I looked at him.
He shook his head.
“No.””
I frowned.
“No?””
“She wasn't trying to prove that to me.””
He glanced at Arthur.
“She was trying to prove that you weren't safe.””
Arthur's face went pale.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at the dean.
“You know.””
Dean Walker's jaw tightened.
“I know what the records say.””
“Then tell him.””
The dean looked at me.
“Marcus, when your mother was pregnant, she discovered that someone had accessed your medical records before you were born.””
“Who?””
“We never identified the person.””
“Then why did she disappear?””
“Because the records showed something unusual.””
I felt a chill crawl up my arms.
“What?””
The dean looked toward Arthur.
“Your father asked us to keep this confidential.””
Arthur whispered, “Please.””
“What did the records show?””
Dean Walker took a breath.
“Your blood type didn't match Daniel's.””
I stared at him.
“So?””
“Your mother believed that meant something was wrong.””
Daniel interrupted.
“It wasn't just the blood type.””
He reached into his jacket and pulled out another folded paper.
“This is what I found after she disappeared.””
I opened it.
There were medical terms I didn't understand.
Numbers.
Names.
Dates.
And one sentence underlined in red.
*PATERNITY EXCLUSION — DANIEL COLLINS*
My hands went numb.
I looked at Daniel.
He nodded.
“I wasn't your biological father.””
The room disappeared around me.
“What?””
Daniel's eyes filled.
“Your mother thought I was. I thought I was. Everyone did.””
I turned toward Arthur.
He was crying.
“No.””
My voice became barely audible.
“No, no, no.””
Arthur stepped toward me.
“Marcus.””
“Who is my father?””
He stopped.
Daniel looked at him.
The dean looked at him.
And suddenly I understood.
Arthur's face told me before he spoke.
“I am.””
I couldn't breathe.
“You're my biological father?””
Arthur nodded.
“My son…”
I stepped backward.
“You knew?””
Arthur's tears fell.
“I found out after your mother disappeared.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because the people who were searching for her were searching for you too.””
“Who?””
Arthur looked toward the dean.
The dean lowered his head.
Then a sound came from the hall's rear entrance.
Three slow knocks.
Everyone turned.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Arthur went rigid.
Daniel whispered, “No.””
The dean's face drained of color.
I looked at the doors.
“Who is that?””
Arthur grabbed my arm.
“Marcus, don't move.””
The doors opened.
An elderly Black woman stepped inside.
Her hair was silver.
Her face was thinner than the face in my childhood memories.
But I knew her.
I knew her before she spoke.
My knees nearly buckled.
She looked directly at me.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Marcus?””
I couldn't speak.
Arthur covered his mouth.
Daniel stood completely still.
The woman took one trembling step forward.
“I've waited twenty-five years to say this.””
Her voice broke.
“I'm your mother.””
I stared at her.
She smiled through her tears.
Then she looked at Arthur.
And the smile vanished.
“Why did you bring him here?””
Arthur frowned.
“I didn't.””
She looked toward the doors behind me.
Her face suddenly filled with terror.
“No.””
I turned.
A shadow moved beyond the glass.
My mother grabbed my hand.
“Marcus, we have to go.””
“Why?””
She looked at Arthur.
Then Daniel.
Then the dean.
And finally at me.
“Because the person who tried to kill us twenty-five years ago knows you're here.””
A loud crack split the hall.
Everyone screamed.
The glass doors behind us shattered.
My mother pulled me down.
Arthur threw himself over both of us.
May you like
And through the ringing silence, I heard someone outside shout one sentence:
“Take Marcus alive.””
