Chapter 3: The Call From My First Wife
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
I had imagined hearing Elena's voice hundreds of times over the years.
In dreams, in memories, and during those lonely nights when Maya was sick and I wished there had been someone beside me.
But I had never imagined hearing it while my second wife stood ten feet away, looking as though she had seen a ghost.
"Elena?"" I finally whispered.
"Yes.""
I gripped the edge of the kitchen counter.
"Where are you?""
"Not far from you.""
My heart began pounding.
"What does that mean?""
"I've been trying to contact you for years, Michael.""
I closed my eyes.
"Why didn't you?""
A quiet breath came through the speaker.
"Because every time I tried, someone told me you didn't want to hear from me.""
I looked at Vanessa.
She shook her head immediately.
"Don't listen to her," she said.
Elena heard her.
"Is Vanessa there?""
I couldn't answer.
"Michael, please tell me she's there.""
"Yes.""
The line went silent.
Then Elena spoke again.
"Then I know why you never received my letters.""
My fingers went numb.
"Letters?""
"Twenty-three, Michael. I kept copies of every one.""
I stared at the wall.
Twenty-three letters.
I had received none.
"Where did you send them?""
"Your old address first. Then your new house. I even sent some to your office.""
I felt sick.
"Why would Vanessa have anything to do with that?""
Elena let out a small, broken laugh.
"Because she was the one who gave me the address.""
I looked at my wife.
Vanessa had turned completely white.
"Elena, I need you to tell me exactly what happened nine years ago.""
"I can," she said.
"But not over the phone.""
"Where are you?""
"At a coffee shop near the airport.""
"Which airport?""
"Chicago O'Hare.""
I frowned.
"You're in Chicago?""
"I've been here for three days.""
My eyes widened.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"I wanted to make sure Maya was safe before I came to you.""
I glanced toward my daughter.
She was standing beside the kitchen table, listening with wide eyes.
"She's safe," I said.
Elena's voice cracked.
"Can I see her?""
I looked at Maya.
She had stopped crying.
Instead, she was staring at the phone as though she was afraid the voice might disappear if she moved.
"Sweetheart," I said gently, "it's your mother.""
Maya's lips parted.
"Mommy?""
I switched to speaker.
A tiny sound came through.
"Oh, my baby.""
Maya covered her mouth.
"Are you really my mommy?""
Elena began crying.
"Yes, sweetheart. I am. I've wanted to hear your voice for so long.""
Maya looked at me.
"Why didn't you come back?""
Elena took a shaky breath.
"Because someone made me believe I had lost you.""
Vanessa suddenly moved toward the phone.
"That's enough.""
I stepped between them.
"Don't.""
"You don't understand what she's doing.""
I looked at her.
"Then explain it.""
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
"She's manipulating you.""
Elena spoke again.
"Michael, ask Vanessa about the hospital.""
I froze.
"What hospital?""
Vanessa's mouth opened.
Then closed.
Elena continued.
"Ask her why she was at Mercy Hospital the night Maya was born.""
I felt as though the room had tilted.
Maya was born at Mercy Hospital.
Vanessa had told me she first met us six months after Elena left.
That was how our story had always been told.
She had been a friend of a friend. Someone who brought dinner after I returned to work. Someone who gradually became part of our lives.
But Elena was saying she had been there before all of that.
"Vanessa," I said slowly.
"Were you at the hospital when Maya was born?""
She looked toward the stairs.
"Michael, please.""
"Answer me.""
"I was visiting a friend.""
"Who?""
She didn't answer.
Elena's voice came through the phone.
"She was visiting my room.""
My stomach dropped.
I remembered that night.
Elena had been exhausted after delivery. Maya had been placed in the nursery for observation because she had trouble breathing.
I had spent most of the night sitting beside Elena's bed, holding her hand.
At some point, I had gone downstairs to get coffee.
When I returned, Vanessa had been standing near the nurses' station.
She had told me she was dropping off a gift basket.
I had never questioned it.
Now the memory returned with terrifying clarity.
"Why were you there?"" I asked Vanessa.
She shook her head.
"Not now.""
"When?""
"Michael, you're upsetting Maya.""
I turned.
Maya was crying silently.
Her little hands were clenched around the photograph.
I knelt in front of her.
"Sweetheart, I need you to know something. Whatever happened between the adults, you are not responsible for any of it.""
She nodded.
Then she asked the question I couldn't answer.
"Is Mommy coming home?""
I looked at the phone.
Elena was crying too.
"If she wants me," Elena whispered, "I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for the time I lost.""
Maya stared at the screen.
"I don't know you.""
"I know, baby.""
"You missed my birthdays.""
"I know.""
"You missed my first day of school.""
"I know.""
"You weren't there when I broke my arm.""
Elena began sobbing.
"I know, sweetheart. And I'm sorry.""
Maya wiped her cheeks.
"Why should I believe you?""
The question was so honest that nobody in the room could respond.
Finally, Elena said, "You shouldn't have to believe me just because I'm your mother. Let me show you. One day at a time.""
Maya looked at me.
I nodded.
"That's fair.""
Then I stood up.
"Elena, I'm coming to see you.""
Vanessa grabbed my arm.
"You're not going anywhere.""
I looked down at her hand.
"Let go.""
"Michael, please. We can discuss this.""
"There's nothing to discuss until I know the truth.""
She released me.
I grabbed my car keys.
Before I could reach the door, Vanessa said something that stopped me.
"Ask her what happened to the money.""
I turned.
"What money?""
Vanessa's expression changed.
She seemed to realize she had said too much.
Elena was silent on the phone.
I raised it closer to my ear.
"Elena?""
She whispered, "I was afraid she'd bring that up.""
"What money?""
"Michael, before I disappeared, I had a savings account for Maya. Your mother helped me set it up.""
I remembered it.
A small account Elena had opened while she was pregnant. She had deposited money every month, even when we were struggling.
"What happened to it?""
Elena took a deep breath.
"Someone withdrew everything three days after I left.""
I looked at Vanessa.
"How much?""
"Forty-two thousand dollars," Elena answered.
The number seemed unreal.
I knew about that account.
I had contributed to it myself.
It was supposed to pay for Maya's education.
I turned toward my wife.
"Did you take it?""
Vanessa's face hardened.
"That money was used to keep this family alive.""
"What does that mean?""
"It means you weren't capable of handling anything back then!""
"Did you steal forty-two thousand dollars from an account belonging to my daughter?""
Vanessa stepped forward.
"Don't you dare call me a thief after everything I've done for you.""
I stared at her.
"You canceled my daughter's ticket. You lied about her mother. You told her Elena was dead. And now you're telling me you took her savings?""
"I raised Maya!""
"You helped raise her. That doesn't give you ownership of her life.""
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears, but her voice remained sharp.
"You're going to regret humiliating me like this.""
I opened the front door.
Outside, the morning sun was shining.
Somewhere down the street, a delivery truck reversed with a steady electronic beep.
Ordinary sounds.
An ordinary morning.
But my life had just split into two parts: everything I believed before that phone call, and everything I was about to discover.
"Michael," Elena said softly, "there's one more thing.""
I stopped.
"What?""
"I didn't just buy a ticket to leave that night.""
I frowned.
"What do you mean?""
"I bought two tickets.""
I looked at Maya.
Then back at the phone.
"Two?""
"One for me.""
Elena paused.
"And one for Maya.""
My breath caught.
"Why would you need a ticket for a baby?""
"Because I was taking her with me. I had your permission. We had agreed to spend a few weeks with my sister while you finished your contract at work.""
I remembered no such agreement.
"Elena, I never agreed to that.""
"I know.""
A terrible silence followed.
Then she said the words that made my blood turn cold.
"Michael, I have the original emails. I have your signed consent form. And I have the message Vanessa sent me that night.""
I looked at my wife.
She was no longer crying.
She was watching me with a strange, desperate expression.
Elena continued.
"She told me that if I ever came back, she would make sure you believed I had tried to kidnap our daughter.""
The phone nearly slipped from my hand.
Vanessa moved toward me.
"Michael, don't you dare—"
But I had already heard enough.
For nine years, I had believed one woman had abandoned our family.
Now I was beginning to understand that another woman had spent those same nine years making sure we never found each other.
And the worst part?
Vanessa was still standing inside my house.
May you like
Still wearing her wedding ring.
Still expecting me to call her my wife.
