Chapter 5: The Man Who Claimed My Daughter
“Who made that call?”” I demanded.
Officer Bennett glanced down at his radio.
“We're verifying the information, sir.””
“Someone just claimed to be my daughter's biological father. I think I deserve to know who.””
“I understand your concern. Right now, we need everyone to remain calm.””
Tasha had gone completely still.
Maya stood between us, holding my hand with one of hers and gripping her backpack with the other.
I could feel her little fingers trembling.
I squeezed them gently.
“I'm right here, baby.””
She looked up at me.
“But what if it's true?””
I swallowed the anger rising in my throat.
“Then we'll find out the truth together.””
Tasha turned away.
I caught the movement.
“You already knew someone might say this, didn't you?””
She shook her head, but her answer came too quickly.
“No.””
“Tasha.””
“I didn't know he would contact the airport.””
“Who is he?””
She stared at the floor.
Officer Bennett gestured toward the jet bridge.
“Let's continue this conversation in a private area.””
We stepped off the aircraft together.
The bright terminal windows stretched across the corridor, revealing service vehicles moving along the runway. Passengers streamed past us, pulling suitcases and checking departure screens.
Maya walked close to my side.
Tasha followed several steps behind.
At the end of the jet bridge, Officer Bennett led us into a small airport office with glass walls, a desk, and four chairs. Another officer was already there, reviewing something on a computer.
A paper cup of coffee sat beside his keyboard.
He looked up as we entered.
“Mr. and Mrs. Carter?””
“Yes,” I said.
“I'm Officer Lewis. We received a call from a man named Daniel Reed.””
Tasha grabbed the back of a chair.
I turned toward her.
“Daniel Reed?””
She didn't respond.
Officer Lewis continued.
“He stated that he has information concerning the child's parentage and requested that we prevent her departure until the matter can be clarified.””
I felt my mouth go dry.
“Did he say he's her biological father?””
“Yes.””
Maya pressed herself against my side.
I put an arm around her shoulders.
“Has anyone verified his identity?””
“We're working on that.””
“Then why are we even discussing his claim as if it's a fact?””
Officer Lewis nodded.
“That's a fair question. A claim isn't proof. We have no determination to make about parentage based solely on a phone call.””
For the first time since boarding, I felt a small measure of control return.
I looked at Tasha.
“Did you know Daniel's last name?””
She stared at me.
“Please don't do this here.””
“Reed. Does that name mean anything to you?””
Her face tightened.
“Yes.””
I waited.
“Who is he?””
She sat down and covered her face with both hands.
“He was there.””
“Where?””
“At the hospital.””
I gripped the back of the chair opposite her.
“You just told me he wasn't there when Maya was born.””
“I said he wasn't there when she was born. I didn't say he wasn't there that night.””
The room seemed to shrink.
Officer Lewis stopped typing.
I pulled out the chair and sat down.
“Start talking.””
Tasha looked at Maya.
“Could someone take her somewhere comfortable while we discuss this?””
Maya immediately tightened her grip on my arm.
“No,” she said.
Everyone looked at her.
She lifted her chin, though her eyes were wet.
“I want Daddy here.””
I drew her against me.
“Then I'm staying.””
Tasha nodded weakly.
“Fine.””
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she began.
“Eleven years ago, when I was seven months pregnant, I started having complications. The doctors were worried about the baby.””
I remembered those weeks. The canceled dinners, the extra appointments, the way she sometimes woke from nightmares and insisted she was fine.
“You told me the doctor said everything was normal,” I said.
“He said there was a chance of an early delivery. I didn't want you to panic.””
“You told me not to worry.””
“I was scared.””
“So you lied?””
She lowered her eyes.
“Yes.””
The admission landed between us with a dull finality.
Tasha continued.
“The night Maya was born, there was an emergency. You were taken to another room because they thought I might need surgery. I was frightened, Malcolm. I thought I might die.””
My anger faltered, replaced by a memory I had spent years trying not to revisit.
I remembered the fluorescent lights in the waiting area. The vending machine humming beside me. A nurse who had refused to give me an update because she didn't have permission.
I had been terrified, too.
But I had never known there was more to the story.
“What does Daniel have to do with that?”” I asked.
Tasha rubbed her palms against her trousers.
“He was connected to the hospital. He knew people there.””
“Was he a doctor?””
“No.””
“A nurse?””
“No.””
“Then how was he connected?””
She looked at Officer Lewis, who had quietly moved away from the desk to give us privacy.
“He was someone I knew before I met you.””
My stomach tightened.
“An ex-boyfriend?””
Tasha didn't answer.
I leaned forward.
“Were you involved with him when we started dating?””
“No.””
“Were you involved with him when we got married?””
“No.””
“Then why does he believe Maya is his daughter?””
Tasha's face crumpled.
“I don't know what he believes.””
“He called the airport, Tasha!””
“I know!””
Her voice echoed through the small office.
Maya jumped.
Tasha immediately looked horrified.
“I'm sorry, baby.””
Maya buried her face against my shoulder.
I stood.
“That's enough. You're scaring her.””
Tasha rose too, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I'm not trying to hurt her.””
“Then stop making her carry your secrets.””
She stared at me for a long moment.
Then she reached into her handbag and pulled out a small white envelope.
I'd seen it before.
It was the envelope she had tried to hand me on the airplane, the one I had refused to accept.
She placed it on the desk.
“Daniel sent this to me last month,” she said.
“I was supposed to open it with him when we arrived.””
I stared at the envelope.
“What's inside?””
“I don't know.””
I almost laughed.
“You've been taking our daughter across the country to meet a man you refuse to identify properly, and you haven't even opened the envelope he's been sending you?””
“He told me not to.””
“And you listened?””
Tasha nodded.
I reached for it.
The flap had already been opened and carefully resealed.
Inside was a single folded document and a photograph.
I pulled out the photograph first.
It showed Tasha standing outside a hospital entrance, younger by more than a decade. Her hair was pulled back, and she wore a pale blue maternity gown beneath a coat.
Beside her stood a tall Black man in a dark jacket.
Daniel.
I recognized him immediately from the photograph, even though I had never seen him before.
He was holding a newborn baby wrapped in a white blanket.
Tasha's face in the photograph wasn't frightened.
She was smiling.
And the way she looked at the baby made my chest tighten.
I turned the photograph over.
Three words had been written on the back.
*The night we agreed.*
I looked at Tasha.
“What did you agree to?””
She began to cry harder.
“I thought it would protect you.””
“Protect me from what?””
She pointed at the folded document.
“Read it.””
I opened the paper.
At the top was the name of a medical facility I remembered from Maya's birth. Beneath it were several lines of printed text, a date, and a signature.
My eyes moved to the bottom of the page.
The signature belonged to Tasha.
Beside it was Daniel Reed's.
But the final line wasn't a medical diagnosis.
It was a statement about a child.
A statement indicating that, on the night Maya was born, an arrangement had been made concerning her biological parentage.
I read it once.
Then again.
The words refused to settle into anything I could understand.
“Tasha,” I whispered.
“What is this?””
She covered her mouth.
Officer Lewis stepped closer.
“Sir, if that's a medical or legal document, we may need to verify its authenticity before drawing conclusions.””
I barely heard him.
I was staring at the date.
The date Maya was born.
Then I saw another line.
A line identifying the child's biological father.
My vision blurred.
Because the name printed there wasn't Daniel Reed.
It was a name I recognized.
A name that had belonged to someone I trusted long before I ever met Tasha.
Someone who had been dead for years.
I looked up slowly.
“Why,” I asked my wife, “is my brother's name on my daughter's birth record?””
Tasha made no attempt to answer.
May you like
And from the chair beside me, Maya whispered the one question I was no longer certain I could answer honestly.
“Daddy, did Uncle Marcus know about me?””
