Chapter 6: The Name Beneath Her Name
Maya stood in the doorway, staring at the document.
Her own name appeared at the top in black letters.
Below it was a date of birth, a hospital name, and a line identifying her mother.
But another line had been covered with a strip of white paper.
Someone had deliberately hidden the name of her father.
Maya reached toward the document.
Daniel caught his breath.
“Don't tear it.””
She turned on him.
“Why would I tear it?””
“I didn't mean—”
“You knew this was here. You knew my mother left it. And you let me walk around thinking I was going crazy!””
Daniel looked down.
“I didn't know what she had written.””
“Then why did you bring me here?””
“Because I thought you deserved to see it.””
Maya picked up the document.
The paper shook between her fingers.
She read the hospital name twice, hoping it might mean something. It didn't. She had never heard of the hospital, and it wasn't the one her mother had always mentioned when talking about Maya's birth.
“What's this place?”” she asked.
Daniel leaned closer.
“St. Agnes Community Hospital.””
Maya frowned.
“My mother said I was born at Westbrook Medical Center.””
Daniel's expression changed.
He didn't look surprised.
That frightened her.
“She told you something different,” he murmured.
Maya took a step backward.
“Stop talking like that.””
“Like what?””
“Like you know everything about my life!””
“I don't.””
“Then tell me what you do know!””
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“I know your mother came to this house three months ago. I know she left that photograph and the letter. I know she asked Eli to protect Nia and Jordan. And I know she wanted you to find this room.””
Maya stared at him.
“Why?””
“Because she believed you would eventually need to know the truth.””
“What truth?””
Daniel glanced toward the open door.
Eli stood outside, his face tense.
“Ask him,” Daniel said quietly.
Maya turned toward the boy.
“Eli?””
He looked down at his worn shoes.
“I don't know what's written on that paper.””
“Then why does he think you know?””
“Because I know what your mother told me.””
Maya gripped the document.
“What did she tell you?””
Eli looked at Nia and Jordan, who had followed them to the doorway.
“Can they stay here?”” he asked.
Maya blinked.
“Of course.””
“No,” Eli said.
“I mean, can they stay with you while I talk to you?””
Daniel immediately shook his head.
“That's not a good idea.””
Eli rounded on him.
“You don't get to decide everything!””
“I'm trying to keep them safe.””
“Then you should have done something three months ago!””
Daniel's face tightened.
Maya stepped between them.
“Enough. Both of you.””
The men fell silent.
She turned to Eli.
“Tell me.””
Eli looked at her for a long moment.
Then he stepped into the room and closed the door halfway, leaving a narrow opening through which the sunlight still streamed.
“When your mother came here, she was carrying that red backpack,” he began.
“She was crying.””
Maya's throat tightened.
“My mother doesn't cry.””
Eli gave her a sad look.
“Everybody cries.””
Maya lowered her eyes.
He continued.
“She asked me to promise something. She said if you ever found this place, I should make sure you weren't alone when you saw the photograph.””
“Why?””
“Because she thought you'd have questions.””
“That's not an answer.””
“I know.””
Eli pressed his lips together.
“She also told me that you weren't supposed to grow up here.””
Maya stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
He shook his head.
“I don't know.””
“Eli, please!””
“I don't know!”” he shouted.
The sound startled them both.
Eli stepped back, breathing hard. His eyes shone with tears.
“I'm eleven, Maya. I don't have all the answers. I don't even know why she chose me. She just asked me to look after Nia and Jordan and keep your picture safe.””
Maya looked at the children through the open doorway.
Nia stood with her arms wrapped around Jordan.
Neither child seemed surprised by Eli's words.
Maya looked back at the document.
“Why did she trust you?””
Eli swallowed.
“Because I was here when she needed someone.””
“When?””
He hesitated.
“Before I met Nia and Jordan.””
Maya waited.
Eli glanced at Daniel, who gave him a small, reluctant nod.
“Your mother found me sleeping outside this house,” Eli said.
“I was hungry. I didn't have anywhere else to go. She brought me food.””
Maya remembered the lunch container.
Her hands began to tremble again.
“She fed you?””
“Every day for a while.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I didn't want you to think I only cared about your family because of what your mother did for me.””
Maya's eyes filled with tears.
“You protected this picture for her.””
Eli nodded.
“Because she asked me to.””
“And you shared my lunch with the children.””
“They were hungry.””
“You were hungry, too.””
He looked away.
“That's not the point.””
Maya stared at him, suddenly understanding something that had escaped her all afternoon.
Eli wasn't trying to earn a reward. He wasn't trying to manipulate her. He had been carrying a promise that was too large for an eleven-year-old boy to bear.
And he had been doing it alone.
Maya stepped closer.
“I'm sorry.””
Eli frowned.
“For what?””
“For thinking you were just some boy trying to steal my food.””
His eyes dropped to the floor.
“You didn't know.””
“I should have asked.””
For a moment, they stood silently in the little room.
Then Maya turned back to the document.
She carefully lifted the white strip covering the father's name.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Wait.””
Maya froze.
“What now?””
Daniel's face was pale.
“Your mother specifically asked me not to let you read that part until I could explain what it meant.””
Maya stared at him.
“Are you serious?””
“I know how it sounds.””
“It sounds like everybody wants to control what I know about my own life!””
She pulled the strip away.
The adhesive released with a soft ripping sound.
Beneath it was a name.
Maya read it once.
Then again.
Her lips parted, but no words came.
She knew that name.
Not from school.
Not from television.
From the framed family photograph in her living room, where her mother stood beside a man Maya had always been told was her father.
The name on the document was different.
Maya raised her eyes toward Daniel.
“Who is this man?””
Daniel looked as though he had been waiting three months for that question.
“His name is Marcus Reed.””
Maya shook her head.
“No. My father's name is David Carter.””
Daniel said nothing.
“My dad lives with us.””
Daniel's expression softened.
“Then David Carter is the man who raised you.””
Maya stepped backward.
The document slipped from her fingers and landed on the floor.
“No.””
Eli moved toward her, but she held up a hand.
“No. I don't want anybody touching me.””
He stopped immediately.
Maya looked at the paper again.
Her mother's name.
Her own birthday.
A hospital she had never heard of.
And a father whose name she had never been told.
She wanted to rip the document apart. She wanted to run home and demand that her mother explain everything.
Instead, she bent down and picked it up.
“Who is Marcus Reed?”” she whispered.
Daniel looked toward the door.
“I was hoping your mother would be the one to tell you.””
“Is he alive?””
Daniel hesitated.
That single hesitation answered more than he intended.
Maya's face crumpled.
“Is he dead?””
“No,” Daniel replied quickly.
“Not as far as I know.””
“Then where is he?””
“I don't know.””
Maya let out a shaky breath.
She looked at Eli.
“Do you know him?””
Eli shook his head.
“Never met him.””
“Has my mother ever said his name?””
“Not to me.””
Maya turned back to Daniel.
“Why would she hide my father's name?””
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Because she believed telling you too early could put you in danger.””
Maya's blood ran cold.
“What kind of danger?””
Before Daniel could answer, his phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
All the color drained from his face.
Maya watched him.
“Who is it?””
Daniel didn't answer.
The phone vibrated again.
This time, a message appeared.
Daniel read it silently, then looked at Maya with an expression of pure dread.
“What does it say?”” she demanded.
He turned the screen toward her.
The message contained only one sentence.
*“She's found the birth record. Bring Maya home before her father finds out.””*
Maya stared at the words.
Then she looked up at Daniel.
“Which father?””
Daniel's phone vibrated a third time.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
It showed a man standing outside Maya's school that very morning.
A man Maya recognized immediately.
David Carter.
The father who had raised her.
The father she had kissed goodbye at breakfast.
May you like
And beneath the photograph was a final message.
*“He knows where she is.””*
