Chapter 2: The Man Who Couldn't Answer
For the first time since I had known him, Marcus Bennett looked afraid of me.
Not afraid that I would scream. Not afraid that I would slap him or throw the wine bottle back at his sister.
He looked afraid of what I might discover if he answered one simple question.
"Why is your name on my birth certificate?""
My voice sounded unfamiliar, thin beneath the enormous chandeliers.
Marcus glanced at the document in my hands.
"Maya, please.""
I stared at him.
"Please what?""
"Give me a minute.""
"A minute?"" I repeated.
"You've had twenty-eight years, Marcus. How much more time do you need?""
Several guests began shifting in their seats. Someone whispered near the bar. A waiter carrying a silver tray stopped beside a table, uncertain whether to continue walking.
Vanessa noticed the audience and straightened her gown.
She lifted her champagne glass.
"Well," she said, "I suppose the truth has finally made an appearance.""
Marcus turned on her.
"Put the glass down.""
Vanessa raised her eyebrows.
"Excuse me?""
"You heard me.""
She slowly lowered the glass, but instead of setting it down gently, she pushed it across the table. It knocked against another glass, spilling champagne over a folded napkin.
"Don't speak to me as if I'm one of your employees," she said.
"You don't get to control every conversation anymore.""
"I'm trying to prevent you from destroying someone's life.""
Vanessa gave a short, bitter laugh.
"Destroying her life? Marcus, look at her. She's already wearing the evidence.""
I tightened my grip on the document.
"Stop talking about me like I'm not standing here.""
Vanessa turned toward me.
"Then ask better questions.""
I looked down at the paper.
The record appeared authentic. It carried an official seal, a county registration number, and several lines of typed information. I couldn't make sense of all the details, but the name was unmistakable.
Marcus Bennett.
The man who had attended my college graduation when my mother was too sick to travel.
The man who had sat beside me in a hospital waiting room when she died.
The man who had promised, with his hand resting on my shoulder, that I would never have to face the world entirely alone.
That man was listed as my father.
I lifted my eyes.
"Did you know?"" I asked.
Marcus swallowed.
"Maya—"
"Did you know?""
He glanced toward Vanessa.
That single movement answered a question he hadn't spoken.
I stepped away from him.
"Oh my God.""
"Maya, listen to me," Marcus said, moving after me.
I raised one hand.
"Don't touch me.""
He stopped immediately.
The restraint in that movement hurt almost as much as the document itself. He had always respected my boundaries. He had never forced his way into my life.
But now I wondered whether his kindness had been another way of keeping me close.
"Was my mother lying to me?"" I asked.
Marcus shook his head.
"I can't answer that here.""
"Why not? Because everyone is watching?""
"Because this isn't as simple as you think.""
"Then make it simple!""
My voice cracked.
I hated that. I hated that Vanessa could watch my composure collapse while she stood in a gown that probably cost more than my monthly rent.
I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand, smearing a thin line of wine across my wrist.
"Tell me what this document means.""
Marcus looked as though he wanted to reach for the paper, but he kept his hands at his sides.
"I need to verify it.""
"Verify it?"" I said.
"It's an official birth record with your name printed on it.""
"Documents can be incomplete. Records can be amended. There may be details missing from what you're seeing.""
"Then tell me the details.""
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Vanessa set her handbag on the table and began rearranging its contents with deliberate little movements. She removed a lipstick, examined it, and put it away again.
"He's very good at this," she said.
I turned toward her.
"At what?""
"Making silence look like compassion.""
Marcus's face hardened.
"That's enough, Vanessa.""
"No, it isn't."" She closed her handbag with a sharp click.
"You have spent years playing the generous big brother. Paying for things. Showing up at the right moments. Making sure Maya never had a reason to question why you were so interested in her.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"So that's what this is?"" I asked him.
"You were helping me because of this?""
"No," Marcus said immediately.
The answer came so quickly that I almost believed him.
Almost.
"Then why?"" I demanded.
"Because you needed help.""
"People need help every day. You don't rescue everyone.""
He looked directly at me.
"No. I don't.""
His answer left a silence between us.
Vanessa seized it.
"Exactly.""
Marcus turned toward her with such fury that she took a small step backward.
"You have no idea what you're talking about," he said.
"Then explain it.""
"I don't owe you an explanation.""
"You owe her one.""
For a second, I thought Marcus might finally speak. His lips parted, and his gaze settled on the document again.
Then he looked toward the far end of the hall.
A middle-aged man in a navy suit stood beside the entrance, watching us. He held a folded program in one hand. When Marcus noticed him, the man's expression changed.
He looked away.
Marcus's shoulders stiffened.
I followed his gaze, but the man had already begun moving toward the exit.
"Who is that?"" I asked.
Marcus didn't respond.
"Marcus, who is he?""
"Someone who shouldn't be involved in this.""
Vanessa laughed without humor.
"That's a convenient way to describe him.""
Marcus ignored her.
He stepped closer to me, lowering his voice so that the surrounding guests couldn't hear.
"Maya, I need you to leave with me.""
I stared at him.
"You want me to leave with you after I just found out you might be my father?""
His face went pale.
Vanessa's champagne glass slipped from her fingers and shattered against the floor.
The sound made several guests jump.
For the first time all evening, she had nothing to say.
I turned back to Marcus.
"Was that a question you were hoping I'd never ask?""
"No.""
"Then answer it.""
He looked at me for a long moment.
"I don't know what the document proves," he said carefully.
"But I know you deserve the complete truth.""
"From you?""
"From everyone.""
I wanted to believe that he was trying to protect me. I wanted to believe the man who had helped me through the worst years of my life hadn't been hiding behind his kindness.
But I couldn't ignore the way his eyes had changed when Vanessa produced the envelope.
He hadn't looked confused.
He had looked terrified.
I folded the birth record and slipped it into the envelope.
"I'm not going anywhere with you," I said.
Marcus nodded slowly, accepting the decision without arguing.
"All right.""
That somehow made everything worse.
I removed his jacket from my shoulders and held it out to him.
He didn't take it immediately.
"Maya, keep it. You're shaking.""
"I said take it.""
He accepted the jacket.
Our fingers brushed, and I pulled my hand away as though the contact had burned me.
Vanessa watched us, her lips pressed together in a thin line. Her smugness had faded, replaced by something colder and more calculating.
I picked up my handbag.
"I'm leaving," I announced.
Marcus stepped aside.
"I'll call you tomorrow.""
"Don't.""
"Maya—"
"Don't call me until you can tell me why your name is on my birth certificate.""
I walked toward the exit with my head held high, even though tears continued slipping down my face.
Behind me, I heard Vanessa speak.
"You should have told her years ago.""
Marcus answered in a voice so quiet that I nearly missed it.
"I was waiting for the right time.""
I stopped.
I turned around.
Marcus was staring at his sister, his expression stripped of every trace of warmth.
Vanessa folded her arms.
"The right time is gone, Marcus.""
Then she reached into her handbag again and removed a small white card.
She placed it on the table beside the shattered glass.
I could see only three words printed across the top.
*County Records Office.*
Underneath was a handwritten date.
My date of birth.
May you like
And beside it, in black ink, someone had written a single sentence:
Ask who requested the original.
