Chapter 3: The Man Who Erased My Past
For eight years, I thought my biggest mystery was why my mother disappeared.
I was wrong.
The real mystery was why someone had worked so hard to make sure I disappeared with her.
The words stayed in my head long after Victor’s phone went dark.
*The person who wanted you gone knows you’re alive.*
I kept staring at him.
Waiting for him to tell me this was some kind of mistake.
A cruel joke.
Anything.
But Victor Hayes looked like a man who had just watched his worst nightmare wake up.
“Who sent that message?”” I asked.
My voice sounded different.
Older.
Like something inside me had changed in a single afternoon.
Victor looked around the empty courtyard.
“We can’t talk here.””
I almost laughed.
“That’s what everyone keeps saying.””
“Jaylen—”
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“You don’t get to tell me to be patient anymore.””
My fingers tightened around my mother’s letter.
“I spent eight years waiting for answers.””
Victor didn’t argue.
He just nodded.
“You’re right.””
That surprised me.
I expected excuses.
People with money always seemed to have a way of explaining why they weren’t responsible.
But Victor didn’t.
He looked tired.
Like he had been carrying a punishment nobody else could see.
Principal Harris glanced toward the school entrance.
“The ceremony will be ending soon. We need to leave before people start asking questions.””
I looked at her.
“Questions?””
Her face softened.
“Jaylen…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“Everybody keeps protecting me by hiding things from me.””
I looked at the letter.
“My mother did that.””
I looked at Victor.
“You did that.””
Then I looked at Principal Harris.
“You did too.””
Her eyes filled with regret.
“I thought I was keeping you safe.””
“Safe from what?””
She had no answer.
That was the answer.
I walked away from the fence.
My feet moved before my brain could catch up.
I didn’t know where I was going.
I just knew I couldn’t stand there anymore.
Not with hundreds of people celebrating their futures while mine was falling apart.
“Jaylen.””
Victor followed.
I turned around.
“Stop following me.””
He stopped immediately.
The fact that he listened almost made me angrier.
Because some part of me wanted him to fight for me.
Wanted him to say he wasn’t leaving again.
Instead, he stood there quietly.
Like he believed he deserved my anger.
“My whole life,” I said, “I thought I wasn’t enough for someone to stay.””
Victor’s expression broke.
“That’s not true.””
“Isn’t it?””
My voice shook.
“My mother left.””
His eyes lowered.
“She didn’t leave you.””
“She disappeared.””
“Yes.””
“So what’s the difference?””
Victor looked at me.
“The difference is that she spent every day after that trying to find a way back to you.””
The words hit me harder than I expected.
“What?””
Before he could answer, Principal Harris stepped closer.
“She wanted to come back.””
I stared at her.
“Then why didn’t she?””
Nobody spoke.
The silence felt like a wall.
Finally, Victor said:
“Because someone was watching her.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Who?””
Victor looked at the photograph in my hand.
“I don’t know if you’re ready.””
I almost smiled.
“You’re still doing it.””
“What?””
“Deciding what I can handle.””
He looked away.
And that told me everything.
“Tell me.””
Victor took a deep breath.
“Your mother discovered something.””
“About what?””
“About my company.””
I frowned.
“You mean you’re rich because of some company?””
“Yes.””
“What does that have to do with me?””
Victor hesitated.
Then he said:
“Everything.””
The word hung in the air.
He looked toward the black luxury car waiting near the curb.
“When your mother and I were together, I was building Hayes Global from nothing.””
I knew the name.
Everyone did.
Hayes Global was everywhere.
Technology.
Real estate.
Investments.
A company people mentioned on the news.
A company owned by a man whose face appeared on magazine covers.
I looked at him differently.
Not with admiration.
With confusion.
“You’re telling me my father is a billionaire?””
Victor gave a small, painful smile.
“I’m telling you I’m your father.””
The answer hurt more than the money.
Because for years, I had imagined my father as a stranger who didn’t care.
It was easier.
A rich man who lost his son because he was too busy chasing success was harder to understand.
“Why didn’t you find me?””
Victor looked down.
“I tried.””
“When?””
“Every year.””
“Where?””
He swallowed.
“Everywhere.””
“That’s not an answer.””
His eyes met mine.
“Your records were changed.””
I froze.
“What?””
“Your name. Your school records. Your medical information.””
Principal Harris nodded.
“It wasn’t random.””
She pulled out her phone.
She opened an old file.
“I kept copies.””
She turned the screen toward me.
There were documents.
My name.
My birthday.
But some of the information had been changed.
My eyes moved across the screen.
“Why would someone do this?””
Victor answered quietly.
“To erase you.””
The word made my skin crawl.
A sound came from behind us.
A car door closing.
All three of us turned.
A woman walked across the parking lot.
She was wearing a graduation gown and carrying flowers.
At first, I thought she was just another parent.
Then Victor’s face changed.
He recognized her.
“Who is that?”” I whispered.
Victor didn’t answer.
The woman stopped several yards away.
Her eyes moved directly to me.
Not Victor.
Not Principal Harris.
Me.
And then she smiled.
Not warmly.
Like she had finally found something she had been searching for.
Principal Harris stepped in front of me.
“Jaylen, stay behind me.””
The woman continued walking.
Victor’s voice became low.
“Don’t move.””
I looked at him.
“Who is she?””
His jaw tightened.
“Someone who should not know where you are.””
The woman stopped.
She looked at Victor.
“After all these years…”
Her voice carried across the parking lot.
“You finally found him.””
Victor went pale.
“Who are you?””
I looked at him in disbelief.
He didn’t know her?
The woman smiled.
“That’s funny.””
She tilted her head.
“Because your son knows me better than you think.””
My stomach dropped.
“What?””
She looked at me.
“Jaylen.””
Hearing my name from her mouth made my entire body tense.
She reached into her purse.
Victor immediately stepped forward.
“Don’t.””
The woman ignored him.
She pulled out a small object.
A photograph.
Another photograph.
She held it up.
And even from a distance, I could see it was old.
My hands went cold.
Because I recognized the picture.
It was my mother.
But she wasn’t alone.
She was standing beside a man.
A man I had never seen before.
And beside them was me.
As a little boy.
The woman smiled.
“You really don’t remember, do you?””
I couldn’t speak.
Victor stared at the picture.
Then at her.
His face lost all color.
“Where did you get that?””
The woman looked at me.
And whispered:
“Because I was there the night your mother disappeared.””
The wind stopped.
Everything became silent.
Then she said the name that made Victor take a step back.
“Ask your father about Damien Carter.””
My blood ran cold.
Because Carter was my last name.
And I had never heard that name spoken like it was a warning.
Victor looked at me.
“Jaylen…”
I stared at him.
“Who is Damien Carter?””
Victor didn’t answer.
He didn’t have to.
The fear on his face already did.
And in that moment, I realized something terrifying.
May you like
My mother hadn’t only been hiding my father.
She had been hiding my entire family.
