Chapter 4: The Man Who Wasn’t Supposed to Know
The photograph nearly slipped from my hand.
I caught it before it touched the ground.
But my fingers were already shaking.
Not from fear.
From recognition.
The man standing beside Maya in the picture was older now, but I knew that face.
I knew the cold eyes.
I knew the calm smile.
I knew the way he stood with his shoulders back like every room belonged to him.
Marcus Vale.
My old friend.
My former brother.
The man who had promised me he would always have my back.
The man who disappeared the same week Maya vanished.
I stared at the photograph until the edges blurred.
“Bear?””
Tasha’s voice sounded far away.
I looked up.
“How did you get this?””
She hesitated.
“That’s what I was trying to explain.””
“No.””
My voice came out sharper.
“How did you get this?””
Tasha swallowed.
“Maya sent it to me.””
The bridge suddenly felt colder.
“When?””
“Three months ago.””
Three months.
I looked at Eli.
Three months ago, his mother had been alive.
Three months ago, she had been thinking about me.
Three months ago, she had known this day was coming.
“Where is she now?””
Tasha looked down.
That silence returned.
The same silence that told me something was wrong.
“Where is Maya?”” I repeated.
Tasha took a slow breath.
“She’s gone.””
My jaw tightened.
“Gone where?””
“I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I’m not asking you to believe anything.””
Her voice cracked.
“I’m telling you the truth.””
I looked back at the photograph.
Marcus.
Maya.
Together.
A question burned through my mind.
Why?
Why would Maya stand beside the one person I thought had betrayed me?
Why would she hide Eli?
Why would she wait forty-two years to bring him to me?
Eli stepped closer.
“Is he my dad?””
The question froze everything.
A child asking the question was different.
It wasn’t an accusation.
It wasn’t anger.
It was hope.
I looked at him.
And for a moment, I saw myself.
A kid looking for someone who should have been there.
I lowered myself so we were closer to eye level.
“Eli…”
I stopped.
The truth was a dangerous thing.
Especially when you didn’t know if it was yours to give.
“I don’t know yet.””
His face fell slightly.
“But you know my mom.””
I looked away.
“Yes.””
“Then you know my dad.””
The words hit harder.
I looked at Tasha.
She didn’t say anything.
Because she knew.
Everyone seemed to know something except me.
I stood slowly.
“Where did Maya live?””
Tasha shook her head.
“I can’t tell you.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Why?””
“Because if Marcus knows you found Eli…”
She stopped.
Too late.
The name had already been spoken.
I stepped closer.
“What does Marcus have to do with this?””
Tasha looked nervous.
“Maya spent years running from him.””
“Running from him?””
“Yes.””
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was impossible.
Marcus had been my closest friend.
The man who pulled me out of fights.
The man who helped me rebuild my first motorcycle.
The man who stood beside me when everyone else walked away.
“You’re telling me Marcus was chasing her?””
Tasha looked at me.
“No.””
A pause.
“He was hiding her.””
My expression changed.
“What?””
“He wasn’t protecting her from someone else.””
The bridge became silent.
“He was protecting you from finding out the truth.””
My hands curled into fists.
“Why?””
Tasha looked at Eli.
Then at the photograph.
“Because Marcus knew about Eli before you did.””
The answer landed like a punch.
I looked at the boy.
Eight years old.
Carrying my pendant.
Carrying my past.
Carrying a story someone had stolen from me.
“Who is Marcus now?”” I asked.
Tasha’s eyes moved toward the street.
“I don’t know.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“It’s the only one I have.””
She reached into her bag.
This time, she pulled out a small piece of paper.
A phone number.
“He contacted me once.””
I took it.
“What did he say?””
Tasha’s face went pale.
“He said if Bear ever came looking…”
I waited.
“What?””
She looked directly at me.
“Tell him the boy was never supposed to survive.””
My stomach dropped.
Eli grabbed my hand.
“Bear?””
I looked down.
The fear on his face wasn’t for himself.
It was for me.
I folded the paper.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Because something inside me had changed.
For years, I had accepted losing everything.
But I wasn’t that man anymore.
Someone had taken my son.
Someone had erased my family.
Someone had decided I didn’t deserve the truth.
And I was done letting them.
I looked at Tasha.
“Where can I find Marcus?””
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
“The last place he wanted anyone to look.””
I waited.
“Where?””
May you like
Tasha looked at the old motorcycle pendant on Eli’s chest.
“Where your old life began.””
