Chapter 3: The Phone Call From The Past
The phone kept ringing.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody breathed.
It was strange how one small sound could make an entire room feel frozen.
My father stared at the screen.
I watched his hand hover above the answer button.
For years, I thought my father was the strongest person I knew.
He fixed broken furniture.
He worked double shifts.
He held my hand when I cried.
He stood between me and every problem life threw at us.
But now I saw something I had never seen before.
My father was afraid of a phone call.
“Dad,” I whispered.
He looked at me.
For one second, he looked like he wanted to tell me everything.
Then the phone stopped ringing.
The silence returned.
My mother let out a shaky breath.
“Still hiding?””
Marcus looked at her.
“You don’t understand.””
“No,” she said.
“You’re right.””
She lifted the old suitcase.
“I understand exactly.””
I stepped closer.
“What is happening?””
Neither of them answered.
That was the part that hurt.
They were talking around me.
Like I was still a little girl who couldn’t handle the truth.
But I wasn’t.
I had stood on that stage in front of hundreds of people while strangers laughed at my dress.
I could handle the truth.
“Mom,” I said.
Her eyes softened.
“Yes?””
“Did you leave me?””
The question broke something in her face.
She looked down.
Rainwater still clung to her coat.
“I never wanted to leave you.””
“Then why did you?””
She looked at Marcus.
That was when I understood.
The answer wasn’t simple.
It was somewhere between them.
Marcus ran a hand over his face.
“Lily, there are things you don’t know.””
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because I was tired.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
My voice became louder.
“Everyone knows something except me.””
The auditorium doors remained open behind my mother.
The storm outside continued.
Thunder rolled somewhere in the distance.
My mother placed the suitcase on the floor.
Then she opened it.
Marcus immediately stepped forward.
“No.””
The word came out like a warning.
My mother ignored him.
Inside the suitcase were old papers, photographs, and a small black notebook.
She picked up the notebook.
“This is why I came back.””
My father looked at it.
And his expression changed.
“What did you do?””
My mother stared at him.
“What you were too afraid to do.””
She handed the notebook to me.
I hesitated.
“Lily…”
Marcus reached for it.
I pulled it away.
“No.””
My father stopped.
I opened the notebook.
The first page had a handwritten name.
Not mine.
Not my mother’s.
A stranger’s.
DAVID HOLLOWAY.
My heart started pounding.
I looked up.
“Who is he?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
My mother did.
“He’s the reason your father disappeared before you were born.””
I froze.
“What?””
Marcus shook his head.
“That’s not true.””
My mother looked at him.
“You told her your name was Marcus Reed.””
He said nothing.
The room seemed to tilt.
I stared at my father.
“Dad?””
His silence was louder than any confession.
My mother wiped a tear from her cheek.
“I spent years trying to prove what happened.””
She pointed at the notebook.
“This contains everything.””
Marcus stepped toward her.
“You don’t know what you’re doing.””
“I know exactly what I’m doing.””
“You’re destroying her life.””
My mother looked at me.
“No.””
Her voice softened.
“I’m giving her the life she should have had.””
I flipped through the pages.
Most of it was handwritten notes.
Dates.
Addresses.
Names.
Then I saw a photograph tucked inside.
A younger version of my father stood beside another man.
The two men looked almost identical.
Same eyes.
Same smile.
Same face shape.
I looked at Marcus.
Then at the picture.
“Who is that?””
My father didn’t answer.
My mother whispered:
“Your father’s brother.””
I looked back at the photograph.
At the man I had never seen.
At the name written beneath it.
David Holloway.
My hands began to shake.
“Why does he look like you?””
Marcus closed his eyes.
For a long moment, nobody moved.
Then a voice came from the back of the auditorium.
A voice that wasn’t my mother’s.
A voice that wasn’t my father’s.
“You finally told her.””
Everyone turned.
A man stood near the entrance.
Older.
Wearing a dark coat.
Watching us.
My father went completely still.
My mother gripped the suitcase handle.
And the stranger looked directly at me.
“Hello, Lily.””
He smiled sadly.
“I’ve been trying to find you for ten years.””
Marcus whispered one word.
“No…”
The man took another step forward.
May you like
“My name is David Holloway.””
And my father’s face told me the truth was about to become even worse.
