Chapter 8: The Last Page
The backstage door slammed shut.
Nia stared at David.
“What last page?””
David remained silent.
Angela stepped forward.
“Answer her.””
“I can't.””
“You've had eighteen years to answer.””
David rubbed both hands over his face.
“I was trying to keep you alive.””
Nia's expression changed.
“Alive?””
David looked at her.
“Yes.””
“Why would I have been in danger?””
Vanessa whispered, “Because of your grandfather.””
Angela turned.
“What does that mean?””
David looked at the attorney.
“Show them.””
The attorney opened the folder again.
“There are pages missing.””
Nia frowned.
“How many?””
“Four.””
Marcus asked, “Can we get them?””
The attorney shook her head.
“Not from this copy.””
“Then where?””
David answered.
“Thomas has them.””
Nia stared at him.
“So call him.””
David's face tightened.
“He won't give them to you.””
“Then I'll ask.””
David hesitated.
Nia held out her hand.
“Give me the phone.””
He did.
Nia called the number from the recent call.
Thomas answered almost immediately.
“You should be on stage.””
Nia swallowed.
“You know who I am.””
“I've always known.””
“Then tell me the truth.””
A quiet laugh came through the speaker.
“You're asking the wrong question.””
“What should I ask?””
“Ask your father why he chose money over you.””
David closed his eyes.
Nia looked at him.
“Did you?””
David whispered, “No.””
Thomas laughed again.
“He did.””
Nia's voice hardened.
“How much did you get?””
“Nothing.””
“Then why did you do it?””
Thomas paused.
“Because your father was weak.””
David grabbed the phone.
“Thomas, stop.””
“You're still protecting yourself.””
“No.””
“You told them I was responsible.””
“Because you were.””
“I was the one who threatened you.””
David's face went pale.
Nia stared.
Thomas continued.
“But you were the one who signed.””
David's hand trembled.
“Thomas…”
“You had a choice.””
The call ended.
Nia slowly took the phone from David.
The silence was unbearable.
Angela looked at David.
“Is it true?””
David nodded.
“Yes.””
Nia's voice was barely audible.
“Why?””
David sat down.
“When you were born, your grandfather changed his will.””
The attorney looked at him.
“Your grandfather discovered Thomas had been stealing from the company.””
Marcus frowned.
“So what happened?””
“Grandfather planned to remove him.””
David looked at Nia.
“But then you were born.””
Nia stared.
“The trust?””
“Yes.””
“Seven million dollars.””
David nodded.
“And your grandfather told me the trust would only remain protected if I stayed married to your mother and kept the family together.””
Angela's face tightened.
“So Thomas threatened you.””
“Yes.””
“And you believed him.””
David nodded.
“He said he could make you disappear.””
Angela's eyes flashed.
“You should have come to me.””
“I was ashamed.””
“You let shame cost me my daughter.””
David looked down.
“I know.””
Nia's hands curled into fists.
“Then why did you tell everyone I died?””
David's voice broke.
“Because Thomas had people watching the hospital.””
Nia stared.
“You could have taken me.””
“I tried.””
“When?””
“The night they transferred you.””
Angela looked at him.
“What?””
“I went to the facility.””
Vanessa whispered, “David…”
“I saw you.””
Nia stared at Vanessa.
“You saw me?””
Vanessa nodded.
“You were asleep.””
“And you left me there?””
David looked destroyed.
“I was going to take you.””
“What stopped you?””
“Thomas.””
The attorney stepped forward.
“That's enough.””
David looked at her.
“You don't know what happened.””
“I know what the records say.””
She reached into her briefcase.
“There is another document.””
Nia looked at it.
“What?””
“A witness statement.””
“From who?””
The attorney hesitated.
“From the nurse who was working that night.””
Angela stepped closer.
“Is she alive?””
“Yes.””
“Where is she?””
The attorney looked toward the backstage entrance.
“Outside.””
Nia's heart stopped.
“You brought her?””
The attorney nodded.
“She insisted on coming.””
A woman entered.
She was older, Black, with silver hair and a hospital ID hanging from her coat.
She looked at Angela.
“I've waited a long time to tell you.””
Angela's eyes filled.
“What happened?””
The nurse looked at Nia.
“I was there the night your father came.””
Nia's voice shook.
“What did he do?””
“He asked to take you.””
David lowered his head.
“And then?””
The nurse looked at Vanessa.
“Vanessa stopped him.””
Nia turned.
Vanessa began crying.
“I couldn't let him take you.””
The nurse continued.
“She told him the baby wasn't his anymore.””
Angela whispered, “My God.””
Nia stared at Vanessa.
“You chose to keep me.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Vanessa looked at her.
“Because I loved you.””
Nia shook her head.
“That wasn't love.””
The nurse reached into her purse.
She pulled out a tiny envelope.
“I kept this.””
Nia took it.
“What is it?””
“A photograph.””
Nia opened it.
It showed her as a newborn.
On the back was a handwritten sentence.
If anything happens to me, tell her who her real father is.
Nia looked at David.
“You wrote this?””
David nodded.
“But there's something missing.””
The nurse pointed at the photograph.
“Look behind it.””
Nia turned it over.
A second name had been written beneath David's.
Nia read it.
Her face went pale.
“Thomas.””
Angela stared.
“What?””
Nia held up the photograph.
“He was at the hospital that night.””
David shook his head.
“No.””
The nurse nodded.
“He came after you left.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“What did he do?””
The nurse looked at him.
“He wasn't looking for Nia.””
Nia's heart pounded.
“What was he looking for?””
The nurse's voice dropped.
“He was looking for your mother.””
Angela froze.
“Why?””
The nurse looked toward the door.
“Because he believed she had the original trust agreement.””
The attorney's phone buzzed.
She checked the screen.
A message appeared.
Her face drained of color.
Nia saw it.
“What does it say?””
The attorney slowly turned the phone around.
*THOMAS: YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE WRONG PERSON. ASK ANGELA WHO SHE GAVE THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT TO.*
Angela stared at the message.
Then she whispered:
“I never gave it to anyone.””
The nurse suddenly shook her head.
“Yes, you did.””
Angela looked at her.
May you like
The nurse pointed at Nia.
“You gave it to her.””
