Chapter 4: The Man in the Photograph
“Daniel.””
Marcus said the name so quietly that Maya almost missed it.
But she saw what happened to Samuel.
The elderly janitor gripped the edge of the cocktail table. His fingers trembled against the white linen, and for the first time since Maya had met him, he looked genuinely afraid.
Victor, meanwhile, reached for Marcus's phone.
“Give me that.””
Marcus pulled the device away.
“No.””
Victor's mouth tightened.
“I wasn't asking.””
“And I wasn't offering.””
Maya stepped between them, still wearing Samuel's oversized gray jacket over her soaked teal dress.
“Who was Daniel?””
Neither man answered.
She pointed at the photograph.
“That's my mother. That man was standing beside her twenty-two years ago. Samuel has a picture of me when I was four.
You all react like someone has just announced a death every time I ask a question. So I'm asking again. Who was Daniel?””
Marcus looked at her for several seconds.
Then he placed his phone on the cocktail table, screen facing upward.
“Daniel Whitmore,” he said.
“He was a businessman. He was also the reason this company became what it is today.””
Maya frowned.
“Whitmore? As in Whitmore Holdings?””
Marcus nodded.
She knew the name. Everyone who worked private events in the city knew it. Whitmore Holdings owned hotels, commercial buildings, and several of the luxury properties that hosted the city's most expensive galas.
Victor adjusted his cuffs.
“Daniel was a brilliant man,” he said.
“But he made some unfortunate decisions.””
Samuel looked at him.
“That's one way to describe stealing a man's life.””
Victor slammed his palm against the table.
“Watch yourself!””
A nearby champagne flute tipped over. The liquid ran across the linen, dripping onto Victor's immaculate shoes.
He stared at the spreading stain, then grabbed the cloth and yanked it away from the table's edge.
“Look what you've done!”” he snapped at a nearby catering worker.
“Clean this up before I have every one of you removed.””
The worker hurried away.
Maya watched Victor's face.
He wasn't merely irritated. He was desperate to keep everyone focused on the smallest possible problem.
A spilled drink.
A wet dress.
A waitress who had supposedly embarrassed herself.
Anything except the photograph.
“Why does Daniel's name frighten you?”” Maya asked.
Victor laughed, but the sound came out strained.
“I'm not frightened of a dead man.””
The silence that followed was immediate.
Marcus slowly turned toward him.
Maya felt her stomach drop.
“Dead?””
Victor's lips parted.
For a second, he looked as though he wanted to take the word back.
Then he straightened his shoulders.
“Daniel died years ago. That's public knowledge.””
“How did he die?””
“An accident.””
“What kind of accident?””
Victor looked at Marcus.
Marcus said nothing.
Maya stepped closer to Victor.
“Was he my father?””
Victor's expression changed.
It wasn't a dramatic change. There was no gasp, no theatrical recoil. Instead, his eyes moved briefly toward Samuel, then back to Maya.
That tiny movement told her more than any answer could have.
“You know,” she whispered.
Victor leaned down until they were nearly eye to eye.
“I know that people can destroy their lives by believing whatever story sounds most appealing.””
Maya didn't move.
“Was Daniel my father?””
Victor's voice dropped.
“Ask your mother why she ran.””
Samuel abruptly reached for his phone.
“That's enough.””
Victor turned toward him.
“Why? Afraid she'll finally hear the truth?””
“No,” Samuel replied.
“Afraid you'll poison it before she has a chance to understand it.””
Victor let out a bitter laugh.
“You still think you're protecting someone.””
Samuel's jaw tightened.
“And you still think money makes you untouchable.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Both of you, stop.””
He took a breath, then faced Maya.
“I worked for Daniel before I became an executive. I knew him personally. He was a generous man, but he trusted the wrong people.””
“Did he know my mother?””
“Yes.””
“Did he know me?””
Marcus looked down.
“I don't know.””
Maya stared at him.
“You don't know, or you don't want to tell me?””
“I don't know what he was told about you.””
The distinction made her feel sick.
Samuel pulled out his old phone again and opened the photograph of Maya at four years old.
“He knew about her,” Samuel said.
“That much I can tell you.””
Marcus's face tightened.
“Samuel, don't.””
“Why not? You've spent years letting other people decide what this woman deserves to know.””
Victor stepped toward the phone.
“Put that away.””
Samuel held it against his chest.
“No.””
Victor grabbed his wrist.
Maya reacted immediately.
“Let him go!””
She seized Victor's arm and pulled. He released Samuel, then shoved Maya backward with one hand.
She stumbled into the cocktail table.
A glass rolled off and shattered against the stone tiles.
Marcus caught Maya before she fell.
“That's enough!”” he shouted.
The guests nearest the pool went silent. Several phones remained raised.
Victor looked around, suddenly aware that his actions had an audience.
He smoothed his jacket and pointed at Samuel.
“This man has been stealing company property and spreading lies. He's finished here.””
Samuel looked at him without blinking.
“You can take my uniform. You can take my job. You can't take what I remember.””
Victor's face hardened.
“Security!””
Two guards approached.
Marcus stepped in front of them.
“Nobody touches him.””
“Marcus,” Victor warned, “you are making a serious mistake.””
“Then I'll make it standing up.””
For several seconds, neither man moved.
Then a security officer approached Marcus with a small plastic evidence envelope.
“Sir, this was found inside the service office. The staff member asked us to deliver it directly to you.””
Marcus took the envelope.
Inside was a photograph, older and more faded than the one on his phone.
He drew it out carefully.
Maya saw herself as a little girl again, standing beside Samuel.
But this time, another person was visible in the background.
A tall man in a dark suit.
Daniel Whitmore.
And his hand was resting on the shoulder of a second child.
A little boy.
Maya leaned closer.
“Who is that?””
Marcus stared at the boy's face.
Then he looked at Victor.
For the first time, Victor's arrogance disappeared completely.
Because the little boy in the photograph had Victor's eyes.
May you like
And written on the back, in Daniel's unmistakable handwriting, was a sentence that made Marcus whisper, “No. That can't be right.””
*My two children must never discover what happened that night.*
