Chapter 4: The Call That Should Never Have Come
Attorney Carter's phone continued vibrating inside her briefcase.
Nobody at the altar moved.
Maya stared at the screen through the open zipper, her mother's letter trembling between her fingers. The name displayed there belonged to a man she had never met, yet somehow he had been standing between her and the truth for twenty years.
Daniel Brooks.
Isaiah looked as though he had seen a ghost.
“Don't answer it,” he said.
Attorney Carter raised her eyes.
“You told me he was no longer involved.””
“I told you I hadn't heard from him in twenty years.””
“That isn't the same thing.””
Marcus stepped closer to the ceremony table.
“Someone needs to start explaining why a man none of us knows is calling an attorney in the middle of my wedding.””
“Your wedding?”” Maya repeated faintly.
Marcus turned toward her.
“I didn't mean—”
“No. It's fine.”” She swallowed.
“Apparently, everybody else has known more about my life than I have. I'm just trying to catch up.””
Her words silenced him.
Attorney Carter removed the phone from her briefcase. The screen continued flashing against her palm.
“Daniel Brooks is connected to the original legal matter,” she explained.
“I didn't expect him to contact me today.””
“Why does he have your number?”” Maya asked.
“Because I was appointed to preserve certain documents connected to the case.””
“What case?””
Attorney Carter glanced at Isaiah.
He looked away.
Maya slammed her mother's letter onto the table.
“Stop looking at him! I'm standing right here!””
The guests shifted in their seats. Several had begun whispering openly, but Maya no longer cared who heard her.
She pointed at the phone.
“Answer it.””
Attorney Carter hesitated.
“Maya, if this conversation concerns privileged legal communications—”
“It's my family. Answer the phone.””
The attorney accepted the call and activated the speaker.
“Daniel?””
A burst of static came through before a man's voice answered.
“Carter, tell me you haven't opened the envelope.””
Attorney Carter's expression tightened.
“I'm afraid it's too late for that.””
Silence.
Then the man asked, “Is Maya there?””
Maya leaned forward.
“Who are you?””
Another pause followed. She could hear the man's breathing, uneven and shallow.
“My name is Daniel Brooks.””
“I know your name. My mother wrote it in a letter that says you were the last person Isaiah spoke to before he disappeared.””
Daniel exhaled sharply.
“Denise gave you the letter?””
“She left it for me. Why?””
“Because she finally ran out of time.””
Maya's stomach twisted.
“What does that mean?””
“Where is Isaiah?””
“Standing right in front of me.””
A chair scraped against the floor as Isaiah moved toward the phone.
“Daniel, hang up.””
The voice on the speaker changed immediately.
“Isaiah?””
“Don't do this here.””
“You said you would never come back.””
“I said I would stay away if it kept Maya safe.””
“And now you're standing at her wedding?””
Isaiah's face tightened.
“I couldn't let her sign those papers without knowing.””
Maya looked sharply at Attorney Carter.
“What papers?””
Daniel made a low, frustrated sound.
“Carter, tell me exactly what she has seen.””
“The paternity report and a letter from Denise.””
“Has she seen the result?””
“No,” Maya answered before the attorney could speak.
“And nobody is telling me anything except what everyone is afraid to say.””
Daniel fell silent.
Maya could hear faint traffic in the background.
Finally, he said, “Maya, you need to understand that the DNA test wasn't the beginning of this story.””
“Then tell me where it began.””
“I can't do that over the phone.””
“Of course you can't.””
“Maya, listen to me. Your mother has been trying to protect you from something that happened long before you were born.””
Isaiah abruptly reached for the phone.
“That's enough!””
Marcus caught his wrist before he could knock it from the attorney's hand.
“Don't touch her things,” Marcus said firmly.
“If you have something to say, say it.””
Isaiah pulled away.
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain it!””
Daniel's voice rose through the speaker.
“Both of you, stop! This isn't about who gets to protect Maya. It's about what she was never told.””
Maya stood perfectly still.
“What happened before I was born?”” she asked.
Nobody answered.
Her fingers tightened around the letter until the paper crumpled.
“Was I adopted?””
“No,” Daniel replied quickly.
“Was Isaiah really my father?””
“I can't confirm that without the complete report.””
“Did my mother lie about him?””
Daniel hesitated.
That hesitation was more devastating than any answer.
Maya looked at Isaiah.
“You heard what he said. Tell me the truth.””
Isaiah's eyes glistened.
“I loved your mother.””
“That wasn't my question.””
“I loved you, too, before I ever knew whether you were mine.””
The words struck the room like another slammed door.
Maya stared at him.
“Before you knew?””
Isaiah lowered his head.
Daniel spoke again.
“Isaiah, you shouldn't have said that.””
“I'm tired of being told what I can and can't say.””
“And I'm tired of watching you make decisions that put her in the middle!””
Maya's voice cut through both men.
“ENOUGH!””
The wedding hall fell silent.
She turned toward Daniel's voice.
“You have one chance to tell me why your name is in my mother's letter. One chance. If you hang up, I'll find you myself.””
Daniel breathed into the phone.
Then he said, “Twenty years ago, I was the person who delivered the original DNA results to Isaiah.””
Maya's lips parted.
“And?””
“And I was also the person who told him he could never see you again.””
Isaiah closed his eyes.
Marcus stared at the phone.
Attorney Carter went pale.
Maya could barely force the next words out.
“Why?””
Daniel's answer came quietly.
“Because someone showed me evidence that made me believe Isaiah was dangerous to you.””
Isaiah shook his head.
“It was a lie.””
“Maybe,” Daniel said.
“But I didn't know that then.””
“Who showed you?”” Maya demanded.
Daniel paused.
When he spoke again, his voice had changed.
“Your mother wasn't the only person who knew about that test, Maya.””
“Who else knew?””
Daniel's breathing grew ragged.
“Your mother, Isaiah, me—and the man whose name was written on the second copy of the report.””
“What man?””
Daniel said the name.
“Marcus Reed.””
Maya turned so quickly her veil swept across the table.
Her groom stood motionless beside her.
May you like
The ring box lay between them.
And for the first time that day, Maya looked at Marcus as though she were seeing a stranger.
