Chapter 7: The Detective Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
“Detective Harris died twelve years ago.””
Patricia's whisper barely carried across the living room, yet Maya heard every word.
The doorbell rang again.
“Maya Brooks,” the man outside called, “I know you're in there. Please open the door.””
Maya stared at Patricia.
“How could someone who's dead be standing outside my apartment?””
“I don't know,” Patricia replied.
“But I know the real Detective Harris. I testified in front of him thirty-one years ago, and I watched them lower his coffin into the ground.””
The man knocked three times.
“Miss Brooks, I'm here because someone filed a complaint regarding the falsification of your birth records. I can help you.””
Maya's phone remained pressed to her ear. Her mother was still on the line, breathing shakily.
“Baby, what's happening?”” Angela asked.
“There's a man outside claiming to be a detective.””
Angela gasped.
“Don't let him in.””
Patricia moved toward the window and carefully lifted the curtain.
The black sedan sat beneath a streetlamp. Its windows reflected the bright light from a neighboring building. A tall Black man in a dark suit stood at Maya's door, holding a leather folder.
He looked calm. Almost bored.
Patricia stepped away from the window.
“That's not Harris,” she whispered.
Maya swallowed.
“Then who is he?””
“I don't know. But he knows your name, and he knows about Grace Carter.””
The man outside spoke again.
“Miss Brooks, your biological mother is waiting to meet you. She's asked me to bring you to her.””
Maya froze.
“Evelyn?””
Patricia shook her head violently.
“Don't answer him.””
The man slid a document beneath the door.
Maya watched it move across the floor.
“It's a court order,” he said.
“You have every right to verify it. I'm not asking you to trust me. I'm asking you to read it.””
Patricia stepped forward.
“Don't touch it.””
Maya stared at the paper.
“If it's a court order, we can check it.””
“And if it's a trap?”” Patricia demanded.
“Then I want to know who's setting it.””
Maya picked up the document with a tissue.
The paper bore an official-looking seal, a case number, and the signature of a judge. It authorized the temporary preservation of records relating to the Carter family's missing infant.
At the bottom was a handwritten instruction.
*Bring the original pendant.*
Maya's stomach twisted.
She looked down at the necklace resting against her shirt.
“How did he know about this?””
Patricia's eyes filled with fear.
“Because somebody has been watching you.””
The man outside knocked once more.
“Miss Brooks, I have a photograph that may explain everything.””
He slid a second item beneath the door.
A photograph.
Maya picked it up.
It showed a hospital corridor. In the center stood Lorraine Carter, unmistakably younger but wearing the same pearl earrings Maya had seen in the photograph hidden inside her jewelry box.
Beside her stood a man holding a newborn baby.
Maya recognized the man's face from a portrait on Richard's phone.
Richard's father.
The man who supposedly died before Maya was born.
Maya turned the photograph over.
Written across the back were the words:
*October 14. The child was never meant to leave the hospital.*
Her hands began to shake.
“Patricia,” she whispered, “Richard's father was there.””
Patricia looked at the photograph.
Then she sat down as though her legs had given way.
“No.””
“You said he died before I was born.””
“He did.””
“Then how could he be standing beside Lorraine?””
Patricia covered her mouth.
For the first time since entering Maya's apartment, she looked genuinely confused.
The man outside lowered his voice.
“Miss Brooks, I understand that Patricia Cole is with you. She's been lying to you for years.””
Patricia rushed toward the door.
“Tell him to leave!””
Maya caught her arm.
“No. I want answers.””
The man continued.
“Patricia signed the original surrender document. She knows who your biological parents are, and she knows why the hospital record was sealed.””
Patricia's face crumpled.
“That's not true,” she whispered.
“Then open the door and tell her yourself.””
Maya stared at Patricia.
“Did you sign the document?””
Patricia lowered her eyes.
“Yes.””
“Did you know who my parents were?””
“Yes.””
“Did you know Richard Carter?””
Patricia hesitated.
Then she nodded.
Maya stepped backward.
“You've been telling me pieces of the truth, but you still haven't told me everything.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“Stop saying that!””
Maya's voice cracked.
“Every person who lied to me used those exact words. My mother. Lorraine.
Now you. What was so terrible about the truth that everyone decided I wasn't allowed to have it?””
Patricia began to cry.
“Because the truth would have destroyed more than one family.””
Maya looked toward the door.
“Who is the man outside?””
“I don't know.””
“Who was Richard's father?””
Patricia shut her eyes.
“His name was Samuel Carter. And he was alive when you were born.””
Maya's heart pounded.
“Then why did everyone say he was dead?””
Patricia opened her eyes.
“Because Samuel Carter died two days after your birth.””
The room went silent.
Maya stared at the photograph again.
“If he died two days later, why did his death certificate say he died before I was born?””
Patricia's lips trembled.
“Because someone changed the date.””
Maya felt sick.
“Who?””
Before Patricia could answer, the man outside spoke again.
“Miss Brooks, you have ten minutes to decide whether you want the truth.””
Footsteps moved away from the door.
Maya rushed to the peephole.
The hallway was empty.
She looked through the window.
The black sedan was still parked at the curb.
The man was gone.
Her phone vibrated.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
*Ask Richard what happened to his father on October 16. Then ask him why the hospital paid Lorraine Carter $2 million.*
Maya read the message aloud.
Patricia's face went completely white.
“No,” she whispered.
Maya turned toward her.
“What happened on October 16?””
Patricia stood so quickly that her handbag fell to the floor.
“We need to leave.””
“Answer me!””
Patricia grabbed the photograph of Samuel and Lorraine.
“If you stay here, you won't live long enough to hear the answer.””
Maya's phone rang again.
This time, the caller ID showed Evelyn Carter.
Maya answered.
Evelyn was crying.
“Maya, sweetheart, please tell me you're safe.””
“I'm at home. Why?””
“Because Richard just confessed something to me.””
Maya gripped the phone.
“What did he confess?””
Evelyn's voice broke.
“He said he saw his father alive after the funeral.””
Maya stopped breathing.
“That's impossible.””
“I know.””
May you like
Evelyn paused.
Then she whispered, “And he says the man who was buried wasn't Samuel Carter.””
