Chapter 2: The Father I Was Never Allowed to Meet
The applause never returned.
Not after that.
The university staff tried to continue the ceremony, but nobody on our side of the stage was paying attention anymore.
I stood there holding the identification card while hundreds of people watched my family fall apart without understanding why.
The dean eventually approached carefully.
“Maya, are you okay?””
I looked at him.
Was I okay?
Five minutes earlier, I was a graduate celebrating years of hard work.
Now I was holding proof that someone had erased an entire person from my life.
“I need a minute,” I said.
The dean nodded.
My father followed me backstage.
Vanessa stayed behind.
That bothered me.
A woman who had just destroyed a photograph connected to my mother should have followed me.
But she didn’t.
She stood under those bright lights, frozen.
Like she knew running would make her look guilty.
Backstage was quieter.
The noise from the auditorium became distant.
Robert closed the door behind us.
“Maya.””
I turned around.
“Who is Elijah Brooks?””
He looked at the floor.
That answer hurt.
“Dad.””
Robert rubbed his face.
“I don’t know how to explain this.””
“Try.””
He looked older suddenly.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like he had been carrying a heavy secret for decades.
“Your mother loved you.””
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was the only sound I could make.
“That’s not an answer.””
“No,” he admitted.
His voice cracked.
“It isn’t.””
I held up the card.
“Was he my father?””
Robert didn’t speak.
The silence was unbearable.
“Was he?””
Finally, he nodded.
Just once.
My heart dropped.
I turned away.
The room suddenly felt too small.
“My whole life, I asked you about my biological father.””
Robert swallowed.
“I know.””
“You told me he left.””
His eyes closed.
“I know.””
“You told me he didn’t want anything to do with me.””
Robert looked devastated.
“I was wrong.””
I stared at him.
“Wrong?””
The word came out sharper than I expected.
“You don’t accidentally lie about someone’s existence.””
He had no defense.
Because there wasn’t one.
The door opened.
Vanessa walked in.
Her calm appearance was gone. Her hair was slightly out of place. Her expression was no longer controlled.
“Maya, please.””
I stepped back.
“No.””
She stopped.
“I need the truth.””
Vanessa looked at Robert.
He looked away.
That made something inside me break.
“You both knew.””
Vanessa’s eyes filled with emotion.
“There are things you don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
I walked closer.
“My mother kept his ID hidden inside a photograph. She wrote that he never knew I was born. Why?””
Vanessa’s hands trembled.
“I was trying to protect you.””
The words made my stomach turn.
“Protect me from what?””
She looked at the card.
“From the past.””
“That’s not an answer.””
She looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw something I had never seen from Vanessa.
Guilt.
Real guilt.
“Maya, your mother made choices before you were born.””
“My mother?””
I shook my head.
“You’re blaming her?””
“No,” Vanessa said quickly.
“Then who?””
She looked toward the door.
Toward the auditorium.
Toward all the people who had just watched everything happen.
Then she whispered:
“Elijah was not the man your mother told you about.””
I froze.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa stepped closer.
“It means you don’t know the whole story.””
I wanted to scream.
“Then tell me.””
She looked at Robert.
He still wouldn’t meet my eyes.
That was when I understood.
They weren’t protecting me from Elijah.
They were protecting themselves from the truth.
My phone buzzed.
The sound cut through the room.
I looked down.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
My blood ran cold.
Because the message contained only one sentence.
“I saw what happened on stage. If you want to know who Elijah Brooks really was, meet me before they stop you.””
I looked at Robert.
Then Vanessa.
Neither of them had touched their phones.
Neither of them knew.
My fingers tightened around the ID card.
Someone else knew the truth.
Someone who had been waiting for me to find it.
And before I could ask who sent the message, another text appeared.
May you like
A name.
A name that made Vanessa take a step backward.
