Chapter 11: The Man Who Wanted My Daughter
Robert's office was on the seventh floor of a downtown building.
By the time I arrived, he had already printed the documents.
There were twenty-three pages.
I read the first page.
Then the second.
By the third, my hands were shaking.
Daniel Brooks had filed a petition seeking recognition of biological parentage.
He claimed he had recently discovered that Maya was his biological daughter.
He also alleged that Emily had concealed his identity and that I had knowingly raised a child who wasn't biologically mine.
The petition included the DNA report.
It also included the forged consent form.
At the bottom was a request for temporary visitation.
I dropped the pages onto the desk.
“He wants visitation?””
Robert nodded.
“That's what he's requesting.””
“After eleven years?””
“That's correct.””
I paced across the office.
“He disappeared. He threatened Emily. He helped Vanessa steal from our savings.
He lied to a medical clinic and declared me dead. And now he wants to walk into Maya's life?””
Robert remained calm.
“We need to separate what we know from what we can prove.””
I turned toward him.
“We have the letters.””
“Letters proving a past relationship. They don't establish every allegation.””
“We have the messages from Claire.””
“Useful evidence.””
“We have the DNA report.””
“Which needs independent verification.””
I stopped pacing.
“What else do we need?””
Robert opened another folder.
“Emily's sister gave me the USB drive. My office has made a secure copy. We've reviewed enough to identify several important files.””
He turned his laptop toward me.
A video appeared.
Emily was sitting in what looked like her old apartment.
She looked younger.
Her hair was tied back, and she was wearing the blue sweater I remembered from our early years together.
My chest tightened.
Robert pressed play.
Emily looked directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, Daniel has probably found a way back into our lives.””
I stopped breathing.
She continued.
“I don't know when that will happen. But I need whoever finds this to understand that Daniel doesn't want to be a father. He wants control.””
Her eyes filled.
“He told me that if I didn't let his family decide what happened to the baby, he would make sure I lost everything.””
The video paused.
Robert looked at me.
“There's more.””
He pressed play again.
Emily leaned closer to the camera.
“I met Marcus after I left Daniel. Marcus was kind to me. He never asked me to become someone else. When I found out I was pregnant, I was terrified.””
She smiled faintly.
“Not because I doubted Marcus. Because I knew Daniel would come looking.””
My throat tightened.
Emily continued.
“Marcus, if you're watching this, I need you to know something. I never wanted you to feel that Maya was anything less than your daughter. You chose her every day. You loved her before she could even speak.””
I lowered my head.
A tear landed on the desk.
“I didn't know whether Daniel was her biological father. I refused to find out because I didn't want him to use that information to take her away. I wanted her to have a childhood without fear.””
The recording ended.
For several seconds, neither Robert nor I spoke.
Then Robert closed the laptop.
“That recording is important. But we still need to verify the DNA evidence and establish whether the clinic's records were altered.””
I nodded.
“What about Daniel's petition?””
“We'll respond. And we'll challenge any request for contact until the court has considered the circumstances.””
My phone vibrated.
A message from Vanessa.
We need to talk. Alone. Please.
I showed Robert.
He shook his head.
“Don't meet her privately.””
I typed a reply.
Anything you need to say can be said through our attorneys.
Her response arrived almost immediately.
Daniel is planning something. I can stop him, but you need to help me.
I stared at the screen.
“What does she mean?””
Robert leaned forward.
“Ask her what she knows. But keep everything in writing.””
I sent one message.
What is Daniel planning?
The reply came thirty seconds later.
He's going to use the DNA results to claim Maya. And he's going to say you knew about his relationship with Emily.
I read it twice.
Then another message arrived.
He has someone who can testify that Emily admitted Daniel was Maya's father.
I felt my stomach tighten.
Who could that be?
Before I could ask, Vanessa called.
I answered.
“Tell me what you know.””
Her voice was trembling.
“Daniel has been meeting with someone from Emily's old hospital.””
“Who?””
“I don't know her full name.””
“Why?””
“Because she's the person who handled the original birth records.””
I looked at Robert.
He immediately began writing.
“What does Daniel want from her?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“He wants her to confirm that Emily told the hospital Daniel was the biological father.””
“Did she?””
“I don't know.””
“Why are you helping him?””
Vanessa started crying.
“Because he told me he would marry me after everything was finished.””
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
The real arrangement.
Not a desperate woman grieving a lost pregnancy.
Not a wife who had simply made a terrible mistake.
Vanessa had planned a future with Daniel.
She had used our savings to finance it.
She had pretended to be pregnant to make the baby transfer easier.
And she had tried to remove Maya from the house because Maya was the one person who could expose the truth.
I spoke slowly.
“You helped him take my daughter away.””
“I thought we were going to raise the baby together.””
“You knew he was Maya's biological father.””
“I didn't know at first.””
“But you knew before you took her to the clinic.””
Silence.
Then Vanessa whispered, “Yes.””
I ended the call.
Robert stared at me.
“We need that statement documented.””
I nodded.
Then I asked, “What about the hospital employee?””
“We'll investigate.””
That evening, I went to Rebecca's house.
Maya was doing her homework at the kitchen table.
When she saw me, she smiled.
“Dad! I got an A on my science quiz.””
I smiled back.
“That's my girl.””
She pushed the paper toward me.
There were tiny drawings of planets in the margins.
I studied it as though it were the most important document in the world.
Because it was.
For a few minutes, we talked about school, her friends, and a class project.
Then Maya put down her pencil.
“Dad?””
“Yeah?””
“Can I ask something?””
“Anything.””
“If Daniel is my biological father, does that mean I have to live with him?””
I pulled out the chair beside her.
“No.””
“Can he make me?””
“Not simply because he says he's your father.””
She looked down.
“Vanessa said the court might make me.””
I felt anger rise, but I kept my voice gentle.
“Vanessa shouldn't have said that. Adults are responsible for sorting out adult problems. You are not being sent anywhere.””
Maya nodded.
Then she asked the question I had been dreading.
“Would you still love me if the DNA test said I wasn't yours?””
I reached across the table.
“Maya, if someone took a DNA test and told me the sky wasn't blue, would I stop looking up?””
She gave a tiny, uncertain smile.
“No.””
“Exactly. You're my daughter. Nothing on a piece of paper changes eleven years of loving you.””
She leaned against me.
I kissed the top of her head.
Later that night, Robert called.
“We found the hospital employee.””
“Who?””
“Her name is Patricia Coleman. She was an administrator at the hospital where Maya was born.””
“What does she have to do with this?””
Robert paused.
“She's agreed to meet us tomorrow.””
“Why?””
“Because she says Daniel paid her to alter a record eleven years ago.””
I stood up.
“What record?””
May you like
Robert's voice became serious.
“Your daughter's original birth registration.””
