Chapter 2: The Name He Couldn’t Say
Victor stood beneath the chandelier with the photograph clenched in his fist.
Nobody moved.
Maya could hear her own breathing.
Fast.
Shallow.
Uneven.
Victor looked toward Denise.
“Close the front doors.””
Denise blinked.
“What?””
“Close them.””
“Victor, what is going on?””
“Just do it.””
Denise hurried toward the entrance.
Maya watched her.
Then looked back at Victor.
“You knew my mother.””
Victor swallowed.
“I knew a woman named Alana.””
Maya’s eyes narrowed.
“My mother’s name was Alana Brooks.””
Victor said nothing.
“That’s her.””
“No.””
Maya stepped closer.
“You just said her name.””
“I said I knew someone.””
“You said Alana.””
Victor looked away.
Maya’s voice cracked.
“You knew her.””
Evelyn stood near the doorway, her hands trembling inside her coat pockets.
Victor turned toward her.
“You shouldn't have come here.””
Evelyn lifted her chin.
“I waited long enough.””
Victor’s jaw tightened.
“Twenty-two years?””
Evelyn nodded.
“Twenty-two years.””
Maya looked between them.
“What are you talking about?””
Neither answered.
“Stop doing that,” Maya said.
Victor stared at her.
“Doing what?””
“Looking at each other like I’m the only person in the room who doesn’t know the truth.””
Her voice broke.
“My mother disappeared when I was two. My grandmother told me she left. Then she told me she was dead. Then, years later, she admitted she didn’t actually know.””
Evelyn’s eyes filled with tears.
Maya saw them.
“You knew where she was?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.””
“You knew what happened?””
“I knew enough to be afraid.””
Victor stepped forward.
“That is enough.””
Maya spun toward him.
“No. It isn’t.””
Victor lowered his voice.
“You need to go home.””
“I’m not going anywhere.””
“Maya—”
“You know my mother.””
“I told you, I knew her.””
“Then tell me why.””
Victor glanced toward the dining room.
The restaurant had gone strangely quiet.
Several customers were openly watching.
Victor forced a smile.
“Everyone, please return to your meals.””
Nobody moved.
His smile disappeared.
He looked at Maya again.
“This isn’t the place.””
“Then where?””
Victor hesitated.
Maya noticed.
That hesitation frightened her more than any answer could have.
She pointed at the photograph.
“What’s on the back?””
Victor’s grip tightened.
“I don’t know.””
“You just said it was never supposed to leave this building.””
“I said what I said.””
“So you know exactly what it is.””
Victor looked at Evelyn.
The old woman shook her head.
“You can’t hide it anymore.””
Victor’s face hardened.
“Be quiet.””
Maya stepped between them.
“Don’t talk to her like that.””
Victor looked at Maya.
For a moment, his expression softened.
Then it vanished.
“You have no idea what you’re asking.””
“I’ve been asking for twenty-two years.””
Evelyn whispered, “Maya…”
Maya turned.
“How do you know my name?””
Evelyn looked down.
“Your mother talked about you every time I saw her.””
Maya’s eyes filled.
“She talked about me?””
“She loved you.””
Maya covered her mouth.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“What did she say?””
Evelyn looked at Victor.
Victor immediately shook his head.
“No.””
Evelyn ignored him.
“She said you had her eyes.””
Maya let out a shaky breath.
“What else?””
Evelyn opened her mouth.
Victor stepped forward.
“That’s enough.””
Maya turned sharply.
“You don't get to decide when it’s enough.””
Victor’s voice dropped.
“Your mother was in danger.””
“From who?””
Silence.
“From who, Victor?””
He looked toward the restaurant’s back hallway.
Then toward the photograph.
Then at Maya’s wrist.
His face changed.
Maya noticed.
“What?””
Victor stared at the tiny star-shaped scar visible beneath her sleeve.
“Where did you get that?””
Maya frowned.
“What?””
“The scar.””
“My mother gave it to me when I was little.””
Victor took one step backward.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Maya looked between them.
“You both know what it means.””
Victor whispered, “No.””
“You’re lying.””
“I’m trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
Victor’s phone suddenly rang.
The sound cut through the restaurant.
He pulled it from his pocket.
Looked at the screen.
And all the color drained from his face.
Maya saw his thumb hovering over the answer button.
“Who is it?””
Victor didn’t respond.
The phone kept ringing.
Evelyn whispered, “He found you.””
Maya stared at her.
“Who found us?””
Victor finally answered.
May you like
He said only three words.
“She’s alive.””
