Chapter 8: The Person Behind the Warning
The expression on Vanessa’s face told me everything.
She knew the answer.
She just didn’t want to say it.
“Vanessa,” Dad said quietly.
She looked at him.
“No.””
His voice sharpened.
“Tell her.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Maya doesn’t need this.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Apparently I do.””
She looked at me.
“I was trying to keep you safe.””
“From what?””
She didn’t respond.
Dad placed the document on the counter.
“The handwriting.””
He looked directly at her.
“Is it yours?””
My heart sank.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
For a moment, I thought she would deny it.
Instead, she whispered:
“Yes.””
The word felt heavier than I expected.
I stepped back.
“You wrote it?””
“Maya—”
“You wrote that nobody should let me see my own file?””
“I didn’t mean it that way.””
“How else can it mean?””
Vanessa looked desperate.
“I wrote the note because I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
She looked at Dad.
Then at me.
“Of what would happen if you found out the truth.””
I shook my head.
“You keep saying truth like it’s some monster.””
Sometimes the truth hurts.
But secrets destroy people.
Dad rubbed his forehead.
“How long have you known?””
Vanessa sat down slowly.
“Since before we got married.””
The room went silent.
“You knew before you married Dad?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me?””
“I didn’t know how.””
I stared at her.
“You had sixteen years.””
Her eyes filled.
“I know.””
Dad’s voice was quiet.
“What did Daniel have to do with this?””
Vanessa looked at Renee.
Then at the floor.
“Daniel wasn’t just Maya’s biological father.””
I felt a chill.
“What does that mean?””
Renee answered.
“He was involved in something dangerous.””
Dad immediately interrupted.
“Don’t.””
Renee looked at him.
“She deserves to know.””
I turned to Dad.
“What was he involved in?””
Nobody answered.
Then Vanessa spoke.
“Daniel discovered someone was stealing money from a company.””
Dad’s face changed.
“Vanessa.””
“He found proof.””
“Stop.””
“He was going to expose them.””
The room felt colder.
“Who?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“That’s the part nobody wanted you to know.””
My heart pounded.
“Who?””
She took a breath.
“Someone close to your family.””
Dad looked away.
Renee whispered:
“Someone who had access to everything.””
I looked around the kitchen.
At the people standing there.
My father.
My stepmother.
A woman from my mother’s past.
Everyone knew something.
Everyone except me.
Then Dad’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“Who is it?”” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
The phone kept ringing.
Finally, he picked up.
“Hello?””
Nobody moved.
Dad listened.
Then his face went pale.
“No.””
A pause.
“That’s impossible.””
He looked at me.
Then at the broken trophy.
Then at the envelopes.
“What happened?”” I whispered.
He ended the call.
“Maya.””
I waited.
“The university received another message.””
My stomach dropped.
“From who?””
Dad looked at Vanessa.
She shook her head.
“No.””
“They found another request.””
“What request?””
Dad swallowed.
“A request to investigate your identity.””
The word hit me.
Identity.
Not scholarship.
Not grades.
Me.
“Who sent it?””
Dad didn’t answer.
“Who?””
He slowly turned his phone around.
On the screen was a forwarded email.
The sender name was visible.
I read it.
And my blood ran cold.
Because the person who sent the message was not Vanessa.
Not Renee.
May you like
Not some stranger.
It was someone whose name had been printed on my birth certificate.
