Chapter 8: Caleb's Real Father
Caleb stared at Vanessa.
“What about my father?””
She looked toward Dad.
Then at the photograph in his hand.
“Your biological father wasn't the man you grew up believing he was.””
Caleb's face tightened.
“Stop.””
“Caleb—”
“I said stop!””
He grabbed the railing.
“You told me my father died when I was little. You told me he was a good man. You told me he loved me.””
Vanessa began crying.
“I know.””
“Then why are you saying this now?””
Dad placed the photograph on the table.
“Who is his father?””
Vanessa looked at Caleb.
Then she whispered a name.
“Daniel.””
Nobody moved.
Caleb blinked.
“What?””
Vanessa repeated it.
“Daniel Reed was your biological father.””
Caleb laughed.
It was a short, broken sound.
“No.””
“I'm sorry.””
“No, you're lying.””
“I should have told you years ago.””
Caleb looked at Dad.
Then at me.
Then back at Vanessa.
“You're saying I'm Daniel's son?””
She nodded.
Caleb stepped away from her.
“That means…”
His voice broke.
“That means Maya is my cousin?””
Dad closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
Caleb sank onto the bottom step.
I stood completely still.
The boy who had spent years calling me an unwanted guest was actually my biological cousin.
The boy who had mocked me for not belonging to Dad's family had been hiding the same truth about himself.
But the revelation didn't make me feel closer to him.
It made me wonder how many people had been forced to live inside Vanessa's lies.
Dad looked at his wife.
“When did you find out you were pregnant?””
“Before Daniel died.””
“And you never told him?””
“I did.””
Dad stared.
“What?””
Vanessa nodded.
“He knew about Caleb.””
Caleb lifted his head.
“Did he know I was his son?””
“Yes.””
“Did he want me?””
Vanessa started crying.
“He wanted to be involved.””
Caleb shook his head.
“That's not what I asked.””
She looked at him.
“Yes. He wanted you.””
Caleb covered his face.
Dad walked toward the window.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he turned.
“Why did you marry me?””
Vanessa looked confused.
“What?””
“Why me?””
She shook her head.
“Marcus, I loved you.””
“Was that before or after you realized I could help you control Daniel's estate?””
“That's not fair.””
“Nothing about this has been fair!””
His voice echoed through the house.
He pointed at the black folder.
“You lied about your son's father. You hid my niece. You helped make my daughter believe she wasn't part of this family. You allowed Rebecca to believe her son was dead.””
Vanessa flinched.
“And you stole eighty thousand dollars from my mother's trust.””
“I paid some of it back!””
Dad froze.
“What?””
Vanessa looked away.
“Some of the money.””
“How much?””
“Twenty thousand.””
“Where is the rest?””
She didn't answer.
Caleb stood.
“Mom, where is it?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“Caleb, this isn't about you.””
He laughed bitterly.
“Apparently, everything in this house is about me.””
I looked at him.
For the first time, he sounded genuinely ashamed.
He approached Dad.
“There's something else.””
Dad closed his eyes.
“Of course there is.””
Caleb pulled his phone from his pocket.
“I kept something from last year.””
He opened an audio recording.
A date appeared on the screen.
September 12.
He pressed play.
Vanessa's voice filled the room.
“Caleb, you cannot tell Marcus about Daniel. If he finds out you're his brother's son, he'll start asking questions about the trust.””
Caleb's younger voice answered.
“But what about Maya?””
“She's already getting everything she needs.””
“What if she finds out?””
Vanessa's response was cold.
“Then she'll lose the only father she's ever known.””
Dad looked horrified.
The recording continued.
Caleb asked, “What if Sky comes looking for her brother?””
Vanessa replied:
“Sky has no brother. Noah is dead. And as long as Rebecca believes that, nobody will come looking for him.””
The recording ended.
Dad slowly turned toward Vanessa.
“You told him Noah was dead?””
Vanessa looked down.
“I thought it was better that way.””
“Better for whom?””
She didn't answer.
Caleb's face was wet with tears.
“I kept that recording because I didn't know what to do.””
Dad looked at him.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I was scared you would hate me.””
Dad took a breath.
“I am angry with you.””
Caleb nodded.
“But I don't hate you.””
Caleb began crying.
Dad continued.
“You were a child when this started. But you're old enough now to help put things right.””
Caleb wiped his face.
“I will.””
Vanessa suddenly moved toward the front door.
Dad stepped aside.
“Where are you going?””
“I need to get some air.””
“You're not leaving with those documents.””
She looked at him.
“You can't keep me here.””
“I won't. But I'm not letting you destroy any more evidence.””
Vanessa dropped the folder onto the table.
Then she looked at me.
“Maya, you don't know what your mother was really like.””
I stared at her.
“Then tell me.””
“She wasn't innocent.””
Dad stepped forward.
“Enough.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“No, Marcus. She made choices too. She knew Daniel was stealing from the trust.
She knew about Rebecca. She helped me.””
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
“Because she made me promise!””
I looked at her.
“What did Mom make you promise?””
Vanessa's expression changed.
She looked toward Caleb.
Then she whispered:
“To keep you away from Daniel's last letter.””
Dad frowned.
“Daniel wrote a letter?””
Vanessa nodded.
“He left it with Patricia.””
“Where is it?””
“I don't know.””
I stared at her.
“What's in it?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“Daniel knew who had caused the accident.””
Dad froze.
“What?””
“He wrote down what happened. He named the person who had been moving the money. He even explained why he was meeting me that night.””
Dad grabbed her shoulders.
“Who caused the accident?””
Vanessa began crying again.
“I don't know.””
“Stop lying!””
“I swear!””
Caleb stepped between them.
“Dad, let her go.””
Dad released her.
Vanessa backed away.
Then she looked directly at me.
“Your mother took that letter before she died.””
My throat tightened.
“What?””
“She knew what it contained. She hid it somewhere in your old bedroom.””
I stared at her.
“My old bedroom?””
“The room you slept in before Marcus married me.””
I remembered that room.
The yellow curtains.
The wooden bookshelf.
The loose drawer in the bedside table.
I hadn't entered it in years.
Dad looked at me.
“Do you know where she's talking about?””
I nodded slowly.
“There was a box under the floorboards.””
Vanessa's eyes widened.
“You found it?””
“No.””
“Then you need to understand something.””
She took a step toward me.
“If you find that letter, don't read it alone.””
Dad moved in front of me.
“Why?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“Because Daniel didn't just accuse me.””
She swallowed.
“He accused someone who is still alive.””
Then she walked out.
Nobody followed her.
Dad stood staring at the open doorway.
Caleb whispered:
“Who else was involved?””
Dad looked toward the photograph.
“I don't know.””
I took out my phone and called Aunt Laura.
She answered immediately.
“Maya?””
“Aunt Laura, I need to ask you something.””
“What is it?””
“Do you know where Mom kept Daniel's things?””
There was a long silence.
Then Laura said:
“Yes.””
I held my breath.
“Where?””
“In the old house. The one your mother inherited before she married Marcus.””
Dad looked at me.
Laura continued.
“But Maya, don't go there.””
“Why?””
“Because someone has already been searching it.””
“Who?””
Her voice dropped.
“Your mother's lawyer called me this morning.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
“Because he received a letter from Daniel seventeen years ago.””
Dad stepped closer.
“What did it say?””
Laura took a breath.
“He said that if anything happened to him, the person responsible would try to take custody of his children.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
Then Laura added:
“And Marcus, the letter named you.””
Dad stared at the phone.
“Me?””
“Yes.””
Laura's voice trembled.
“Daniel believed you had already been manipulated into signing something that could separate the children.””
May you like
Dad sat down.
For the first time, he looked genuinely frightened.
