Chapter 8: The Phone Call From My Own Name
Nobody touched the phone.
It kept ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Vanessa stared at the screen like it was impossible.
Like the world had broken a rule.
I looked at her.
“Why is my name calling you?””
She didn’t answer.
“Vanessa.””
Her fingers trembled.
“I don’t know.””
Nobody believed her.
Not even her.
The phone stopped ringing.
For two seconds, the chapel was silent.
Then it started again.
Same name.
Daniel Carter.
My name.
Marcus moved closer.
“Daniel, maybe someone is using your number.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Because I knew.
My phone was in my pocket.
I pulled it out.
The screen was dark.
No outgoing call.
No incoming call.
Nothing.
Victor watched carefully.
Like he expected this.
“You know something,” I said.
He didn’t deny it.
That made me angrier.
“What is happening?””
Victor looked at Vanessa.
“Answer it.””
She stared at him.
“No.””
“Answer it.””
Her eyes filled with fear.
“I can’t.””
I stepped forward.
“Why?””
She looked at me.
And for the first time since I met her, she looked completely powerless.
“Because I know who it is.””
The phone kept ringing.
I felt everyone watching me.
Waiting.
Waiting for me to understand a truth everyone else already knew.
“Who?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“Someone who shouldn’t be able to call.””
The call ended.
Then a message appeared.
Vanessa looked at it.
Her face changed.
“What does it say?””
She didn’t move.
I walked toward her.
“Vanessa.””
She slowly turned the phone around.
The message was short.
One sentence.
STOP LOOKING FOR HIM.
My eyes moved to Elijah.
He looked just as confused as I was.
“Who is him?””
Nobody answered.
Then Noah spoke.
“Dad.””
I looked down.
He pointed at the old photograph.
The one showing my father.
The one showing us.
“There are three people in the picture.””
I nodded.
“Yes.””
“But there should be four.””
My eyebrows tightened.
“What?””
Noah pointed.
I looked again.
At first, I only saw my father.
Me.
Elijah.
But then I noticed something.
A shape in the background.
A person partially hidden behind the doorway.
Someone who had been there when the photograph was taken.
Someone cut out of the memory.
My heart started pounding.
“Who is that?””
Evelyn looked at the photo.
Her face changed.
“No.””
The reaction was immediate.
“What?””
She stepped closer.
“That picture was supposed to be destroyed.””
Victor looked at her sharply.
“You knew?””
Evelyn didn’t answer.
I looked between them.
“You all knew.””
Nobody spoke.
Again.
Silence.
Always silence.
I grabbed the photo.
“Tell me.””
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“That person was the reason your father separated you.””
I stared.
“The reason?””
“Yes.””
“Who was it?””
Her voice became barely audible.
“Your mother.””
Everything stopped.
The words didn’t make sense.
“My mother died.””
Evelyn nodded slowly.
“I know.””
“Then why are you saying her name?””
“Because she wasn’t supposed to be there.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She was crying now.
Not pretending.
Not hiding.
Actually crying.
“What does that mean?””
Nobody answered.
Then Elijah spoke.
“Daniel…”
I turned.
His face was full of pain.
“You don’t remember her.””
My voice became quiet.
“I remember my mother.””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“You remember what you were allowed to remember.””
The room tilted.
My childhood.
My memories.
My family.
Everything suddenly felt uncertain.
I stepped back.
“No.””
Elijah looked at me.
“I spent years trying to find out why we were separated.””
He looked at the photograph.
“And then I found out the truth.””
“What truth?””
His eyes met mine.
“Our mother didn’t disappear.””
A cold silence filled the chapel.
I whispered:
“What?””
“She was looking for us.””
The phone rang again.
Everyone turned.
This time, it wasn’t Vanessa’s.
It was mine.
I looked down.
My screen lit up.
Incoming call.
The caller ID showed my own name.
Daniel Carter.
My hands shook.
I answered.
No one breathed.
“Hello?””
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then a woman spoke.
An older woman.
A voice I had heard only in old memories.
A voice I thought belonged to the past.
“Daniel?””
My knees nearly gave out.
Because I knew that voice.
I knew it before my mind accepted it.
“Mom?””
The entire chapel froze.
The woman on the phone started crying.
“My baby…”
I couldn’t speak.
“You’re alive,” I whispered.
A pause.
Then she said:
“I’m sorry.””
The room disappeared.
The guests disappeared.
There was only that voice.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“Daniel, you have to leave that chapel before Victor finds out I called you.””
I looked up.
Victor’s face had changed.
He wasn’t calm anymore.
He was terrified.
And then I heard my mother whisper:
May you like
“Because your uncle is not the person you should be afraid of.””
A second later, the call went dead.
