Chapter 5: The Second Child
I showed Claire the photograph before I showed it to anyone else.
She was sitting at the kitchen table with Maya, holding her hand while my daughter stared at the birth certificate. When I placed the phone in front of her, Claire's face went white.
“Where did you get this?””
“Marcus sent it.””
She looked at Rebecca's face on the screen.
“Is she alive?”” I asked.
Claire didn't answer.
“Claire.””
“Yes,” she whispered.
“She's alive.””
“Then why did you tell Maya you didn't know?””
“Because I haven't spoken to her in years.””
Maya pulled her hand away.
“You said my mother gave me up to keep me safe.””
“She did.””
“Then why didn't you let her contact me?””
Claire's eyes filled.
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
Claire looked at me.
I felt my temper rising again.
“Stop looking at me as if I'm supposed to answer for you.””
She flinched.
Maya stood abruptly.
“I'm going upstairs.””
“Maya, please—”
“No. I'm tired of everyone asking me to understand their reasons. Nobody tried to understand mine.””
She left the kitchen.
Claire watched her go, tears sliding down her cheeks.
I waited until the bedroom door shut upstairs.
Then I placed both hands on the table.
“Tell me about the other child.””
Claire stared at the photograph.
“I don't know what Marcus means.””
“That's the second time you've said something like that. Every time I ask a direct question, you give me half an answer. I'm done with half answers.””
She pressed her lips together.
“Your father told me Rebecca had another baby.””
“When?””
“After Maya was born.””
I stared at her.
“How many children did Rebecca have?””
“Two.””
“And where is the second child?””
“I don't know.””
“Did Marcus help Rebecca hide that child too?””
Claire shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Did you ever meet the baby?””
“No.””
“Did my father?””
“I think so.””
I pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Claire, you're going to tell me everything you know. Start with the day you found out Maya wasn't biologically yours.””
She drew a shaky breath.
“It was sixteen years ago. You were working late, and your father called me. He said Rebecca had given birth and was in trouble. He asked me to come to the hospital.””
“You went?””
“Yes.””
“Without telling me?””
“You were in another state, negotiating a contract. Your father said it was an emergency.””
“What happened at the hospital?””
Claire rubbed her forehead.
“Rebecca was frightened. She said your father had threatened to take the baby. Marcus was there, too. They were arguing in the hallway.””
“What were they arguing about?””
“The money. Your father wanted Marcus to give him the documents he'd taken from the estate files. Marcus refused.””
I leaned forward.
“What documents?””
“I never saw them.””
“Then how do you know they existed?””
“Because your father said Marcus had stolen confidential records. Marcus said he was keeping evidence in case your father tried to hurt Rebecca.””
I sat back.
The story was becoming more complicated with every sentence.
“And you agreed to raise Maya?””
Claire nodded.
“Your father said it would be temporary. Rebecca needed time to get away from him. Marcus believed the safest thing was to place Maya with us until Rebecca could establish a stable life.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Your father said you'd refuse.””
“Would I have?””
She looked at me.
“I don't know.””
That answer hurt more than I expected.
“You could have asked.””
“Yes.””
“You could have trusted me.””
“Yes.””
“But you didn't.””
Claire lowered her head.
“No.””
I stood and walked to the window.
Outside, the morning light was beginning to spread across the backyard. The swing set we'd built when Jordan was five stood beneath the oak tree. The fence needed painting. A basketball lay abandoned near the garage.
Everything looked ordinary.
Yet I couldn't look at any part of my house without wondering what else had been hidden from me.
“Why did Marcus wait three years to come back?”” I asked.
Claire's expression changed.
“Because he couldn't find Rebecca.””
I turned around.
“What?””
“After your father died, Marcus tried to contact her. He called people he knew, visited the places where she'd lived, but she had disappeared.””
“Why?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you help him look?””
“No.””
“Why not?””
She hesitated.
“Because I was trying to protect Maya.””
“From her own mother?””
“From your father’s enemies. From the people who knew about Rebecca. From the possibility that someone would take her away.””
I stared at her.
“My father is dead. What enemies are you talking about?””
Claire looked toward the front door.
“I don't know who is still out there, Daniel. That's what scared me.””
I wanted to dismiss it as another excuse.
But the fear in her face seemed genuine.
Before I could ask more, Nia came downstairs carrying her laptop.
She stopped when she saw us.
“What's going on?””
I pulled out a chair.
“Sit down. There's something you need to know about Maya.””
Nia listened without interrupting as I explained the photograph, the birth certificate, and Rebecca's identity.
When I finished, she stared at the table.
“So Maya isn't Dad's biological daughter.””
“That's right.””
“And Mom knew?””
“Yes.””
Nia turned toward Claire.
“How could you keep that from us?””
Claire's eyes filled.
“I thought I was protecting your sister.””
“You don't get to decide that without telling her the truth.””
“I know.””
Nia shook her head.
“Do you? Because Maya accused Jordan of something terrible yesterday, and you immediately believed her. Now we're finding out she's been secretly meeting Uncle Marcus, and you still keep making excuses.””
Claire looked down.
Nia turned toward me.
“Dad, what did Marcus mean by the other child?””
I told her.
She went very still.
Then she opened her laptop.
“I might have something.””
“What?””
“Last night, after everyone went to bed, I searched Rebecca Ward's name.””
“You searched for her?””
“I wanted to know whether she was real. I found an old newspaper article about a woman who worked for Grandpa's company.””
She turned the laptop toward us.
The headline read:
*LOCAL BUSINESSMAN ACCUSED OF HIDING FUNDS IN DISPUTED ESTATE CASE*
Beneath it was a photograph of our father leaving a courthouse.
The article was dated seventeen years earlier.
I began reading.
The story described an internal financial dispute involving my father's construction company. An employee named Rebecca Ward had filed a complaint alleging that company funds had been diverted through several accounts.
The complaint had been withdrawn before the case went to trial.
Rebecca had disappeared shortly afterward.
I scrolled down.
Near the end of the article, a paragraph caught my eye.
Court records indicate that a second, unidentified employee provided financial records to investigators. That employee was never publicly named, and the complaint was dismissed after key documents could not be located.
I read it twice.
“Who was the second employee?”” I asked.
Nia shook her head.
“The article doesn't say.””
I searched the company name.
Several archived records appeared.
One was a scanned employee directory.
I opened it.
Names filled the screen.
Accountants. Project managers. Site supervisors.
Then I saw a familiar name.
Marcus Reed.
My brother had worked for our father.
Of course he had. He'd helped run the business for years before the inheritance dispute.
But beneath his name was another entry.
*Financial records coordinator: Claire Elizabeth Reed.*
I looked up slowly.
“You worked for my father?””
Claire closed her eyes.
“For six months.””
“You never told me that.””
“You knew I helped with paperwork.””
“I knew you helped with paperwork after we were married. I didn't know you worked for him before Maya was born.””
Nia leaned closer to the screen.
“Mom, were you the second employee?””
Claire didn't answer.
The silence told us enough.
I felt a sickening wave of betrayal.
“You provided records to investigators?””
“Yes.””
“Against my father?””
“He was moving money through accounts he shouldn't have been using.””
“What money?””
Claire began crying.
“The estate money wasn't the only money missing, Daniel. Your father had been diverting company funds for years. When Rebecca discovered it, he threatened her. Marcus helped her gather evidence.””
“And you helped them?””
“I tried to.””
“Then what happened?””
Claire wiped her cheeks.
“Your father found out. He threatened to destroy Marcus's career and have Rebecca arrested for theft. He said he'd make sure neither of them ever saw Maya again.””
I gripped the back of a chair.
“Did he threaten you?””
She nodded.
“He said if I wanted to protect my own family, I'd sign the statement agreeing to raise Maya and keep Rebecca's identity confidential.””
“So you did.””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me any of this.””
“I thought your father would stop once Rebecca disappeared.””
I stared at her.
“Instead, you helped him hide everything.””
“I was trying to keep Maya safe!””
“And what about Jordan? What about Nia? What about me?””
Claire had no answer.
The doorbell rang.
All four of us froze.
A second later, someone knocked.
Nia moved toward the window.
“There's a woman outside.””
I went to the front door and looked through the glass.
A middle-aged woman stood on the porch, holding a small handbag. She had dark hair streaked with gray and wore a plain blue coat.
She looked exhausted.
But when she lifted her face toward the window, I recognized her immediately.
The woman in the photograph.
Rebecca Ward.
I opened the door.
She stared at me.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then she said, “I'm sorry I'm late.””
My throat tightened.
“Late for what?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“To tell my daughter the truth.””
Behind me, Claire made a small, broken sound.
Rebecca looked past me into the house.
“Is Maya here?””
I stepped aside.
“Yes.””
Rebecca started toward the hallway, then stopped.
“Daniel, before I see her, there's something you need to understand.””
“What?””
She reached into her handbag and pulled out a folded document.
“Your father didn't just hide Maya's identity. He hid the identity of her brother, too.””
I stared at her.
“Her brother?””
Rebecca nodded.
“I had twins.””
The room went silent.
“Two babies,” she whispered.
“A girl and a boy.””
I felt the walls closing in.
“Maya has a twin?””
Rebecca nodded again.
“He was taken from the hospital before I could hold him.””
Claire began sobbing.
Nia covered her mouth.
I stared at Rebecca.
“Who took him?””
She looked at Claire.
May you like
Then she looked back at me.
“Your father arranged it.””
