Chapter 5: Unit 417
We didn't go to the storage facility that night.
Dad made sure of that.
Instead, he took me to the emergency department.
He stayed beside me the entire time.
When the nurse asked who my guardian was, Dad answered before I could.
“My father.””
The nurse looked at him.
“Are you Arthur Carter?””
“Yes.””
“Thank God.””
Dad's face tightened.
“Why?””
The nurse glanced toward the paperwork.
“We've been trying to reach you.””
My father looked at me.
I felt a knot forming in my stomach.
“What were they trying to tell me?”” he asked.
The nurse lowered her voice.
“There was a discrepancy in the original authorization.””
“What discrepancy?””
“The person who signed it wasn't listed as Maya's legal guardian.””
Dad looked toward Denise.
She wasn't with us.
He had left her at home with Tasha, Marcus, Jordan, and Brianna while his attorney arranged everything.
“Who signed it?”” he asked.
The nurse checked the file.
“Denise Carter.””
Dad closed his eyes.
“She isn't her legal guardian.””
“I know.””
The nurse hesitated.
“She also requested that the physician not contact you.””
Dad's face went rigid.
“Why?””
“She said you were unreachable.””
“I wasn't.””
“We know that now.””
The nurse handed him a folder.
“There's something else.””
Dad opened it.
Inside was a toxicology screening.
He read the first page.
Then the second.
Then he stopped.
“What is this?””
The nurse looked at me.
“We need to repeat the test.””
“Why?””
“Because the first sample showed an unusual substance.””
Dad's voice became dangerously quiet.
“What substance?””
The nurse hesitated.
“We don't want to speculate until the confirmatory test is complete.””
Dad looked at the report.
“But you suspect poisoning.””
“We suspect exposure.””
I felt my fingers go numb.
The nurse continued.
“Some medications can cause cardiac arrhythmias if taken improperly or combined with other substances.””
Dad looked at me.
“Did you take anything?””
“No.””
“Any supplements?””
“No.””
“Energy drinks?””
“No.””
“Anything Denise gave you?””
I remembered the orange juice.
The tea.
The small pills she occasionally told me were vitamins.
My stomach turned.
“I don't know.””
Dad stood immediately.
“What do you mean you don't know?””
“She gave me things sometimes.””
“What things?””
“Vitamins.””
“Did you see the bottles?””
“Sometimes.””
“Do you remember the names?””
I shook my head.
Dad sat down again.
The nurse wrote something in the chart.
“Until we know more, don't take anything that wasn't prescribed directly to you.””
Dad nodded.
“I understand.””
The nurse left.
I stared at the ceiling.
“Dad?””
“Yes?””
“What if she did something to me?””
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he reached for my hand.
“We're going to find out.””
“What if I was sick because of her?””
“We'll find out.””
“What if she wanted me gone?””
His eyes filled.
“Then she made the worst mistake of her life.””
His phone rang.
He checked the screen.
His attorney.
He answered.
“Daniel.””
I could hear only Dad's side.
“No.””
A pause.
“Not yet.””
Another pause.
“Did you verify the policy?””
His face changed.
“What?””
He stood.
“Say that again.””
I sat up.
Dad listened.
Then asked quietly—
“Who owns the policy?””
Silence.
He closed his eyes.
“The company?””
Another pause.
“That's impossible.””
His eyes moved to me.
“What?””
Daniel spoke again.
Dad's expression became stunned.
He hung up.
“What happened?”” I asked.
He sat beside me.
“The insurance policy isn't mine.””
“What?””
“The policy is owned by my company.””
“But you're the owner.””
“I was.””
My stomach dropped.
“What do you mean?””
Dad rubbed his forehead.
“Six months ago, I transferred controlling interest in the company into a trust.””
“Why?””
“Estate planning.””
“Who controls the trust?””
He looked at me.
“Denise.””
I couldn't speak.
Dad continued.
“I never realized she had access to the policy.””
“Why would she?””
“Because I gave her authority to manage certain assets if something happened to me.””
He looked down at the floor.
“And the beneficiary designation was changed three months ago.””
My heart pounded.
“To me?””
Dad nodded.
“You were made the primary beneficiary.””
“Why?””
“Because I changed my estate plan.””
I stared at him.
Then everything clicked.
The hidden policy.
The forged signature.
The medical records.
The money.
The strange bank account.
“She wanted me dead.””
Dad immediately shook his head.
“Don't jump to that conclusion.””
“But—”
“We don't know yet.””
He stood.
“But we're going to find out.””
When we returned home, the house was dark.
Too dark.
Dad unlocked the front door.
“Tasha?””
No answer.
He turned on the lights.
The living room was empty.
Then we heard a sound upstairs.
A drawer closing.
Dad immediately moved toward the stairs.
“Stay behind me.””
We climbed slowly.
At the top, Tasha appeared.
Her face was pale.
“Dad.””
“Where is everyone?””
“Marcus and Jordan went to the neighbor's.””
“Brianna?””
“With them.””
“And Denise?””
Tasha looked toward the master bedroom.
“She left.””
Dad frowned.
“When?””
“About an hour ago.””
“Where?””
“I don't know.””
Then Tasha held up a piece of paper.
“She left this.””
Dad took it.
It was a handwritten note.
His eyes scanned the first line.
Then his face hardened.
“What does it say?”” I asked.
He handed it to me.
*Arthur, by the time you read this, you will already know too much.*
My hands shook.
I continued reading.
*You think Maya is the reason I did all of this. She isn't.*
My father looked at me.
I read the next line.
*Maya was never supposed to be your daughter.*
I stopped.
“What?””
Dad's face went blank.
Tasha covered her mouth.
I looked at the note again.
The words blurred through my tears.
Dad took it from me.
He read the rest.
*Ask Arthur who signed the adoption papers.*
He froze.
“Adoption papers?””
I stared at him.
“Dad?””
He didn't answer.
“I'm your daughter.””
He looked at me.
“I know.””
“Then why did she say adoption?””
Dad's lips parted.
“I never adopted you.””
The world seemed to tilt.
“What?””
“My daughter.””
“Then why would she say that?””
Dad shook his head.
“I don't know.””
Tasha whispered, “There's more.””
Dad looked at her.
“What?””
“She left another note.””
“Where?””
“In the office.””
We rushed downstairs.
On Dad's desk sat a sealed envelope.
My name was written across it.
*MAYA.*
Dad reached for it.
I stopped him.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“I want to open it.””
“You're sure?””
I nodded.
He handed it to me.
Inside was a photograph.
Old.
Faded.
A hospital room.
My mother was sitting in a bed.
She was holding a newborn baby.
I stared at the photograph.
“That isn't me.””
Dad looked at it.
His face lost all color.
“What?””
I pointed at the baby.
“The baby doesn't have my birthmark.””
Dad stared.
I touched the small mark near my collarbone.
“I've always had this.””
Tasha leaned closer.
“Then who is that baby?””
Dad turned the photograph over.
There was handwriting on the back.
A date.
A hospital name.
And one sentence.
*Arthur, the baby you brought home that night wasn't the baby who was born to your wife.*
My father dropped the photograph.
I bent to pick it up.
And before I could, a voice came from the doorway.
“You finally found out.””
We all turned.
Denise stood there.
She was holding a suitcase.
And beside her was a man in a navy suit.
The same man Tasha had described.
He looked at me.
Then at my father.
May you like
And said—
“Arthur, we need to talk about what happened twelve years ago.””
