Chapter 4: The Woman in the Photograph
For several seconds, Nia couldn't move.
The photograph rested in her palm, its edges softened by age. Her father's handwriting was unmistakable. She had seen it on birthday cards, grocery lists, and the notes he used to leave beside her school lunch.
She is Darius's real mother.
Nia read the words again.
Then she looked at Tasha.
“What does this mean?””
Tasha shook her head, crying silently.
“I don't know.””
“Don't do that.””
“Do what?””
“Stand there and tell me you don't know when you just said Dad wasn't supposed to die that night.””
Tasha wiped her face with both hands.
“I was seventeen, Nia. I was scared. I didn't understand what was happening.””
“Then help me understand now.””
Tasha glanced toward the Carter house. Denise had disappeared from the porch, but the front door remained open.
“We need to leave.””
“Not until you tell me what you know.””
“Nia, please.””
“You've had six years to tell me.””
Tasha flinched.
The words had landed exactly where Nia intended.
She hated herself for it.
But she was tired of being the last person to learn the truth about her own life.
Tasha reached into her purse again and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I kept this because I didn't know what else to do with it.””
Nia unfolded it.
It was a handwritten note, yellowed around the edges.
Meet me at the old service road at nine. Come alone. We need to talk about Denise and the money. Don't tell your mother yet.
At the bottom was their father's signature.
Nia looked at the date.
The night he died.
“Where did you get this?””
“It was in Dad's jacket,” Tasha whispered.
“The police gave Mom his belongings after the accident. I found it when we were sorting through his things.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I went to meet him.””
The air seemed to disappear from the car.
Nia stared at her sister.
“You were there?””
Tasha nodded.
“I was the one who called the police.””
Nia gripped the paper.
“Why did you tell everyone you were at a friend's house?””
“Because Mom told me to.””
“Why?””
Tasha's mouth trembled.
“Because she said if anyone found out I was there, they would blame me for what happened.””
Nia felt cold all over.
“Were you in the car?””
“No.””
“Did you see the accident?””
Tasha hesitated.
“I saw the car.””
“That's not what I asked.””
“I saw the car after it went off the road.””
Nia closed her eyes.
For six years, she had pictured her father driving home alone on a rainy night, losing control on a dangerous curve. She had accepted the police report. She had attended the funeral. She had watched her mother collapse beside the coffin.
Now every memory seemed to have a crack running through it.
“What happened before you got there?”” Nia asked.
Tasha stared at the photograph.
“Dad called me that afternoon. He said he needed to tell me something about Denise. He sounded frightened, and I'd never heard him sound like that before.””
“What did he say?””
“He said someone had been moving money out of his accounts. He thought Denise was involved. He wanted me to bring a folder he'd left at home.””
“Did you bring it?””
“Yes.””
“Where is it?””
Tasha looked away.
“I gave it to Mom.””
Nia stared at her.
“You gave her the evidence?””
“I didn't know what was inside! I was seventeen. Mom said she'd take it to the police.””
“And did she?””
Tasha didn't answer.
Nia looked at her sister for a long moment.
Then she opened the car door.
“Where are you going?”” Tasha asked.
“To find out whether our mother has been lying to us for six years.””
“Nia, wait!””
But Nia was already walking toward the house.
She had barely reached the front steps when Denise appeared in the doorway.
The older woman had changed out of her burgundy dress and was wearing a cream cardigan over black trousers. Her makeup was still perfect, but her hands were shaking.
“Nia,” she said.
“Come inside.””
Nia held up the photograph.
“Who is Evelyn Carter?””
Denise's face drained of color.
For one brief moment, she looked less like the woman who had humiliated Nia on the living room floor and more like someone who had just seen a ghost.
Then the mask returned.
“I have no idea what you're talking about.””
“That's funny. My father wrote her name on the back of this photograph two days before he died.””
Denise stared at the picture.
“Where did you get that?””
“Answer me.””
“You need to calm down.””
“No. I'm done calming down so other people can keep lying to me.””
Denise stepped aside.
“Your mother is waiting inside.””
Nia froze.
“How do you know my mother called me?””
Denise's lips pressed together.
Then she turned toward the hallway.
“Darius!””
Her son appeared at the top of the stairs, one hand gripping the railing. The swelling on his face had darkened.
“What?””
“Your wife has questions about Evelyn.””
Darius stopped.
Nia watched his expression carefully.
The first thing she saw was fear.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Fear.
He descended the stairs slowly.
“Where did you get that name?””
Nia almost smiled.
“That's the third time someone has asked me that tonight. Nobody has answered my question.””
Darius reached the bottom step.
“Give me the photograph.””
“No.””
“Nia, this isn't a game.””
“Neither is marriage, but you seem to have forgotten that.””
His jaw tightened.
Denise put a hand on his arm.
“Don't.””
He shook her off.
“You told me this was handled.””
Nia's heart began to pound.
“What was handled?””
Neither answered.
She looked from Darius to Denise.
“You both know who Evelyn is.””
Denise's expression hardened.
“Evelyn was a woman who caused a great deal of pain in this family.””
“What family?””
“Our family.””
“Then why have I never heard her name?””
“Because she left.””
“Who is she?””
Denise looked at her son.
Darius stared at the floor.
Finally, Denise said, “She gave birth to Darius.””
The words seemed to echo through the hallway.
Nia blinked.
“What?””
“Evelyn was Darius's biological mother. I raised him from infancy.””
Darius looked up sharply.
“That's enough.””
But Nia wasn't looking at him.
She was staring at Denise.
“You told everyone you were his mother.””
“I am his mother.””
“You told me you carried him.””
Denise's eyes narrowed.
“I told you I raised him.””
“No. You told me about your pregnancy. You told me how he kicked when you were seven months along. You showed me photographs of yourself holding him in the hospital.””
Denise went silent.
Nia remembered those photographs.
The hospital bracelet.
The tiny blanket.
Denise's tearful stories about the day her son was born.
Had all of it been a lie?
“Why would you pretend?”” Nia whispered.
Denise lifted her chin.
“Because Evelyn was unstable. She couldn't provide a proper home. I gave Darius the life he deserved.””
Darius's voice cut through the hallway.
“You've said enough, Mama.””
Nia turned to him.
“Did you know?””
He didn't answer.
“Darius, did you know Denise wasn't your biological mother?””
His eyes met hers.
“Yes.””
The single word hurt more than Nia expected.
She had spent four years building a marriage around a man whose life was apparently full of secrets.
“And your mother,” she said, turning back to Denise.
“What happened to her?””
Denise's expression turned cold.
“She abandoned him.””
“Then why did my father know her?””
For the first time, Denise looked genuinely unsettled.
Nia held up the photograph.
“Why did my father write her name beside a message about something happening to him?””
Darius took a step forward.
“Because your father was a liar.””
Nia stared at him.
“That's convenient.””
“He was involved in things you don't understand.””
“Then explain them.””
“He stole money from people. He made promises he couldn't keep. He got himself into trouble.””
“Is that why his property ended up in a company controlled by your mother?””
Darius's mouth snapped shut.
Nia felt the pieces moving, but they refused to form a complete picture.
Her father's missing inheritance.
The forged signature.
The woman who had supposedly abandoned Darius.
The accident.
And Tasha, standing outside with tears on her face and a secret she'd kept for six years.
Nia took a step toward the door.
“I want copies of every document you have involving my father.””
Denise laughed bitterly.
“You think you can walk into my house and make demands?””
“No. I think I can walk into a lawyer's office and ask for an investigation.””
Darius grabbed her arm.
Nia immediately pulled away.
“Don't touch me.””
He released her, but his voice dropped.
“If you involve the police, you won't just destroy me. You'll destroy your sister.””
Nia stared at him.
“What does Tasha have to do with any of this?””
Darius's eyes shifted toward the open doorway.
Then he said the one thing that made Nia's blood run cold.
“Ask her what was inside the folder she gave your mother.””
Nia left without another word.
Outside, Tasha stood beside the car with her phone pressed to her ear.
She looked up when Nia approached.
“Who are you talking to?”” Nia asked.
Tasha jerked the phone away.
“No one.””
Nia glanced at the screen.
The call was still connected.
A woman's voice came through the speaker.
“Nia?””
She recognized it immediately.
Her mother.
Then the woman said something that made Nia stop walking.
“Whatever Darius told you, don't believe him. I know who killed your father.””
A sharp breath escaped Tasha.
Nia reached for the phone.
But before she could take it, the call disconnected.
And from somewhere inside Tasha's purse came the unmistakable sound of a second phone vibrating.
A phone Nia had never seen before.
May you like
A phone displaying an incoming message from *Denise Carter*.
She knows about Evelyn. Bring her to me before she finds the recording.
