Chapter 2: The Other Child
Marcus didn't understand the sentence.
Not at first.
He simply stared at Vanessa.
“What did you say?””
Vanessa looked toward the staircase.
“Lower your voice.””
“My voice?””
“Please.””
“You just told me Liam isn't my only son.””
“I said you weren't ready.””
Marcus's hands went cold.
“Who is the other child?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
“Vanessa.””
She walked to the sink and gripped the edge.
“I didn't know how to tell you.””
Marcus followed.
“Tell me now.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Then I'll find out myself.””
He reached for his phone.
Vanessa immediately stepped in front of him.
“Don't.””
“Why?””
“Because once you know, everything changes.””
Marcus stared at her.
“Everything already changed.””
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
Marcus glanced toward the staircase.
“Are the boys listening?””
“I don't know.””
“Then we're going somewhere private.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Not upstairs.””
“Why not?””
“Because Liam has been asking questions.””
Marcus stopped.
“What kind?””
“About his mother.””
Marcus frowned.
Liam's biological mother had died when he was young.
At least, that was what Marcus had always believed.
Vanessa knew the story.
Everyone in the family did.
“What does this have to do with Liam's mother?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“You were told she died.””
Marcus's face hardened.
“She did.””
Vanessa swallowed.
“No.””
Silence.
Marcus stared.
“No?””
“She didn't die.””
The kitchen seemed to tilt.
Marcus grabbed the back of a chair.
“What are you saying?””
“She left.””
“When?””
“Years ago.””
“You told me she died.””
“I know.””
“Why?””
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“Because you were going to take Liam.””
Marcus stared at her.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“It does.””
“No, it doesn't.””
“You had already started the custody process.””
“Because I was his father.””
“You were going to take him away from everyone.””
“From you?””
“From me. From Brandon. From Kayden.””
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“Why would I take him away from his family?””
“Because you thought I treated him differently.””
“You did.””
She flinched.
Marcus continued.
“You knew exactly what you were doing.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain it.””
She wiped her face.
“The other child came before Liam.””
Marcus's expression changed.
“What other child?””
Vanessa looked directly at him.
“A daughter.””
Marcus said nothing.
“You have a daughter.””
The words seemed impossible.
He sat down slowly.
“What is her name?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“Olivia.””
Marcus's heart hammered.
“Olivia what?””
“Olivia Hale.””
His own surname.
He stared at the folder.
“Where is she?””
Vanessa looked away.
“Somewhere safe.””
“Where?””
“I can't tell you.””
Marcus stood so quickly the chair scraped backward.
“Where is my daughter?””
“She doesn't want to see you.””
“How would you know?””
“Because she was told—”
Vanessa stopped.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Told what?””
She said nothing.
“Told what, Vanessa?””
“She was told you didn't want her.””
Marcus felt as though someone had punched him.
“I never knew she existed.””
“I know.””
“You knew.””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
The word barely left her mouth.
Marcus turned away.
He walked to the marble island.
The receipt was still there.
Thirty thousand dollars.
Suddenly, the purchases looked different.
“Who were these things for?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
“Were they for Olivia?””
“No.””
“Then why were they delivered to another residence?””
Vanessa's silence returned.
Marcus picked up his phone.
He opened the banking app.
Then the transfer history.
He searched the recurring payments.
One stood out.
*M. Ellis — Monthly Support*
$4,500.
Every month.
For eighteen months.
Marcus frowned.
“I don't know this person.””
Vanessa said nothing.
He scrolled.
Another payment.
$7,500.
Then another.
$3,200.
Then another.
Marcus looked up.
“You've been transferring money to someone.””
“I was helping.””
“With my money.””
“You would have helped if you knew.””
“You didn't give me the choice.””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“You would've ruined everything.””
“What did I ruin?””
“You would've gone looking for her.””
“Yes.””
“And then what?””
“I would've found my daughter.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“She hates you.””
Marcus froze.
“Why?””
“Because she thinks you abandoned her.””
“I didn't.””
“She doesn't know that.””
“Who told her?””
Vanessa looked down.
Marcus's voice became sharper.
“Who told her?””
She whispered a name.
“Richard.””
Marcus's blood ran cold.
Richard was Vanessa's older brother.
A man Marcus had never trusted.
“Richard knows about Olivia?””
“He helped.””
“Helped with what?””
“He found her.””
Marcus stared.
“When?””
“Two years ago.””
“Two years?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me?””
“You weren't supposed to know.””
Marcus walked toward the folder.
Vanessa tried to stop him.
He opened it.
Inside were photographs.
School photographs.
A girl with dark hair.
Maybe seventeen.
Then another.
A graduation ceremony.
A hospital hallway.
A birthday.
Marcus picked up one photograph.
The girl's eyes were his.
He knew it immediately.
The same slight crease beneath the left eye.
The same crooked smile.
He touched the photograph with his thumb.
“That's her.””
Vanessa nodded.
Marcus's voice dropped.
“She looks like me.””
“She is your daughter.””
He looked at the back of the photograph.
A date.
An address.
A handwritten note.
*Do not let Marcus contact her.*
Marcus stared at the sentence.
“Who wrote this?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
“Who wrote it?””
“I did.””
He slowly looked up.
“You kept my daughter from me.””
“I protected my family.””
“No.””
Marcus placed the photograph on the island.
“You protected yourself.””
Vanessa started crying.
“You don't know what she would've done.””
“What?””
“She was angry.””
“She had every right to be.””
“She blamed you.””
“Because she thought I abandoned her.””
Vanessa nodded.
Marcus picked up another paper.
It wasn't a photograph.
It was a legal document.
He read the first paragraph.
Then stopped.
“This isn't a custody agreement.””
Vanessa's face went white.
Marcus kept reading.
*Petition for Emergency Guardianship.*
His eyes moved down the page.
The petitioner wasn't Vanessa.
It wasn't Richard.
It was someone Marcus had never heard of.
“Who is Daniel Mercer?””
Vanessa didn't respond.
“Who is he?””
“He's her guardian.””
Marcus looked at the date.
The petition had been filed six months earlier.
Then he saw something else.
A signature.
His signature.
Marcus stared at it.
“That isn't mine.””
Vanessa whispered:
“I know.””
He looked up.
“Then why is it here?””
“I don't know.””
Marcus's phone suddenly vibrated.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Hello?””
No one spoke.
Marcus frowned.
“Who is this?””
A girl's breathing came through the line.
Then a quiet voice.
“Are you Marcus Hale?””
He stood completely still.
“Yes.””
A pause.
Then:
“My name is Olivia.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Olivia continued.
“I wasn't supposed to call you.””
Marcus's voice broke.
“Where are you?””
“I don't know if I can tell you.””
“Olivia, please.””
She inhaled shakily.
“There's something you need to know.””
“What?””
“I found the original documents.””
Marcus gripped the phone.
“What documents?””
“The ones they changed.””
A sound came through the line.
A door opening.
Olivia whispered:
May you like
“They know I'm calling you.””
Then the line went dead.
