Chapter 5: The Box My Father Left Behind
For several seconds, I couldn’t speak.
The phone was pressed against my ear, but all I could hear was my own breathing.
“What kind of evidence?”” I finally asked.
Daniel Hayes paused.
“I would rather show you in person.””
My eyes moved toward the living room window.
Darren was still standing behind the glass.
Watching me.
“Does my mother know about this?””
Another pause.
“She knows I represented your father.””
“That wasn’t my question.””
“No,” Daniel said.
“As far as I know, she does not know what your father left with me.””
Something about those words made me turn away from the window.
“When can I see you?””
“Tomorrow morning. Nine o’clock.””
“I’ll be there.””
“Marcus?””
“Yes?””
“Come alone.””
The call ended.
I lowered my phone.
My mother was still sitting on the steps.
“Who was that?””
I looked at her.
For once, I decided she didn’t deserve the full truth.
“Someone from work.””
Her eyes narrowed.
“You looked upset.””
“I’ve been upset all day.””
I walked inside.
Darren stepped away from the window.
“Who called?””
“Why?””
He shrugged.
“Just asking.””
I studied his face.
Twenty-four hours earlier, I might have answered him.
Now every question sounded like an investigation.
“Good night, Darren.””
I walked upstairs.
I barely slept.
At 8:15 the next morning, I left without telling either of them where I was going.
Daniel Hayes worked from a small law office in downtown Baltimore, above a bank and beside a dental clinic.
Nothing about the building looked dramatic.
That somehow made it worse.
A receptionist led me into a conference room.
A gray-haired man in a navy suit entered carrying a metal lockbox.
He placed it on the table.
“Marcus?””
“Yes.””
He extended his hand.
“Daniel Hayes.””
I shook it.
“You knew my father?””
“For almost twenty years.””
The sentence hit me unexpectedly.
There were people who had known my father while I spent fourteen years pretending he didn’t matter.
“What happened to him?””
Daniel sat across from me.
“That answer is complicated.””
“Everyone keeps telling me things are complicated.””
“I imagine you’re tired of hearing it.””
“I am.””
He nodded.
“Then I’ll give you what I can prove.””
He unlocked the box.
Inside were folders, photographs, bank statements, and several sealed envelopes.
On top sat a photograph.
My father and me.
I couldn’t have been older than six.
I was sitting on his shoulders at an Orioles game, both of us laughing.
My throat tightened.
“I don’t remember this.””
“He kept it on his desk.””
I looked up.
“After he left?””
Daniel nodded.
“He never stopped carrying pictures of you.””
I had to look away.
That one photograph destroyed fourteen years of anger in seconds.
Daniel slid a document toward me.
“Your father purchased your family home before marrying Denise. Several years later, he created a trust.””
“A trust for me?””
“Yes. The house was one of its assets.””
“Then how was Mom controlling it?””
“She was appointed temporary trustee while you were a minor.””
My stomach tightened.
“And Darren?””
Daniel’s expression changed.
“Darren Cole should never have had authority over that property.””
I leaned forward.
“But his signature is on documents.””
“I suspected it might be.””
“You suspected?””
Daniel opened another folder.
“Your father contacted me shortly before he disappeared from your life.””
“Disappeared?””
I caught the word immediately.
“You keep saying disappeared. Not left.””
Daniel looked at me carefully.
“Because Anthony told me he intended to return.””
The room went silent.
“He told you that?””
“He was leaving Baltimore temporarily. There had been serious conflict between your parents.””
“About what?””
“Money.””
Of course.
Daniel pushed a bank statement toward me.
Large withdrawals were circled.
$8,000.
$12,500.
$19,000.
“What is this?””
“Money taken from an account connected to the property.””
“By my mother?””
“We couldn’t prove who authorized every transaction.””
“But you suspected her.””
“I suspected someone close to her.””
My eyes immediately went to the name in my head.
Darren.
“Did my father know Darren?””
Daniel didn’t answer right away.
That terrified me more than an immediate yes.
“Daniel.””
“Yes.””
My chair scraped backward.
“How?””
“They worked together.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
“Darren handled maintenance contracts for several properties your father owned.””
My skin went cold.
Darren hadn’t entered my mother’s life after my father disappeared.
He had already been there.
“How long did they know each other?””
“Several years.””
I remembered Darren telling me he had been there for my mother.
Suddenly those words had a completely different meaning.
Daniel reached into the lockbox.
“There’s one more thing.””
He handed me a sealed envelope.
My name was written across the front.
Not my mother’s handwriting.
My father’s.
“When did he write this?””
“The week before he left.””
My hands shook as I opened it.
The letter was short.
Marcus,
If you are old enough to read this, then something prevented me from explaining it myself.
Never believe that I chose money, pride, or another life over you.
The house is yours.
Protect it.
And if Darren Cole is still anywhere near your mother, do not trust him until you know what happened to the money.
I stopped reading.
My chest felt hollow.
Daniel watched me silently.
I read the last line again.
Do not trust him.
I looked up.
“Why didn’t you give me this sooner?””
“Your father gave strict instructions.””
“That makes no sense.””
“It will.””
Daniel pulled one final document from the box.
A handwritten note was clipped to it.
“This arrived at my office six months after your father supposedly abandoned the family.””
“From Dad?””
Daniel nodded.
I looked at the date.
My stomach dropped.
Six months after my mother told everyone he had vanished.
“What did it say?””
Daniel turned the page toward me.
May you like
There were only seven words.
*Darren knows where I am. Do not tell Denise.*
