Chapter 6: Darren Knew My Father First
I photographed every document Daniel allowed me to photograph.
Then I sat in my car for almost twenty minutes.
I couldn’t drive.
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
Darren knew where my father was.
That sentence changed the shape of everything.
I called my mother.
She answered immediately.
“Marcus? Where are you?””
“I need you to answer one question.””
“What happened?””
“Did Darren know Dad before Dad left?””
Silence.
Not confusion.
Silence.
“Mom?””
“Come home.””
“Answer me.””
“Marcus, please.””
I closed my eyes.
“You lied again.””
“I didn’t lie.””
“You let me believe they had never met.””
“I never said that.””
I almost laughed.
That was her defense now.
Technical truth.
“You knew what I believed.””
She started crying.
“Please come home.””
I hung up.
When I arrived forty minutes later, Darren’s truck was gone.
My mother was standing in the kitchen.
The folder had disappeared from the counter.
“Where is he?””
“He went out.””
“Where?””
“I don’t know.””
“You always know.””
“Marcus—”
“Did Darren know Dad?””
She lowered her head.
“Yes.””
The word was barely audible.
“How?””
“They worked together.””
“I know.””
Her head snapped up.
For the first time, she looked genuinely frightened.
“How do you know?””
I put my phone on the table.
Not the documents.
Just my phone.
“I met Daniel Hayes.””
All the color disappeared from her face.
“You spoke to Daniel?””
“Yes.””
She gripped the back of a chair.
“What did he give you?””
That question told me more than she realized.
“What are you afraid he gave me?””
“I’m not afraid.””
“You look terrified.””
She sat down.
I remained standing.
“Tell me the truth before Darren gets back.””
She wiped her face.
“Your father hired Darren years before you ever knew him. Darren did repair work, collected rent from tenants, handled contractors.””
“And then?””
“Then your father started accusing him of stealing.””
I thought about the bank statements.
“Was he?””
“I don’t know.””
“Mom.””
“I don’t know!””
Her voice cracked.
She pressed both hands against the table.
“Anthony became obsessed with the missing money. He thought everyone was against him.””
“Was everyone?””
She looked at me.
I could see the answer before she spoke.
“Darren told me your father was hiding money too.””
“And you believed Darren?””
“At the time, yes.””
“Why?””
She looked away.
That was when I understood there was another secret.
“Mom.””
Nothing.
“Were you seeing Darren before Dad left?””
Her eyes filled.
I felt sick.
“Answer me.””
“No.””
I waited.
She broke.
“Not physically.””
I stepped back.
There it was.
The kind of answer people give when the truth is worse than the question.
“What does that mean?””
“We talked.””
“About Dad?””
“About everything.””
“How long?””
“Marcus—”
“How long?””
“Several months.””
I stared at her.
She whispered, “Your father was never home. Darren listened to me.””
I laughed bitterly.
“That’s the same excuse Darren uses now.””
“I made mistakes.””
“You keep calling them mistakes like you forgot to pay a bill.””
She flinched.
“I was lonely.””
“And Dad?””
“He became suspicious.””
“Because his employee was spending private time with his wife?””
She stood.
“Do not turn this into something it wasn’t.””
“I don’t know what it was because nobody told me the truth!””
The front door opened.
Darren walked in.
He stopped when he saw us.
Then he noticed my phone on the table.
“What’s happening?””
I turned toward him.
“I met Daniel Hayes.””
Darren froze.
It lasted less than a second.
But I saw it.
My mother saw it too.
“Daniel’s still alive?”” Darren asked.
I stared at him.
“That’s your first question?””
He dropped his keys onto the counter.
“Marcus, whatever that man told you—”
“My father sent him a message six months after he disappeared.””
Darren’s face tightened.
My mother looked confused.
“What message?””
I watched Darren.
“He said Darren knew where he was.””
My mother slowly turned toward her boyfriend.
“Darren?””
He shook his head.
“This is ridiculous.””
“Did you know where Anthony was?””
“No.””
“Then why did he write that?””
“I don’t know.””
My mother stepped toward him.
“You told me Anthony stopped contacting everyone.””
“He did.””
“Apparently not.””
Darren’s voice sharpened.
“Denise, don’t start.””
I had never heard him speak to her like that.
She had.
I could tell by the way she immediately went quiet.
I stepped between them.
“Don’t talk to her like that.””
Darren looked at me.
Something changed in his eyes.
The friendly boyfriend disappeared.
“You think you’re a man now because some lawyer handed you papers?””
“No.””
I held his stare.
“I think you’re scared because I finally started reading them.””
His jaw tightened.
Then he laughed.
“You want the truth?””
“Yes.””
“Your father wasn’t some innocent victim.””
My mother whispered, “Darren, stop.””
He ignored her.
“Anthony was planning to leave your mother with nothing.””
“That’s not what his documents say.””
“You’ve seen a fraction of what happened.””
“Then show me the rest.””
He stared at me.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Darren walked toward the hallway closet.
He reached behind a row of coats and removed a small black case.
My mother went pale.
“Darren, what are you doing?””
He placed the case on the kitchen table.
“I kept this because I knew one day someone would come asking questions.””
He opened it.
Inside were old photographs, receipts, and a key.
But one photograph immediately caught my attention.
My father was standing beside a car.
The date printed on the back was nearly a year after he supposedly disappeared.
And beside him stood Darren.
I looked up.
“You said you didn’t know where he was.””
Darren said nothing.
My mother picked up the photograph.
Her hand started trembling.
“Where was this taken?””
Darren stared at her.
“Denise…”
“Where?””
He exhaled.
“Virginia.””
My mother looked like she had been struck.
“You told me Anthony never contacted you again.””
“I was protecting you.””
“From my husband?””
“From the truth.””
I grabbed the photograph.
“What truth?””
Darren looked directly at me.
Then he said something I never expected.
“Your father was alive the entire time.””
My breath caught.
May you like
Darren’s next words were even worse.
“And three years ago, Marcus, he came back looking for you.””
