Chapter 4: The Father Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
For eleven years, I'd believed my father was buried in a cemetery outside Columbus, Ohio.
I'd attended his funeral at twenty-four. I'd watched my mother lower her head over the closed casket. I'd listened to my younger brother, Daniel, tell me that some men left this world without ever explaining themselves.
Now my wife was sitting on my couch, telling me that the man who had supposedly died before Emily was born had been named in a letter written by my first wife.
I stared at Vanessa.
“Take that back.””
She shook her head.
“I can't.””
“My father is dead.””
“That's what you were told.””
Officer Miller looked up from the paperwork in her hands.
“Ma'am, are you saying the child's paternal grandfather is alive?””
Vanessa glanced at the officer, then back at me.
“Yes.””
I felt the room close around me.
“Where is he?””
“I don't know exactly.””
“You just said someone arranged to collect my daughter. You told me my father was named in Rachel's letter. You don't get to tell me you don't know.””
Vanessa pressed her lips together.
The officer set the papers on the coffee table.
“Mr. Hayes, I'm going to need everyone to slow down. We have an unidentified adult outside claiming authorization to collect a minor.
We also have a document whose authenticity is in question. Until we establish what's happening, Emily remains here with you.””
Emily stood beside my chair, gripping the fabric of my sleeve.
“Am I going to have to leave?”” she asked.
Officer Miller turned toward her.
“Not tonight, sweetheart. Nobody is taking you anywhere while we sort this out.””
Emily nodded, but she didn't release my sleeve.
I looked at Vanessa again.
“Start talking.””
She glanced at the officers.
“Can we speak privately?””
“No.””
“Mark, please.””
“You packed our daughter's clothes into garbage bags. You arranged a pickup. You forged my signature—or helped someone forge it.
And now you're telling me my dead father is alive. There will be no private conversation.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
For a moment, I thought she might finally tell me everything.
Instead, she reached into her handbag and pulled out a small brass key.
“Rachel gave me this before she died.””
I stared at it.
“What does it open?””
“A storage unit.””
“Where?””
“Cleveland.””
I almost laughed.
“My father supposedly died in Columbus. My wife says he's alive, my first wife left you a mysterious letter, and now there's a storage unit in Cleveland?””
“Rachel made me promise not to open it unless something happened to you.””
“Something happened to me?””
Vanessa looked down at the key.
“She said that if anyone ever tried to take Emily away from you, I had to find the box and follow the instructions inside.””
I stepped closer.
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I thought I could solve this without involving you.””
“By sending my daughter away?””
Her silence answered me.
Officer Miller held out her hand.
“Ma'am, I'll need you to explain how this key relates to the transfer document.””
Vanessa handed it over.
The officer examined it, then returned it.
“We aren't investigating a storage unit right now. We need to establish who created this authorization and who hired the man outside.””
A second officer entered from the porch.
“The man's name is Peter Collins. He claims he's a private family-services contractor. He has a copy of the transfer authorization, but no court order. His paperwork lists a contact named Richard Hayes.””
My father's name.
I grabbed the arm of the chair.
“Richard Hayes is dead.””
The officer shook his head.
“That's what I told him. He said the person who hired him specifically instructed him to contact the grandfather if the father refused to cooperate.””
Vanessa covered her mouth.
I turned toward her.
“You knew.””
She shook her head rapidly.
“Not everything.””
“How much?””
“I knew your father had contacted Rachel years ago. I knew he'd been asking questions about Emily. I didn't know he was still alive until three months ago.””
I felt a cold anger settle inside me.
“Three months?””
She nodded.
“He contacted me through a lawyer. He said he wanted to protect Emily.””
“From me?””
“He claimed you weren't her biological father.””
I took a step back.
There it was again.
The same accusation Daniel had repeated.
I looked toward Emily. She was listening, her eyes moving between us.
“Get her a glass of water,” I told Officer Miller.
“Please.””
The officer guided Emily toward the kitchen with her colleague.
Once my daughter was out of earshot, I faced Vanessa.
“Did you believe him?””
“At first, no.””
“Then what changed?””
Vanessa reached for the envelope on the coffee table.
“Your father sent me copies of Rachel's medical records. He said Rachel had been seeing another man shortly before you married her.””
“Rachel was not seeing another man.””
“You can't know that.””
“I knew my wife.””
“And I knew you loved her so much that you never questioned anything she told you!””
Her sudden outburst echoed through the living room.
I stared at her.
Vanessa's breathing became uneven.
“He showed me a photograph of Rachel with a man outside a hotel. He showed me a letter. He said the man was Emily's biological father.””
“Who was the man?””
She shook her head.
“He wouldn't tell me.””
“Then how did he convince you?””
“He said he'd reveal the truth if I helped him bring Emily to him.””
My stomach twisted.
“So you traded my daughter for an answer?””
“No!”” Vanessa cried.
“I thought he'd explain everything before anything happened. I thought I'd have time to talk to you.””
“You had three months.””
“I was afraid!””
“Of what?””
She looked toward the hallway.
Then she whispered, “He said if I told you, he'd destroy everything Rachel had left behind.””
The words silenced me.
Rachel had left behind very little: photographs, a box of handwritten recipes, a few pieces of jewelry, and the memories of a life that had ended far too soon.
“What could he possibly destroy?”” I asked.
Vanessa's answer came so softly I almost didn't hear it.
“Your daughter's birth certificate wasn't the only document Rachel changed.””
Before I could question her, my phone vibrated.
Daniel was still on the call.
I'd almost forgotten about him.
“Daniel?””
His voice sounded strained.
“Did Vanessa tell you about Dad?””
I looked toward the kitchen, where Emily was sitting at the counter with Officer Miller.
“Yes.””
A long silence followed.
Then my brother said, “I need you to listen carefully. Whatever Vanessa tells you, don't go to that storage unit alone.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Why?””
“Because Dad isn't the only person who's been lying to you.””
“Daniel, what do you know?””
He swallowed audibly.
“I know the funeral was real.””
I closed my eyes.
“What does that mean?””
“It means the man in the casket was our father.””
“Then how can he be alive?””
Daniel's voice broke.
“Because the man who died wasn't the man you thought he was.””
Before I could demand an explanation, the call disconnected.
A second later, a message arrived from an unknown number.
It contained one photograph.
My father stood outside a brick building, older and heavier than I remembered, his silver hair brushed neatly away from his forehead.
Beside him stood a little girl.
She looked eight years old.
She had Emily's dark eyes.
May you like
And the caption beneath the photograph contained four words.
*YOUR DAUGHTER HAS A SISTER.*
