Chapter 4: The Daughter Who Was Chosen
The signature belonged to Kendra.
I stared at it for so long that the words stopped looking real.
My daughter noticed my expression.
“Dad?””
I slowly placed the paper down.
“Did you know about this?””
Zoria looked confused.
“About what?””
I turned the document toward her.
Her face changed.
“No.””
Her voice was barely audible.
“No, I swear.””
I believed her.
Because unlike the people who had spent years manipulating the truth, my daughter looked terrified.
Not caught.
Not exposed.
Terrified.
“Why would Kendra write this?”” I asked.
Zoria shook her head.
“She wouldn’t.””
The answer came too quickly.
Too naturally.
And somehow that hurt.
Because even after everything, Zoria still wanted to believe her stepsister wasn’t involved.
“I need to talk to her,” I said.
Zoria grabbed my hand.
“Dad.””
I looked at her.
“Please don’t make this worse.””
The pain in her voice stopped me.
“What do you mean?””
She looked down.
“Kendra isn’t like Mom.””
I thought about the note.
The signature.
The missing scholarship.
“I don’t know that anymore.””
The next morning, I drove to Kendra’s apartment.
I needed answers.
Not excuses.
Answers.
She opened the door wearing a sweatshirt and looked surprised to see me.
“Daniel?””
I had always been her stepfather.
But suddenly, even that word felt strange.
“Can we talk?””
Her face became nervous.
“Is this about Mom?””
“Yes.””
She stepped aside.
“Come in.””
Her apartment was small but carefully decorated.
Photos covered the shelves.
Most of them included Marianne.
Almost none included Zoria.
I noticed.
Kendra noticed me noticing.
“She didn’t mean anything by that.””
I looked at her.
“By what?””
She looked uncomfortable.
“By making me feel like I had to be better than her.””
The sentence stopped me.
“What?””
Kendra sat down.
“I know what you think.””
“I don’t know anything right now.””
She nodded slowly.
“Mom always compared us.””
I remained silent.
“She told me Zoria was lucky. She said Zoria had everything handed to her.””
My jaw tightened.
“That’s not true.””
“I know.””
Kendra looked at the floor.
“I know now.””
“Now?””
She took a deep breath.
“She made me believe Zoria was leaving us behind.””
I felt sick.
“She told you that?””
“All the time.””
Kendra’s eyes filled with tears.
“She said when Zoria went away, our family would fall apart.””
I stared at her.
“And the scholarship?””
Kendra didn’t answer.
That was the answer.
“Kendra.””
She covered her face.
“I didn’t know she was going to send the letters.””
My anger rose.
“But you knew something.””
She began crying.
“I knew Mom was trying to convince Zoria to stay.””
“That’s not enough.””
“I know.””
Her voice cracked.
“I should have stopped her.””
For a moment, I saw a scared young woman instead of the person I expected to blame.
But then she said something that made me freeze.
“Dad… there’s something else.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She wiped her tears.
“Mom didn’t just hide Ethan from you.””
My heart started pounding.
“What are you talking about?””
Kendra reached into a drawer and pulled out an old envelope.
“I found this after she told me never to open it.””
She handed it to me.
The paper inside was yellow from age.
A legal document.
A custody agreement.
But there was one detail I couldn’t stop staring at.
The date.
It was signed two years after Marianne told me Ethan disappeared.
Two years after she claimed he abandoned them.
I looked up.
“Kendra…”
She whispered:
“My dad didn’t leave.””
The room felt colder.
“He was trying to take me with him.””
I stared at the document.
“Then why didn’t he?””
Kendra’s face went pale.
“Because Mom told him…”
She stopped.
Her eyes filled with fear.
“Told him what?””
Kendra looked toward the door.
Like she was afraid someone was listening.
Then she whispered:
“She told him you were dangerous.””
I felt the air disappear from my lungs.
“What?””
Kendra grabbed my arm.
“And Dad… there’s one more thing you need to know.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She swallowed.
“The reason Mom was so desperate to control Zoria’s future…”
May you like
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“Is because she knew you would leave her if you ever found out the truth about what happened before you met.””
