Chapter 7: Maya
The young woman stood halfway down the stairs.
Marcus stared at her.
She looked about Aaliyah's age.
Maybe a year older.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A small scar above her left eyebrow.
And a silver necklace hanging from her throat.
Renee covered her mouth.
“Maya…”
The young woman stopped.
“Why is everyone looking at me like that?””
Aaliyah stepped forward.
“Who are you?””
Maya looked confused.
“My name is Maya.””
Marcus felt the room tilt.
He looked at Renee.
“You've known her?””
Renee nodded slowly.
“For three months.””
“Three months?””
“I found her in February.””
Maya frowned.
“Found me?””
Renee looked at her.
“I didn't know how to tell you.””
Maya glanced at the people surrounding the room.
“Tell me what?””
Nobody answered.
Derek slowly stood.
He looked at Maya as if he'd seen a ghost.
Maya noticed.
“You're Derek.””
Derek's face went pale.
“How do you know my name?””
“Mom told me.””
Derek swallowed.
“Your mother?””
Maya nodded.
“She died last year.””
Marcus looked at Renee.
“You knew Maya's mother?””
Renee nodded.
“She was my cousin.””
Maya looked between them.
“My mother always said there was something strange about my birth.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“What did she tell you?””
Maya's fingers tightened around her necklace.
“She said I was adopted.””
Aaliyah inhaled sharply.
Marcus stared.
“Do you have adoption papers?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“At my apartment.””
“Did they list your birth mother?””
Maya shook her head.
“No. It was a private adoption.””
Derek suddenly walked toward the door.
Marcus caught his arm.
“Where are you going?””
Derek looked at him.
“To get some air.””
“You're not leaving.””
Derek pulled his arm free.
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain.””
Derek's voice cracked.
“I knew there was another baby.””
Everyone went silent.
Marcus stared at him.
“You knew?””
“I knew Renee was pregnant with twins.””
Renee's eyes widened.
“You never knew they were twins.””
“I knew.””
Marcus looked at Renee.
“Twins?””
Renee nodded.
“I found out during the delivery.””
Maya's face drained of color.
“During my delivery?””
Renee nodded.
“The doctor told me there were two babies.””
Maya looked at Aaliyah.
Then back at Renee.
“So you're saying…”
Her voice trembled.
“Aaliyah is my sister?””
Renee nodded.
“Yes.””
Maya stared at Aaliyah.
Aaliyah began crying.
“So all this time…”
Maya whispered.
“We've been looking for each other without knowing it.””
Marcus stepped forward.
His eyes were fixed on Maya.
“If you're Aaliyah's twin…”
He couldn't finish.
Maya understood.
“You're my father.””
Marcus nodded.
“I believe I am.””
Maya's face crumpled.
She took one step toward him.
Then stopped.
“You knew about me?””
“No.””
“But my mother did.””
“Yes.””
“And Derek?””
Derek looked down.
“I knew there were two babies.””
Maya stared at him.
“Did you know one of them was me?””
“No.””
“Then why were you searching?””
Derek looked at Renee.
“Because after the birth, I was told one baby had died.””
Maya's eyes widened.
“I didn't die.””
“I know.””
“Who told you?””
Derek looked at Marcus.
“His father.””
Marcus's face hardened.
“My father again.””
Derek nodded.
“He told me Renee had lost one baby. He said the surviving child wasn't mine.””
Maya shook her head.
“But I'm alive.””
“Yes.””
“And Aaliyah is alive.””
“Yes.””
“So what happened?””
Renee began crying.
“I was told to choose.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Choose what?””
“Which baby would stay with me.””
Aaliyah whispered, “What?””
Renee looked at both daughters.
“I was twenty-three. Your father was gone. Marcus didn't know about either of you. And your grandfather was threatening everyone.””
Marcus's voice became cold.
“What did he threaten you with?””
“My life.””
Renee looked at Elaine.
“And Elaine's.””
Elaine nodded.
“He threatened to expose something that would have destroyed Marcus.””
Marcus turned to Elaine.
“What?””
Elaine looked at him.
“Your father knew you weren't his biological son.””
Marcus froze.
“What?””
Elaine nodded.
“He knew before we married.””
Marcus stared at her.
“That's impossible.””
“I didn't know until years later.””
“Then why did he care about Aaliyah?””
“Because he knew what you were.””
Marcus's voice dropped.
“What am I?””
Elaine hesitated.
“His son.””
“That doesn't answer anything.””
Elaine stepped closer.
“He knew you had a different biological mother.””
Marcus went still.
“My mother?””
Elaine nodded.
“She wasn't the woman who raised you.””
Marcus's mouth opened.
No sound came out.
Maya whispered, “This is insane.””
Elaine looked at her.
“I wish it were.””
Marcus's mind raced.
His entire childhood.
His father's coldness.
The adoption rumors he'd dismissed.
The family resemblance that never quite made sense.
The old photographs where his mother looked distant.
Everything he'd accepted suddenly had cracks running through it.
Aaliyah touched Maya's hand.
“We're sisters.””
Maya looked at her.
“Apparently.””
Aaliyah smiled through tears.
Then Marcus noticed the necklace around Maya's neck.
He recognized the small silver pendant.
He had seen it before.
In an old photograph from his father's study.
He stepped closer.
“Where did you get that?””
Maya touched the pendant.
“My mother gave it to me.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No.””
He looked at Renee.
“That necklace belonged to my mother.””
Renee's face changed.
Maya stared at him.
“What?””
Marcus reached for the pendant.
“Turn it over.””
Maya did.
There were initials engraved on the back.
*M.H.*
Marcus's breath caught.
“My mother's initials.””
Elaine whispered, “Then your father knew where Maya was.””
Renee shook her head.
“No.””
Marcus looked at her.
“He didn't just know.””
Renee's voice trembled.
“He paid for her adoption.””
Maya stepped backward.
“What?””
Marcus's face hardened.
“Why would my father pay to hide his granddaughter?””
Renee looked toward the front door.
“Because Maya wasn't the child he was afraid of.””
Marcus frowned.
“Then who was?””
Renee's eyes moved to Aaliyah.
“You.””
Aaliyah froze.
Marcus looked at her.
“Why?””
Renee reached into the old wooden trunk and pulled out one final envelope.
“This was delivered to me three weeks ago.””
Marcus took it.
His name was written across the front.
But underneath it was another name.
Aaliyah.
He opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Aaliyah as a baby.
On the back, one sentence had been written.
*One of the twins was born with a secret that could destroy the Hale family.*
Marcus looked up.
“What secret?””
Renee didn't answer.
Because Aaliyah suddenly screamed.
“Mom!””
Everyone turned.
She was holding the DNA report.
Her face had gone white.
“This isn't the full test.””
Marcus took the paper from her.
At the bottom was a second result.
Aaliyah's DNA had been compared to someone else.
And the result read:
*Sibling relationship: Excluded.*
May you like
Marcus stared at the words.
Aaliyah and Maya were not biologically related.
