Chapter 3: The Secret Denise Buried
My father didn't speak for several seconds.
The basement suddenly felt smaller.
Colder.
Like the walls were closing around us.
"Who is this?"" Dad asked.
The voice on the phone hesitated.
"My name is Daniel Carter.""
Denise covered her mouth.
Dad noticed.
"You know him.""
She shook her head quickly.
"No.""
The man laughed bitterly through the speaker.
"That's a lie, Denise.""
Dad looked at her.
"Put him on speaker.""
She stepped forward.
"Marcus, don't.""
"Speaker.""
Her hands dropped.
Dad pressed the button.
Daniel's voice filled the basement.
"I have been trying to contact you for months.""
"About what?"" Dad asked.
A pause.
Then:
"About your daughter.""
I felt my entire body go numb.
Dad looked at me.
"What daughter?""
Daniel answered.
"Maya.""
Nobody moved.
Denise whispered:
"He's lying.""
Daniel continued.
"Eight years ago, I worked at the hospital where your wife was treated.""
Dad grabbed the phone tighter.
"What does this have to do with my wife?""
"Everything.""
I watched the anger leave his face.
Not because he was calmer.
Because he was afraid.
Daniel continued.
"Your wife didn't die immediately after the accident.""
The basement went silent.
I stopped breathing.
Dad whispered:
"What?""
"She survived.""
The word echoed.
Survived.
My knees weakened.
I grabbed the shelf beside me.
No.
That wasn't possible.
My mother was dead.
Everyone had told me.
Dad.
Family.
Doctors.
Everyone.
Daniel's voice cracked.
"She lived for three days.""
Dad covered his mouth.
"Why don't I know this?""
"Because someone changed the records.""
My eyes moved to Denise.
She looked like she wanted to disappear.
Dad saw it too.
His voice became dangerous.
"Denise.""
She shook her head.
"Marcus, please.""
"Did you know?""
"No.""
Daniel interrupted.
"She knew.""
Denise screamed.
"Shut up!""
The sound shocked everyone.
Jordan stepped back.
I stared at my stepmother.
For three years, I had been afraid of her.
But standing there, surrounded by my mother's belongings, I saw something different.
She wasn't powerful.
She was cornered.
Dad looked at her.
"You knew my wife was alive?""
Denise started crying.
"I didn't mean for things to happen like this.""
My father stared.
"Answer me.""
She wiped her face.
"Yes.""
The word destroyed something in him.
I saw it.
A piece of him break.
"Why?""
She looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw hatred without disguise.
"Because she ruined everything.""
My heart stopped.
"What?""
Denise laughed through tears.
"Your mother always got everything.""
Dad stepped forward.
"Careful.""
But she couldn't stop.
"She had the perfect husband. The perfect daughter. The perfect life.""
I stared at her.
"So you punished me?""
Her eyes met mine.
"You were proof she won.""
The words hurt more than hunger ever did.
Dad's face became empty.
"You are leaving.""
Denise shook her head.
"Marcus—"
"Now.""
Jordan spoke quietly.
"Mom...""
She turned.
"What?""
He looked devastated.
"I knew you were mean to her.""
Denise froze.
"But I didn't know this.""
That hurt her more than anything.
Because Jordan was finally choosing the truth.
Dad took my hand.
"We're going upstairs.""
But before we left, I saw one more box.
It had my mother's name.
And underneath it was a date.
A date from three years ago.
The year Denise moved into our home.
I pulled my hand away.
"Dad.""
He looked back.
"What?""
I pointed.
"That box wasn't here before.""
His face tightened.
He opened it.
Inside was a hospital bracelet.
A photograph.
And a letter.
Not from my mother.
From someone else.
Dad picked it up.
His eyes scanned the page.
Then he whispered:
"She wasn't trying to hide your mother's letters.""
I frowned.
"What?""
He looked at Denise.
"She was hiding something else.""
He turned the paper around.
At the bottom was a signature.
And I recognized the name.
Because it was the same name Daniel had said.
May you like
Daniel Carter.
The man who claimed my mother survived.
