Dad wanted to call the number back.
Deputy Collins stopped him.
“No.”
“He called me.”
“And that's exactly why you don't call him.”
“What if he knows where Elena is?”
“We're tracing it.”
“What if he knows where Thomas—”
Dad stopped.
His own name had become a weapon.
He looked at me.
“Your grandfather.”
I understood.
The person Daniel had threatened wasn't Thomas.
It was him.
The biological father of the man whose name had appeared throughout my birth records.
Richard had been dead for years.
But Thomas was alive.
And Daniel knew it.
We returned to the sheriff's office before midnight.
The evidence from Martin's house was still being catalogued.
The black case sat inside an evidence room.
Nobody touched it without documentation.
I sat in a small interview room with Caroline.
She looked exhausted.
“Tell me about Elena,” I said.
Caroline rubbed her forehead.
“My sister was twenty-two when she became pregnant.”
“With me.”
“Yes.”
“Did she want me?”
Caroline looked surprised.
“More than anything.”
“Then why did she give me away?”
“She didn't.”
The answer came so quickly that I froze.
“What?”
“She agreed to temporary protection.”
“But the papers—”
“The papers were changed.”
“By Valerie?”
“Not alone.”
I thought of Martin.
“Who helped her?”
“An attorney.”
“Richard's attorney?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Caroline hesitated.
“Martin knew him.”
That wasn't enough.
“Name.”
“Gregory Bell.”
The name meant nothing to me.
“Where is he?”
“He died twelve years ago.”
I closed my eyes.
Another dead man.
Another missing piece.
“How many people knew?”
“Too many.”
Caroline leaned closer.
“Your grandmother knew.”
I looked up.
“My grandmother?”
“She suspected Elena was being pressured.”
“Why didn't she tell Dad?”
“She tried.”
“When?”
“Before you were born.”
“Did Dad know Elena was my mother?”
“No.”
“Then how did he know about me?”
Caroline's expression changed.
“Because he didn't know the whole truth.”
“What does that mean?”
“He knew Elena was pregnant.”
My heart raced.
“But he didn't know she was carrying his child?”
“She told him.”
“Then why did he think Valerie was my mother?”
“Because Valerie told him.”
I stared at her.
“So Dad knew Elena.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Caroline exhaled.
“They were involved before you were born.”
Everything inside me seemed to shift.
The hospital photograph.
The trust.
The temporary arrangement.
The strange date.
The birthmark.
The documents.
My entire family history had been built around a story that had never been complete.
“Why did Elena disappear?”
Caroline looked at the table.
“Richard found out she was planning to leave with you.”
“And Daniel?”
“Daniel was already involved in Richard's financial affairs.”
“What did he do?”
“He threatened her.”
“With what?”
“Money first.”
Caroline's voice became quieter.
“Then with you.”
I swallowed.
“He said he would take me?”
“He said Richard could make sure you never belonged to Elena.”
I thought about Valerie.
“She protected me?”
Caroline hesitated.
“Initially.”
The word hurt.
“What changed?”
“Money.”
I looked away.
“Of course.”
Caroline touched the table.
“Maya, you need to understand something.”
“What?”
“Valerie wasn't the person who created the danger.”
“But she became part of it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because once she had control, she realized control was valuable.”
I thought about the trust.
The house.
The account.
The passports.
Hawaii.
Martin.
Daniel.
“She became afraid of losing me.”
“Yes.”
“Or afraid of losing the money?”
Caroline didn't answer.
That silence was enough.
Deputy Collins entered.
“We traced the call.”
“And?”
“Payphone.”
Dad stood.
“Where?”
“Three blocks from the old courthouse.”
Caroline's expression changed.
“That's where Gregory Bell's office used to be.”
Collins nodded.
“We found something else.”
He placed a photograph on the table.
It showed an old building.
One window was lit.
“Someone entered twenty minutes ago.”
“Daniel?”
“We don't know.”
“Can we go?”
“No.”
Dad looked furious.
“Why not?”
“Because we don't know who is inside.”
I stared at the photograph.
Then noticed something.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“The window.”
“What about it?”
I pointed.
“There’s a reflection.”
Collins leaned closer.
A figure stood behind the glass.
Not Daniel.
Not Martin.
A woman.
Caroline stared at it.
“That's Elena.”
The room went silent.
“You're sure?”
Caroline nodded.
“I know my sister.”
Dad stepped toward the door.
Collins stopped him.
“We'll handle this.”
“You just said my biological mother may be inside.”
“And if she is, rushing in could put everyone at risk.”
We waited.
Twenty minutes later, officers entered the building.
They found the room empty.
No Elena.
No Daniel.
No Martin.
But they found a second folder.
This one contained medical records.
My medical records.
Not from childhood.
From before I was born.
There were prenatal records from a clinic I'd never heard of.
One page listed Elena Voss as patient.
Another listed Thomas Reed as emergency contact.
And the final page contained a handwritten note:
Pregnancy classified high risk due to external threat.
I stared at it.
“What does external threat mean?”
Caroline whispered, “Richard.”
Deputy Collins shook his head.
“Maybe.”
“No,” Caroline said.
She pointed to the bottom.
“Look at the initials.”
I leaned closer.
Three letters.
D.V.
Daniel Voss.
“He was involved before I was born?”
Caroline looked terrified.
“Yes.”
The next page answered the question.
Daniel had signed a financial authorization connected to Elena's medical treatment.
I felt sick.
“He knew.”
“Yes.”
“He knew Elena was my mother.”
“Yes.”
“And he knew Dad was my father.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he disappear?”
Caroline looked at me.
“Because Richard sent him away.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel had learned about the trust.”
The room became quiet.
“How much was in it?”
Caroline swallowed.
“Enough to change the entire family.”
Deputy Collins asked, “How much?”
Caroline finally answered.
“Nearly two million dollars.”
My stomach dropped.
The amount was so large it stopped feeling like money.
It was leverage.
Power.
A reason for people to lie.
A reason for people to disappear.
A reason for people to watch a child.
And perhaps the reason my birth had been surrounded by secrecy from the beginning.
Dad sat down.
“My mother knew.”
Caroline nodded.
“She created the trust because she believed everyone else would eventually fight over it.”
“She was right.”
“Yes.”
Deputy Collins looked through the remaining pages.
“There’s another problem.”
“What?”
He held up a photocopy.
“This trust wasn't created only for Maya.”
I stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
“The beneficiary designation includes another person.”
“Who?”
He turned the page.
Daniel Voss.
I felt my chest tighten.
“Why would Daniel be a beneficiary?”
Caroline stood abruptly.
“He wasn't.”
“He is on the document.”
“No.”
She grabbed the page.
Her face changed.
“This isn't the original.”
“What?”
“The original trust named only Maya.”
Deputy Collins looked at the copy.
“How do you know?”
“Because I was the trustee.”
She pointed to the signature block.
“My signature was copied.”
Everyone became silent.
Someone had altered the trust.
Again.
And this time, whoever did it had added Daniel.
Caroline sat down slowly.
“Daniel didn't just want the money.”
“What did he want?”
She looked at me.
“He wanted legal standing.”
“Standing for what?”
“To claim you.”
My heart stopped.
Before anyone could answer, the door opened.
A deputy entered.
“Collins.”
“What?”
“We found Valerie.”
Everyone stood.
“Where?”
“At an abandoned church.”
“Alone?”
The deputy shook his head.
“No.”
“Who was with her?”
He looked directly at me.
“Your mother was with Elena.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 15: Elena Told Me Why She Gave Me Up, and Her Answer Made Me Question Everything I Believed About My Childhood
She Said I Was Staying With Friends, But By the Third Night I Realized I Was Completely Alone
Part 14 of 20
