Chapter 8 - The Man in the HallwayDr. Patel led me into a consultation room.
There was a computer on the desk.
A paper chart.
And a phone.
He shut the door.
“I need you to stay calm.”
I almost smiled.
Nobody says that before good news.
“What did you find?”
Dr. Patel turned the monitor toward me.
“We reviewed the genetic report attached to Maya's outside records.”
I stared at the screen.
Numbers.
Medical terminology.
A highlighted paragraph.
“This mutation is strongly associated with a hereditary cancer syndrome,” he said. “It doesn't tell us what the mass is. But it explains why her previous specialist was monitoring her closely.”
I nodded.
“So Claire knew.”
“Yes.”
“And the mass?”
“We'll know more after surgery.”
I looked at the report again.
“What about the paternity result?”
Dr. Patel paused.
“You have not been informed of that by the previous clinic?”
“No.”
He looked uncomfortable.
“Then I think that conversation should happen between you and your family, not here.”
I understood.
I closed my eyes.
“She isn't my biological daughter.”
Dr. Patel said nothing.
That silence was enough.
I walked out.
Claire was sitting alone near the windows.
She stood when she saw me.
“Marcus.”
“Don't.”
She stopped.
“Where is Maya?”
“They moved her to pre-op.”
I held up the envelope.
“Did you know she had a hereditary cancer risk?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Two years.”
I looked at her.
“Two years.”
“I was trying to protect her.”
“You were protecting your secret.”
“That isn't fair.”
“Fair?”
I lowered my voice.
“You looked me in the face for two years while our daughter went to appointments I knew nothing about.”
“She begged me.”
“And you let her carry it alone.”
Claire began crying.
“I was trying to keep the family together.”
“You destroyed it.”
A voice behind us interrupted.
“Claire?”
She froze.
I turned.
A man stood at the end of the hallway.
Mid-fifties.
Gray at the temples.
Dark coat.
One hand resting against the strap of a leather bag.
He looked directly at Claire.
Then at me.
Then toward the operating-room doors.
He swallowed.
“Is she here?”
Claire whispered, “Daniel.”
My whole body went rigid.
The man took one step forward.
“I got the message.”
“What message?” I asked.
Claire stared at the floor.
Daniel answered.
“The hospital called me.”
I looked at Claire.
“You gave them his information?”
“I had to.”
“No.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“I've been trying to find her for years.”
I laughed without humor.
“You've known where she was.”
“I knew where she was. I didn't know whether I was allowed to be her father.”
“You aren't.”
Daniel looked at me.
“I know.”
That answer confused me.
“You just said you were trying to find her.”
“I was.”
“And now?”
“Now I know she's sick.”
Silence.
Claire whispered, “Marcus, please.”
I turned to Daniel.
“Why would a hospital call you?”
His face changed.
“Because the genetic report listed me as the biological father.”
My heart pounded.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know before today?”
“I knew the possibility.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
“She told me three months ago.”
I stared at my wife.
“Three months?”
Claire couldn't meet my eyes.
Daniel continued.
“She said Maya had been diagnosed with a genetic risk. She asked me for my records.”
“And you gave them to her.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“I wanted to meet Maya.”
Claire shook her head.
“Not yet.”
Daniel's voice hardened.
“You kept saying not yet.”
“Because she wasn't ready.”
“You never asked her.”
“I know.”
“You decided for her.”
Claire started crying again.
I looked between them.
Two people had built an entire secret life around my daughter.
And Maya had been trapped in the middle.
A nurse hurried around the corner.
“Mr. Hale?”
“Yes?”
“We're taking Maya in now.”
I nodded.
The nurse glanced at Claire.
“Are you family?”
Claire answered immediately.
“I'm her mother.”
The nurse looked at Daniel.
He didn't say anything.
Then the nurse looked at me.
“And you?”
I swallowed.
“I'm her father.”
The words came out before I could think.
Daniel lowered his gaze.
The nurse nodded.
“Then one of you can come with us.”
I expected Claire to move.
She didn't.
I looked at her.
“Go.”
She stared at me.
“What?”
“Go be with your daughter.”
“She might not want me there.”
“That should be her decision.”
Claire stood slowly.
She walked toward the nurse.
Then she stopped.
“Maya knows everything.”
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
“She knows Daniel is her biological father.”
My chest tightened.
“Since when?”
“Since this morning.”
“What?”
Claire whispered, “She found the report.”
The nurse's face changed.
“I thought you said she hadn't seen it.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“She did.”
The nurse turned toward me.
Then she asked the question that made everything inside me go cold.
“Mr. Hale, did Maya tell you why she was crying before you brought her here?”
“No.”
The nurse hesitated.
“She told me something.”
“What?”
Nia's voice was barely above a whisper.
“She said she wasn't afraid of the surgery.”
My heart stopped.
“Then what was she afraid of?”
Nia looked at Claire.
May you like
And Claire finally broke.
“She was afraid you wouldn't be her dad anymore.”