Chapter 5: The Woman Who Knew Too Much
Tasha came downstairs at 9:15 a.m., dressed for work and carrying her handbag.
She stopped when she saw Marcus standing in the hallway with Renee's letter.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Tasha adjusted the strap of her bag.
“I'm leaving.””
Marcus looked at the clock.
“Where are you going?””
“To work.””
“Sit down.””
She gave him a disbelieving laugh.
“You don't get to order me around.””
“No. But you don't get to walk out of this house without explaining why my daughter's name is on a hidden document.””
Tasha glanced toward the kitchen.
“Where are the children?””
“Upstairs.””
“Good. I don't want them hearing this.””
“Then you should have thought about that before you brought whatever this is into their lives.””
She flinched.
Marcus placed the letter on the hallway table.
“Daniel is coming over.””
Tasha's face changed.
It was immediate and unmistakable. Her eyes widened, and the hand holding her purse tightened around the strap.
“You called him?””
“Yes.””
“You had no right.””
Marcus stared at her.
“No right? He's mentioned in a letter from my dead wife. He has information about my daughter. What exactly did you expect me to do?””
Tasha looked toward the staircase.
“Tell him not to come.””
“Why?””
“Because he will lie to you.””
“About what?””
She pressed her lips together.
Marcus stepped closer, keeping his voice low.
“I'm giving you one chance to tell me the truth before he arrives. Who is the woman in the photograph?””
Tasha's face went rigid.
“I don't know.””
“You're lying.””
“You can't prove that.””
He lifted the photograph.
“Then explain why you hid this.””
“Because it wasn't yours to find.””
“It's a photograph of my daughter.””
Tasha's eyes filled, but her voice remained hard.
“You think being her father means you own every part of her history?””
“No. I think being her father means I have a right to know if someone has been manipulating her life.””
Tasha turned away.
For a few seconds, Marcus thought she might finally answer.
Instead, she walked to the dining table and began stacking the plates left from the previous evening. She gathered them too quickly, and one slid against another with a sharp clatter.
“Do you know what it's like?”” she asked.
Marcus watched her.
“What?””
“To spend years in a house where every decision revolves around a child who isn't yours?””
His expression hardened.
“Imani is a child. She doesn't need to be yours biologically for you to treat her kindly.””
Tasha's hand stopped over a plate.
“You don't understand.””
“Then help me understand.””
She set the plate down.
“When I married you, I thought we were starting a family. I thought I could build something with you. But everything in this house belonged to Renee. Her photographs.
Her furniture. Her traditions. Her daughter.””
Marcus shook his head slowly.
“So you punished Imani because you were jealous of a woman who died?””
“That's not what happened.””
“Then tell me what happened.””
Tasha stared at him, her eyes shining with anger.
“You never let me matter as much as she did.””
“Renee was Imani's mother.””
“And I'm your wife!””
The words echoed through the living room.
Upstairs, a floorboard creaked.
Marcus lowered his voice.
“You chose to marry a man with a daughter. You knew I wasn't going to erase her mother from her life.””
“I wasn't asking you to erase her!””
“You hid her photographs. You took away her food. You made her afraid to ask for cake on her birthday.””
Tasha looked down.
For a moment, the anger left her face, replaced by something close to shame.
Then she lifted her chin.
“I made mistakes.””
“Those weren't mistakes. They were choices.””
She swallowed.
“I was trying to keep control of a situation I didn't understand.””
Marcus stared at her.
“What situation?””
Tasha looked toward the front window.
“Renee left things unfinished.””
“Such as?””
“Promises. Agreements. Things that should have stayed in the past.””
Marcus picked up the letter.
“You're going to have to be more specific.””
Tasha's eyes flicked toward the paper.
Then she said, “Ask Daniel why he stopped visiting after Renee died.””
“I will.””
“Ask him why he never came to Imani's school events. Why he never sent birthday cards. Why he disappeared when he knew you were struggling.””
Marcus hadn't considered that question.
Daniel had been close to Renee. After the funeral, he had withdrawn from the family almost completely. Marcus had assumed the grief had been too much for him.
But now he remembered something else.
A week before Daniel disappeared, he had come to Marcus's house late at night and demanded to speak to him privately. Marcus had been exhausted, angry, and overwhelmed by a toddler who wouldn't sleep.
He'd told Daniel to come back another time.
Daniel never did.
“What did you do?”” Marcus asked.
Tasha's eyes widened.
“Me?””
“What did you say to Daniel?””
“I didn't do anything.””
“Then why are you so afraid of him coming here?””
She opened her mouth.
Before she could answer, the doorbell rang.
Both of them turned.
Marcus walked to the front door and opened it.
Daniel stood on the porch, wearing a navy jacket and holding a thick manila envelope. He looked older than Marcus remembered, his beard streaked with gray and deep lines running from the corners of his eyes.
For several seconds, the two men simply stared at each other.
Then Daniel said, “I'm sorry.””
Marcus stepped aside.
“Come in.””
Daniel entered the house and stopped when he saw Tasha.
She folded her arms.
“You shouldn't have come.””
Daniel looked at her.
“You should have told him years ago.””
Tasha laughed bitterly.
“You don't get to judge me.””
“No,” Daniel said.
“I don't. But I do get to stop lying.””
Marcus shut the door.
“Sit down. Both of you.””
Daniel placed the envelope on the dining table.
Tasha remained standing.
Marcus looked at his former brother-in-law.
“Start with the photograph.””
Daniel nodded slowly.
“The woman in the photograph is named Simone Carter. She was Renee's closest friend before you met Renee.””
“What does she have to do with Imani?””
Daniel looked at Tasha.
Tasha's face had gone white again.
“Tell him,” she said.
Daniel turned back to Marcus.
“Simone was at the hospital the night Imani was born.””
Marcus frowned.
“Why?””
“Because Renee asked her to be there.””
“That doesn't explain anything.””
“No. It doesn't.””
Daniel opened the envelope and removed several documents. He arranged them carefully on the table.
“The night Imani was born, Renee experienced complications. She was frightened. She asked the hospital staff to contact me because you were stuck in traffic after leaving work.””
Marcus remembered that night vividly. A storm had flooded several roads, and he had arrived at the hospital nearly an hour after receiving Renee's call.
“I was there,” he said.
“Eventually. But before you arrived, Renee spoke with Simone about something that had been troubling her for months.””
“What?””
Daniel hesitated.
“She had learned that Simone was pregnant.””
Marcus stared at him.
“And?””
“Simone had no partner who could support her. She was alone, struggling financially, and afraid of losing her baby.””
Tasha made a small sound.
Daniel looked at her.
“Don't interrupt me.””
Marcus's gaze moved between them.
“What does Simone's pregnancy have to do with my daughter?””
Daniel rubbed his hands together.
“Nothing about Imani's biological fatherhood. You're her biological father, Marcus. I know that because I was there when the records were completed.””
Marcus released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
“Then what is this about?””
Daniel looked down at the documents.
“Simone's baby died shortly after birth.””
The room fell silent.
Marcus felt the words settle slowly.
“I'm sorry,” he said.
Daniel nodded.
“Simone was devastated. Renee tried to help her. She visited her at the hospital, stayed with her afterward, and promised she wouldn't have to face everything alone.””
Tasha sat down abruptly.
Marcus looked at her.
“Why are you reacting like this?””
She shook her head.
Daniel continued.
“Several weeks later, Simone left Atlanta. She couldn't bear being surrounded by reminders of what happened. Renee stayed in touch with her for a while, but eventually the letters stopped.””
Marcus frowned.
“That's tragic, but it doesn't explain the document in the pantry.””
Daniel opened another folder.
“This is where things become complicated.””
He slid a page across the table.
It appeared to be a legal agreement concerning the temporary care of a child. Several sections had been photocopied poorly, and a handwritten note appeared in the margin.
Marcus leaned forward.
“What is this?””
“A draft of an agreement Renee asked a lawyer to prepare.””
“For whom?””
Daniel hesitated.
“For a child who wasn't supposed to remain in her care permanently.””
Marcus felt his stomach tighten.
“Whose child?””
Daniel looked at Tasha.
She was staring at the table, her hands clasped so tightly that her knuckles had turned pale.
Then Daniel said, “Simone had another child years before the baby she lost. A little girl.””
Marcus looked at the photograph.
The little girl between Renee and Simone.
“How old was she?””
“About two when Simone first asked Renee for help.””
Marcus's mouth went dry.
“Where is she now?””
Daniel's eyes moved toward the staircase.
“She's in this house.””
Marcus stood.
“No.””
Daniel didn't look away.
“Marcus—”
“No. You're telling me that some child from Simone's past is somehow connected to my daughter, and you expect me to believe this means Imani isn't who I think she is?””
“I'm not saying that.””
“Then what are you saying?””
Daniel took a breath.
“I'm saying that Renee made an agreement involving Simone's daughter. An agreement that was never supposed to become permanent.””
Tasha covered her face.
Marcus turned toward her.
“What agreement?””
She shook her head.
“Please.””
“Tell me!””
Tasha lowered her hands.
Her eyes were red.
“I didn't make the agreement.””
“Then why are you involved?””
“Because Renee asked me to help.””
The words seemed to drain the air from the room.
Marcus stared at her.
“When?””
“Before she died.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because she made me promise.””
“What did she make you promise?””
Tasha looked at the photograph.
Then she whispered, “That I would never tell you what happened to Simone's little girl.””
Marcus felt his pulse hammer in his ears.
He looked toward the stairs again.
Imani was upstairs.
His daughter.
The child he had raised, comforted, and tucked into bed for seven years.
He turned back to Tasha.
“What happened to Simone's little girl?””
Tasha's lips trembled.
Before she could answer, Daniel spoke.
“Marcus, there's something else. The agreement wasn't just about temporary care.””
He pulled another document from the envelope.
“This is the original record of the arrangement. And if you read the final paragraph, you'll understand why Renee was so afraid.””
Marcus took the paper.
At the bottom, beneath a paragraph about guardianship, was a handwritten sentence.
The child must never be told that her biological mother is still alive.
Marcus looked up sharply.
“Still alive?””
May you like
Daniel nodded.
“And she's been trying to contact her daughter for years.””
