Chapter 6: The Mother Who Never Stopped Looking
For several seconds, Marcus couldn't speak.
The words on the document blurred as he read them again.
The child must never be told that her biological mother is still alive.
He looked at Daniel.
“Who wrote this?””
“Renee.””
“Why?””
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“Because she believed she was protecting the child.””
Marcus turned toward Tasha.
“And you agreed to help her?””
Tasha began to cry.
“I didn't understand what she was asking me to do.””
“You said she asked you to keep a secret.””
“She did.””
“What secret?””
Tasha pressed her hands against the table.
“That Simone's daughter had been placed with another family. That the arrangement had fallen apart. That Renee had taken the child in because Simone couldn't care for her.””
Marcus's face tightened.
“Are you saying Renee adopted a child?””
“Not legally. Not at first.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Marcus, you're not hearing the whole story.””
“Then tell it!””
His voice cracked across the room.
Upstairs, a door opened.
Marcus immediately lowered his voice.
“Not another word until we know the children are settled.””
He went to the foot of the stairs.
“Imani? Caleb?””
Caleb appeared at the landing.
“Yeah, Dad?””
“Stay in your room for a little while, okay? I'm going to come talk to you soon.””
Caleb glanced toward the dining room.
“Is everything okay?””
Marcus forced himself to smile.
“I'm working on it.””
The boy nodded and disappeared.
Marcus returned to the table.
“Now,” he said, “I want the truth. All of it.””
Daniel sat down.
“Simone's first daughter was named Amara. When Amara was two, Simone was in an abusive relationship and struggling financially. She asked Renee to care for the little girl for a few weeks while she found somewhere safe to live.””
Marcus listened without interrupting.
“Renee agreed. She loved children, and she knew Simone had nowhere else to turn. But the weeks became months.
Simone's circumstances got worse. She moved between relatives, temporary housing, and shelters. She kept asking Renee to hold on to Amara a little longer.””
“Why didn't she take her back?””
“She tried,” Daniel said.
“But she wasn't stable enough to provide a safe home. Renee was afraid that if she returned Amara too soon, the child would be exposed to the same dangers.””
Marcus looked at the document.
“So Renee kept her.””
“She cared for her,” Daniel corrected.
“She took her to appointments, enrolled her in daycare, and gave her a home. But she never legally adopted her. Simone still had parental rights.””
“And then?””
Daniel swallowed.
“Then Renee discovered she was pregnant with you and her child.””
Marcus shook his head.
“That's impossible. Imani was born before Renee died. She was my only child.””
“Yes,” Daniel said.
“Imani is your biological daughter. Amara was a different child. She lived with Renee for almost a year.””
Marcus looked from Daniel to Tasha.
“Where is Amara now?””
Tasha covered her mouth.
Daniel continued.
“When Renee became seriously ill, she realized she couldn't keep caring for Amara. She wanted to return her to Simone, but Simone had disappeared. Nobody knew where she was living.””
“So what happened to the girl?””
“Renee arranged for her to stay temporarily with a family friend. She intended to reunite her with Simone when things were safer.””
Marcus leaned forward.
“And did she?””
Daniel shook his head.
“No. Renee died before she could finish the arrangement.””
Marcus felt anger rise beneath his ribs.
“Then why was there a document saying the child must never know her mother was alive?””
“Because after Renee died, we learned Simone had been located.””
Marcus stared at him.
“Who located her?””
“Tasha.””
Tasha flinched.
Marcus turned toward his wife.
“You found Simone?””
She nodded miserably.
“How?””
“Renee had left letters. Addresses. Phone numbers. I was sorting through her things after the funeral, and I found them.””
“And you contacted her?””
“Yes.””
“What did she tell you?””
Tasha wiped her cheeks.
“She wanted Amara back. She said she'd gotten help, found a stable place to live, and was ready to be a mother again.””
Marcus waited.
“But?””
Tasha's eyes dropped to the table.
“I didn't believe her.””
“Why not?””
“Because I had seen what her life had been like. I thought she would take Amara away and everything would fall apart again.””
Marcus stared at her.
“So you decided what was best for a child you had never met?””
“I was trying to protect her!””
“From her own mother?””
Tasha began crying harder.
“You don't understand what Renee went through. She was terrified. She said Simone was unstable. She said Amara was safer with someone who could give her a proper home.””
“Was that true?””
Tasha couldn't answer.
Daniel leaned forward.
“Some of it was true. Simone had made mistakes. But she was getting help.
She had a job. She was trying to rebuild her life.””
Marcus's voice dropped.
“Then why didn't you let her?””
Tasha stared at him.
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
She looked up.
“Of losing the only person who made me feel like I mattered.””
Marcus didn't move.
Tasha continued, her words tumbling out.
“When Renee was alive, she was the center of everything. You loved her. Daniel loved her. Everyone talked about how wonderful she was.
Even after she died, you kept her photographs everywhere. You told stories about her every day. I thought if I could help with Amara, if I could take responsibility for something Renee had left behind, maybe I could finally become part of this family.””
Marcus looked at her in disbelief.
“You used a little girl to make yourself feel important?””
“No!””
“You kept her mother away from her because you wanted to feel needed?””
Tasha shook her head, sobbing.
“I didn't know how to fix it once it started.””
“Then why didn't you stop?””
She lowered her face into her hands.
Because there was no answer that could make what she had done acceptable.
Marcus walked to the window.
Outside, the neighborhood was waking up. A school bus passed the house. Across the street, a man carried a trash bin to the curb.
Life continued.
Inside, Marcus was learning that the woman he had married had helped conceal a child's family history, all because she feared being less important than a dead woman.
He turned back.
“Where is Amara now?””
Daniel exchanged a look with Tasha.
Then he answered.
“She was returned to Simone's care after the temporary arrangement ended.””
Marcus frowned.
“When?””
“Several years ago.””
“Then what does any of this have to do with Imani?””
Daniel's expression changed.
“That is the part I haven't explained.””
Marcus's heart began to pound again.
“Explain it.””
Daniel reached into his envelope and removed a photograph.
It showed two little girls sitting on a hospital bed.
One was Imani, perhaps three years old, wearing a yellow cardigan. The other was a girl with the same deep-brown skin, the same wide eyes, and the same distinctive dimple in her left cheek.
Marcus stared at the image.
The resemblance was remarkable.
“Who is the other child?””
“Amara.””
Marcus looked closer.
“When was this taken?””
“Shortly before Renee died.””
He looked at Daniel.
“Why were they together?””
“Because Renee wanted the girls to know each other. She believed they had become like sisters.””
Marcus sat slowly.
He remembered Imani talking about a little girl who had visited their house when she was small. He remembered a name—Amara—but he had assumed it was a cousin's child. The memory had faded over the years, buried beneath work, grief, and the demands of raising a toddler alone.
“Why didn't I know about this?””
Daniel's face twisted with regret.
“Because Renee was afraid you would misunderstand. She worried that you'd feel she had chosen someone else's child over yours.””
Marcus stared at him.
“Did she?””
“No. She loved Imani more than anything. But she also loved Amara, and she couldn't bear the thought of abandoning her.””
Tasha spoke through her tears.
“Renee asked me to keep the girls connected. She said Imani would need to know the truth one day. But when Simone started asking questions, I panicked.””
Marcus turned toward her.
“What did you do?””
“I told her the arrangement had been finalized. I told her Amara was happy with her new family and that contacting her would only hurt the child.””
“Was that true?””
Tasha shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“You don't know?””
“I didn't know where Amara was living. I only knew the family had moved.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“And Simone believed you?””
“She stopped calling for a while.””
Daniel's voice grew hard.
“Until she found out you had married Tasha.””
Marcus looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
“Simone learned that Tasha had become your wife. She recognized the name from Renee's letters. She began asking questions again.””
Marcus looked at Tasha.
“How long ago?””
“About four years.””
“And what did you tell her?””
Tasha didn't answer.
Daniel reached into his envelope and removed another sheet of paper.
“This is a letter Simone sent to Tasha three years ago. I found it in Renee's old belongings after I learned what had happened.””
Marcus took the letter.
The handwriting was careful, the paper worn at the folds.
*I know you believe you're protecting Amara. But she deserves to know that I never stopped loving her. I have a home now.
I have a job. I have done everything the court and the social workers asked of me.*
Please tell her I am alive.
Please don't let her grow up believing I abandoned her.
Marcus lowered the letter.
“Did you show this to Amara?””
Tasha shook her head.
“Did you send it to her?””
“No.””
“Did you even answer it?””
Tasha's silence was answer enough.
Marcus stared at her for a long time.
Then he asked the question that had been burning in his mind.
“Where is Amara now?””
Daniel took a breath.
“She's in Atlanta.””
Marcus's heart lurched.
“Where?””
“I don't know her exact address. But Simone contacted me last month. She said Amara had recently turned eighteen and was trying to find the people who knew her as a child.””
Marcus looked at the photograph again.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I wanted to be certain before I came to you.””
“Certain of what?””
Daniel hesitated.
Then he said, “That Amara wasn't the only child Simone had been trying to find.””
Marcus stared at him.
“What are you talking about?””
Daniel reached for the final document in the envelope.
It was a copy of a birth record.
The child's name had been partially obscured by a dark mark, but the date and hospital were clear.
Marcus recognized the hospital immediately.
It was the same hospital where Imani had been born.
He looked up.
“No.””
Daniel's face was pale.
“Marcus, there is something in the original records that nobody ever explained to you.””
“What?””
Daniel pushed the paper toward him.
“On the night Imani was born, Simone was also admitted to that hospital.””
Marcus stopped breathing.
Daniel continued.
“And the records show that Renee wasn't the only woman who gave birth that night.””
Marcus stared at the document, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
Upstairs, a child's footsteps crossed the hallway.
Then Imani called down the stairs.
“Daddy?””
Marcus looked toward her voice.
“Yeah, baby?””
“There's a woman outside asking for you.””
His blood ran cold.
“Who is she?””
Imani appeared at the top of the stairs, holding a folded envelope.
“She said her name is Simone.””
Marcus looked at Daniel.
Daniel stood so quickly his chair tipped backward.
Tasha whispered, “No.””
Imani descended one step.
“She says she has something that belongs to me.””
And when Marcus looked at the envelope in his daughter's hand, he saw a photograph tucked beneath the flap.
Two newborn babies.
May you like
Two hospital bracelets.
And a date that matched the night his daughter was born.
