Chapter 6: The Report That Disappeared
Andre called Marcus six times.
Every call went straight to voicemail.
By the seventh attempt, Camille had taken the phone from his hand.
“Stop,” she said.
“If someone is monitoring his communications, repeated calls won't help. We need to establish where he is and whether he's safe.””
“He's my uncle.””
“I understand.””
“No, you don't. Marcus helped raise me after my father died. He was at every school graduation, every birthday, every moment when my mother needed someone to make her laugh. If he's in trouble, I'm not sitting here waiting for someone to send me another mysterious letter.””
Camille held his gaze.
“Then we'll find him properly.””
She contacted Marcus's attorney, a local investigator, and the authorities. Within two hours, they learned that Marcus had left his apartment the previous evening and hadn't returned.
His car was still parked outside.
His wallet was on the kitchen counter.
The bedroom appeared undisturbed.
But the desk drawers had been opened, and several folders were missing.
Andre stood in the doorway of Marcus's apartment while an investigator photographed the room.
A faint smell of cigarette smoke lingered near the open window, though Marcus had quit smoking years ago.
“He never leaves without his wallet,” Andre said.
The investigator glanced at him.
“Does he have another residence?””
“The old family house. It's been empty since my grandmother died.””
“Could he have gone there?””
“He told Evelyn to meet him there Sunday.””
The investigator wrote something down.
“Then we'll check the property.””
Andre looked toward the desk.
One drawer contained old photographs, receipts, and a small wooden box. Inside the box was a silver key and a folded note.
The note bore Marcus's handwriting.
If anything happens, look behind the loose brick in the fireplace.
Andre showed it to Camille.
She read it twice.
“We shouldn't disturb potential evidence before the investigator examines it.””
Andre nodded, though every instinct told him to go straight to the old house.
Instead, he photographed the note and sent it to the investigator.
Then he called Lorraine.
His mother answered immediately.
“Andre? Have you heard from Marcus?””
He stopped walking.
“Why would you ask me that?””
“Because he called me yesterday.””
“What did he say?””
“He wanted to talk about the trust. He sounded frightened.””
“Did he tell you why?””
Lorraine hesitated.
“He said someone had found the old report.””
Andre closed his eyes.
“What report, Mom?””
“The paternity test.””
“Did you know Marcus believed Zoe might be his daughter?””
A long silence followed.
“Yes,” Lorraine whispered.
Andre pressed his palm against the wall.
“You knew that too?””
“Marcus told me when Zoe was born.””
“And you never thought to tell me?””
“I thought the matter had been settled.””
“By whom?””
“Marcus said the test was negative.””
“But he may have lied.””
Lorraine began crying again.
“Please don't think I wanted any of this to happen.””
Andre's voice grew sharp.
“Then stop making decisions for everyone else!””
She fell silent.
He took a breath and lowered his voice.
“Did Marcus say who had the report?””
“No. He said he was going to retrieve it.””
“From where?””
“I don't know.””
Andre stared at the apartment door.
“Mom, I'm asking you one more time. Is there anything else you know about the day Zoe was born?””
Lorraine's breathing became uneven.
“There was a second blood sample,” she said.
Andre froze.
“What?””
“The hospital collected another sample because the first results were unclear. Marcus told me about it years ago. He said the second test had been sent to a private laboratory.””
“Which laboratory?””
“I don't remember the name.””
“Try.””
“I can't.””
“Mom!””
“I was scared, Andre! I was afraid Marcus would destroy our family if the result was what he suspected. I thought if we left everything alone, the truth would never matter.””
Andre lowered the phone.
His mother had just admitted that she knew a second test existed.
And she had hidden it for years.
“Did Vanessa know about the second test?””
“I don't know.””
“Did Darius?””
“I don't know.””
“Who does?””
Lorraine's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Richard Bell.””
Andre ended the call.
Camille had been standing beside him, listening to the conversation.
“That's significant,” she said.
“It's more than significant. Everyone seems to know something except me.””
“Then we'll get the laboratory records.””
“And if they're gone?””
“Then we'll find another way to establish the facts.””
That evening, Andre returned home to find Zoe sitting at the kitchen table with a sheet of paper and a box of crayons.
She had drawn three people holding hands beneath a yellow sun.
Andre recognized himself immediately. He was the tallest figure, wearing a black suit and a red tie. Zoe stood beside him in a purple dress.
The third figure was smaller.
“Who's that?”” he asked.
Zoe colored the figure's shoes.
“That's Mommy.””
Andre pulled out a chair.
“That's a beautiful picture.””
“Teacher said we have to draw our family.””
He looked at the three figures.
“Did you want to draw anyone else?””
Zoe shook her head.
“Just us.””
Andre reached across the table and squeezed her hand.
“You can draw whoever feels like family to you, sweetheart.””
She looked at him.
“Even if people say different things?””
“Especially then.””
Zoe returned to her drawing.
After a moment, she asked, “Is Mommy coming home?””
Andre carefully chose his words.
“Not tonight.””
“Is she going to jail?””
“I don't know. The police are looking into what happened.””
Zoe pushed a purple crayon across the table.
“I don't want people to be mean to her.””
Andre swallowed.
“You can love someone and still be hurt by what they did.””
She considered that for a long time.
“Can I love you more?””
He smiled sadly.
“You don't have to measure love like that.””
“But I do.””
She climbed into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Andre held her close.
He had spent years believing love could solve almost anything if he simply showed up often enough.
Now he understood that love could also be used to hide the truth.
But he refused to let that lesson make him hard.
Zoe deserved a father who could protect her without teaching her to fear everyone.
The following morning, Camille called with an update.
The investigator had located Marcus's car near the old family house.
The vehicle was locked.
No one had answered the door.
Andre drove there with Camille and an officer.
The house stood at the end of a narrow lane, surrounded by overgrown shrubs and tall pine trees. The white paint had peeled from the porch railing, and the front steps creaked beneath their feet.
Andre hadn't been inside in years.
He remembered spending summers there as a child, running through the backyard while Marcus grilled hamburgers and his grandmother called everyone inside before dark.
Now the windows were covered in dust.
The officer checked the doors while Camille remained beside Andre.
“Let's wait for him to clear the property,” she said.
Andre nodded.
A few minutes later, the officer returned.
“The front door is unlocked. No one appears to be inside.””
Andre stepped into the hallway.
The house smelled of old wood and damp plaster. Dust floated through a narrow beam of sunlight. A faded family photograph hung crookedly above the staircase.
He stopped in front of it.
His father stood beside Lorraine, one arm around her shoulders. Marcus stood on the other side, smiling broadly.
Andre had been a boy in the picture, standing between the two brothers with a baseball glove tucked beneath his arm.
He remembered that day.
He remembered Marcus telling him that family meant showing up even when life became difficult.
Andre looked away.
They entered the living room.
The fireplace stood against the far wall, its brickwork darkened by decades of smoke.
Andre knelt beside it.
“Behind the loose brick,” he murmured.
The officer examined the wall and found a brick near the lower corner that shifted under pressure.
He removed it carefully.
Behind it sat a small metal box.
Inside were several envelopes, a flash drive, and a folded laboratory report.
Andre reached for the report.
Camille stopped him.
“Let's photograph everything before we handle it.””
The officer documented the contents and placed the items in evidence bags. Once the scene had been recorded, Camille opened a copy of the report and began reading.
Andre watched her expression.
“What does it say?””
She read the first page.
Then the second.
Her face grew still.
“Camille?””
She looked up.
“This is a genetic paternity report.””
“I know.””
“And it indicates that Marcus is excluded as Zoe's biological father.””
Andre released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
“So Darius is her father.””
“Not necessarily. This report only addresses Marcus.””
Camille turned the page.
“There is a second test listed here. It was conducted using samples from Darius and Zoe.””
Andre's heart began pounding.
“What does that one say?””
Camille scanned the page again.
“It's incomplete. The report references an amended result issued later, but the amended page isn't here.””
Andre stared at the empty evidence bag.
“The report is missing.””
“Part of it is.””
He looked at the flash drive.
“What's on that?””
“We'll have it examined.””
An officer approached with a small notebook found in the metal box.
“Mr. Mitchell, you should see this.””
The notebook contained a list of dates, names, and payments. Beside several entries, Marcus had written short notes.
One read:
Bell says the original report cannot be released without authorization.
Another read:
Lorraine knows about the second sample.
A third was underlined twice.
Vanessa says the child must never learn what happened in the delivery room.
Andre stared at the words.
“What happened in the delivery room?””
Camille turned to the officer.
“We need to secure the entire property and have the flash drive examined. We also need to locate Mr. Cole and determine whether he has a copy of the amended report.””
Andre looked toward the dark hallway.
“Why would Darius have it?””
“Because his sample was part of the testing.””
“But why would he keep it secret?””
Camille didn't answer.
The officer's radio crackled.
A colleague had found a message on Marcus's phone, recovered from the house.
It was a voicemail received the previous night.
They played it through the officer's device.
A man's voice filled the room.
“Marcus, it's Richard Bell. I understand you've been asking about the old test. You need to stop. That file was sealed for a reason, and reopening it will hurt people who don't deserve to be hurt.””
There was a pause.
Then Bell continued.
“If you give Andre the amended report, you will destroy the only family that child has ever known.””
The message ended.
Andre stood motionless.
Camille replayed the final sentence.
The only family that child has ever known.
It sounded like a warning.
Or a threat.
Then Andre noticed something written at the bottom of Marcus's notebook.
A name.
Not Darius.
Not Vanessa.
Not Lorraine.
*Richard Bell — original report holder.*
Beside the name was an address for a private medical records office.
And underneath it, in Marcus's handwriting, were six words that made Andre's stomach turn.
The amended result names someone else.
Camille looked at him.
“Someone other than Darius?””
Andre nodded slowly.
“That's what it says.””
The officer secured the notebook and the remaining evidence.
Andre stepped outside into the cold morning air.
He had come looking for a report that would settle a question about Zoe's biological father.
Instead, he had found evidence that someone had deliberately concealed the result.
Someone had paid to keep it hidden.
Someone had threatened Marcus.
And someone had convinced an entire family that the truth would destroy them.
His phone vibrated.
A text appeared from an unknown number.
Stop looking for the report.
Andre stared at the screen.
Another message followed.
If you really want to protect Zoe, ask Vanessa what happened at the hospital after Darius left the room.
Andre read the words again.
Then he called Camille over.
She examined the message and immediately handed it to the officer.
“We'll preserve it,” she said.
“And we need to speak with Vanessa as soon as possible.””
Andre looked back at the old house.
The answer was no longer simply about who had fathered Zoe.
It was about what had happened when she was born, why the truth had been hidden, and what someone was willing to do to keep it buried.
And for the first time since the wedding, Andre was afraid that the person he had trusted least might not be Vanessa at all.
May you like
It might be the person who had been protecting her.
Or the person who had been protecting him.
