Chapter 9: What Marcus Had Kept for Eighteen Years
I recognized the folder immediately.
It was the same kind of folder I'd used when Simone and I refinanced our house fourteen years earlier.
But I couldn't understand why Marcus had it.
I called Ethan.
"Where did he get that?""
"I don't know. He brought it with him.""
"Did you open it?""
"No.""
"Keep it away from him.""
Ethan lowered his voice.
"Mr. Hayes, he says he has something that could change everything.""
I looked at Simone.
She was standing in the doorway.
"What is it?"" she mouthed.
I shook my head.
Then I asked Ethan:
"Is Amara there?""
"Yes.""
"Put her on.""
There was a brief rustling sound.
Then Amara's voice came through.
"Daniel?""
"I'm here.""
"Marcus says he has information about you and Mom.""
My stomach tightened.
"What kind of information?""
"He says you should come over.""
I looked at Simone.
She had gone pale.
"Tell him I'll be there in twenty minutes.""
Simone grabbed her coat.
"I'm coming.""
We drove to Amara and Ethan's apartment together.
When we arrived, Marcus was sitting at their dining table.
He had placed the folder in front of him.
Ethan stood near the kitchen.
Amara was beside the window, her arms folded.
Marcus looked up.
"Well, look who's here.""
I ignored the comment.
"What's in the folder?""
He smiled.
"Sit down.""
"I'll stand.""
Marcus shrugged.
"Suit yourself.""
He opened the folder and removed several pages.
The first was a property deed.
The second was a financial statement.
The third was a letter dated eighteen years earlier.
I recognized the letterhead.
It belonged to a bank in Ohio.
Marcus placed the letter on the table.
"Do you remember this?""
I looked at it.
Then I looked at him.
"No.""
He smiled.
"Interesting.""
Simone stepped forward.
"Marcus, what are you doing?""
He turned toward her.
"Just clearing up a few misunderstandings.""
"Then get to the point.""
Marcus tapped the letter.
"Four years before Daniel and I became acquainted, I had a business relationship with a man named Robert Hayes.""
I frowned.
"My father?""
Marcus nodded.
"He was involved in a small property investment group.""
I stared at him.
"My father died when I was twenty.""
"I know.""
"What does he have to do with this?""
Marcus slid the letter toward me.
"Your father and I had an arrangement.""
I picked it up.
The letter referenced a property investment and a private loan.
The borrower was Marcus Reed.
The guarantor was Robert Hayes.
I read the amount.
Fifty thousand dollars.
I looked up.
"My father guaranteed a loan for you?""
"Yes.""
"When?""
"About twenty years ago.""
Simone frowned.
"Why are you bringing this up now?""
Marcus leaned back.
"Because Daniel seems to think I'm some kind of stranger who came back to exploit his family. I think it's important everyone understands that our families have been connected for a long time.""
I stared at the paper.
"What happened to the loan?""
Marcus smiled.
"Your father never completed the final release.""
I frowned.
"What does that mean?""
"It means there was still an outstanding financial matter.""
Simone looked at him.
"Are you threatening Daniel?""
Marcus raised both hands.
"Not at all. I'm explaining.""
He turned toward me.
"Your father died before everything was settled. I tried to contact the family, but the situation became complicated.""
I looked at the letter again.
Something didn't make sense.
"Why didn't I know about this?""
Marcus shrugged.
"Perhaps your father didn't tell you.""
I felt anger rising.
"Or perhaps you're lying.""
His smile disappeared.
He tapped the folder.
"Careful.""
Amara stepped forward.
"Marcus, why are you bringing Daniel's father into this?""
"Because he has been accusing me of using you.""
"And?""
"And I want him to understand that there are old obligations between our families.""
I looked at the letter.
The date was printed clearly.
But there was something else.
A small reference number appeared in the top corner.
I recognized the bank.
It had been acquired years ago.
Rebecca could verify the records.
I looked at Marcus.
"Do you have proof the loan is still outstanding?""
He smiled.
"I have the original documentation.""
"That's not what I asked.""
His jaw tightened.
"I have a legal claim.""
"Then why are you showing me a twenty-year-old letter instead of a current statement?""
For the first time, Marcus looked uncomfortable.
Ethan spoke from the kitchen.
"That's what I asked him.""
Marcus turned sharply.
"Nobody asked you.""
Amara stepped between them.
"Stop!""
She looked at Marcus.
"Why are you doing this?""
He softened his expression.
"Sweetheart, I'm trying to protect you.""
"By threatening Daniel?""
"I'm not threatening anyone.""
"You brought a folder with his father's name on it.""
Marcus sighed.
"I wanted him to understand that family matters are complicated.""
I looked at the documents again.
Then something caught my attention.
The signature at the bottom of the loan guarantee.
It wasn't my father's.
At least, it didn't look like it.
I leaned closer.
The signature read Robert Hayes.
But my father's full name had always been Robert James Hayes.
And he never signed documents using only his first and last name.
He always used his middle initial.
I remembered because he'd taught me how to sign my own name when I was twelve.
I pointed at the page.
"Where did you get this?""
Marcus looked down.
"From my records.""
"Who witnessed it?""
He didn't answer.
I picked up the second document.
It was a copy of a property transfer.
The property address was in Dayton.
My father had never owned property in Dayton.
He had lived in Columbus his entire life.
I looked at Marcus.
"You're showing me documents that don't even match my father's records.""
His expression hardened.
"You should be careful making accusations.""
I placed the papers back on the table.
"I'm not accusing you of anything yet.""
Simone reached for my hand.
Amara looked between us.
"Daniel, is this real?""
I shook my head.
"I don't know.""
Marcus stood.
"Then perhaps you should ask your lawyer.""
I nodded.
"I intend to.""
He gathered the documents.
Before he could put them away, I noticed a small photograph tucked into the back pocket of the folder.
It showed Marcus standing beside a younger man.
The photograph was old.
The man beside him looked familiar.
I took one step closer.
"Let me see that.""
Marcus quickly covered it.
"Private.""
"Who is that?""
"Someone you don't know.""
I stared at him.
Then I recognized the face.
Not from my father's photographs.
From an old newspaper clipping I'd seen years earlier.
The man was Leonard Price.
Marcus's business associate.
The same man mentioned in the email Rebecca had found.
I looked at Marcus.
"Why do you have a photograph of Leonard?""
He froze.
Amara stepped closer.
"Who is Leonard?""
Marcus slipped the photograph into the folder.
"Nobody important.""
I looked at Ethan.
He looked equally confused.
Marcus walked toward the door.
"Enough for tonight.""
Amara blocked his path.
"No.""
He stopped.
"What?""
"You're not leaving until you explain why you're using my name in your business agreements.""
Marcus looked at her.
For a moment, I saw the charm disappear.
His face became cold.
"Because I am your father.""
Amara shook her head.
"That doesn't answer my question.""
He pointed toward me.
"He's turning you against me.""
"No. You're doing that yourself.""
The room went silent.
Marcus stared at her.
Then he slowly picked up his jacket.
"Fine. If that's how you want it.""
He walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he turned to me.
"You should ask your mother about the summer of 2008.""
Simone went completely still.
I looked at her.
"What happened in 2008?""
She didn't answer.
Marcus smiled.
"Interesting. She never told you.""
Then he walked out.
The apartment door closed.
Amara immediately turned toward her mother.
"Mom?""
Simone looked like she'd seen a ghost.
I stepped closer.
"Simone, what happened in 2008?""
She sat down.
Her hands trembled as she placed them on the table.
"I didn't want to bring this up.""
"Bring what up?""
She looked at me.
"Marcus contacted me shortly after we got married.""
I frowned.
"When?""
"About six months after the wedding.""
"Why?""
She swallowed.
"He wanted money.""
I stared at her.
"How much?""
"Twenty thousand dollars.""
I looked at the folder Marcus had left behind.
"Did you give it to him?""
Simone shook her head.
"No.""
"Then what happened?""
She looked down.
"He told me that if I didn't help him, he would tell you something about Amara's biological father.""
My stomach tightened.
"Tell me what?""
Simone began crying.
"I thought he was bluffing.""
"Simone.""
She looked up.
"He said he had proof that the story I told you about why he left wasn't true.""
I stood motionless.
For eighteen years, I'd believed Marcus walked away because he didn't want the responsibility of raising a child.
That was the story Simone had told me when we first met.
She had said Marcus left after an argument about money and refused to return.
But now she was telling me there was something else.
Something she'd hidden.
I sat across from her.
"What's the truth?""
Simone wiped her cheeks.
"Marcus didn't leave because he couldn't afford to support Amara.""
I waited.
She took a shaky breath.
"He left because I discovered he was using Amara's name and Social Security number in a financial application when she was still a baby.""
The room went silent.
Amara stared at her mother.
"What?""
Simone nodded.
"I found the paperwork. I confronted him. He said it was temporary, but I didn't trust him.""
I looked at the old loan document.
The forged-looking signature.
The business arrangement.
The personal guarantee.
Suddenly, the pieces seemed connected.
Simone continued.
"I told him to leave. I threatened to report him. He said if I did, he'd make sure I lost custody.""
Amara covered her mouth.
"Mom, why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I was trying to protect you.""
I looked at Simone.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Her eyes filled.
"Because he said he had documents that could make it look like I had committed fraud too.""
I felt the room tilt.
Then Amara reached for the old folder.
She opened it and pulled out a final sheet.
It was a copy of a financial application.
The date was eighteen years earlier.
The applicant was Marcus Reed.
The dependent listed was Amara Simone Hayes.
And beneath the section titled Additional Authorized Parties was a name none of us expected to see.
*Daniel Hayes.*
I stared at the page.
I had never signed that document.
I had never authorized Marcus to use my name.
And yet there it was.
My signature.
Or something that looked exactly like it.
Amara looked at me.
"Daniel...""
I couldn't answer.
Because I finally understood why Marcus had returned after all those years.
He hadn't come back simply to reclaim his place as Amara's father.
May you like
He had come back because something from eighteen years ago was about to catch up with him.
And somehow, my name was already part of it.
