Chapter 7: The Truth About The Beginning
My father spent the entire night awake.
I knew because I heard him walking downstairs at 3:00 in the morning.
At 4:30.
At 5:15.
Every time I closed my eyes, I heard his footsteps.
Like he was searching through the past.
Trying to find the exact moment everything went wrong.
The next morning, he called someone.
I didn’t know who.
I only heard one sentence.
“Can you meet me today?””
Then he hung up.
“Who was that?””
Dad looked at me.
“Someone who knew your mother.””
An hour later, we were sitting in a small coffee shop across town.
The woman who walked in looked nervous.
She was older.
Maybe in her sixties.
She carried a folder against her chest.
Dad stood.
“Linda?””
The woman nodded.
“Marcus.””
She looked at me.
“This is Maya?””
My father nodded.
Linda’s expression softened.
“I’m sorry.””
I didn’t understand.
“For what?””
She sat down.
“For not saying something sooner.””
My stomach tightened.
“What did you know?””
Linda looked at Dad.
Then opened the folder.
“I worked with your mother.””
She pulled out a photograph.
My mother.
Standing beside her.
“You two were close?””
Linda smiled sadly.
“She was one of the kindest people I ever knew.””
She looked at the picture.
“She also noticed things.””
Dad leaned forward.
“What things?””
Linda took a breath.
“Nicole.””
The name alone changed the atmosphere.
“She came into the office often before your mother became sick.””
Dad frowned.
“Why?””
“That was the strange part.””
Linda opened another document.
“She wasn’t visiting for business.””
My father looked confused.
“Then why?””
Linda looked directly at him.
“Because she was watching you.””
I felt sick.
“How?””
“She asked questions.””
“What kind?””
Linda hesitated.
“Questions about your marriage.””
Dad’s jaw tightened.
“What questions?””
Linda looked down.
“She asked if your wife had life insurance.””
Silence.
I watched my father’s face.
He looked like someone had punched him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Linda’s eyes filled with guilt.
“Because I didn’t know how serious it was.””
She looked at me.
“And then your mother found out.””
I whispered:
“She confronted Nicole?””
Linda nodded.
“Your mother came to my office one afternoon.””
“What did she say?””
Linda’s voice lowered.
“She said, ‘That woman is not interested in my husband. She’s interested in what happens after I’m gone.’”
Nobody spoke.
Dad covered his face.
I had never seen him cry.
Not even when Mom died.
But now tears slipped through his fingers.
“I should have listened.””
Linda reached across the table.
“Marcus, your wife tried.””
Dad looked up.
“What do you mean?””
Linda opened the folder.
Inside was a copy of an email.
Sent from my mother.
To a lawyer.
The subject line made my heart stop.
*Emergency protection for Maya.*
My father read it.
Then looked at me.
“She was trying to protect you.””
The email explained that my mother wanted legal arrangements made in case she couldn’t be there.
She wanted someone independent to make sure I was safe.
She wanted my father to be warned.
But the email had never been sent.
“Why?””
Linda looked away.
“Because Nicole found out.””
The room went silent.
My father looked at her.
“How?””
Linda hesitated.
“She had access to your mother’s computer.””
My hands clenched.
“She was already inside our lives.””
“Yes.””
Dad stared at the table.
“How much did she plan?””
Linda didn’t answer immediately.
Then she said:
“More than you know.””
On the way home, Dad barely spoke.
Neither did I.
When we arrived, there was an envelope waiting at the door.
No stamp.
No address.
Just my name.
Maya.
My father picked it up.
“Don’t open it.””
But I already knew.
It was from Nicole.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
Only one sentence.
*You think you know the truth because you found my old plans.*
Below it was another line.
*But you still don’t know why I chose your family.*
My father looked at me.
Then at the letter.
And beneath Nicole’s handwriting was something else.
A name.
May you like
Someone else’s name.
Someone who had been helping her from the beginning.
