CHAPTER 14 — The Truth About Maya’s Birth
"He is claiming he is Maya's biological father."
The words from my security director destroyed the last piece of stability I had left.
I stood there.
Unable to speak.
Unable to move.
Everyone was looking at me.
Maya.
Eleanor.
Claire.
Thomas.
But all I could hear was my own heartbeat.
No.
It wasn't possible.
It couldn't be.
I looked at Maya.
My daughter.
The little girl who called me Daddy.
The child I held after Sarah died.
The child I promised I would protect.
And suddenly...
I hated that someone could even put that doubt in her world.
"Richard?"
My attorney's voice came through the phone.
"Say something."
I finally answered.
"Where is he?"
"At the private airport."
"I want to go there."
My attorney immediately stopped me.
"Richard, think carefully."
"No."
My voice was cold.
"He has spent fifteen years destroying my family."
I looked at Maya.
"He is not taking anything else."
Eleanor stepped forward.
"Richard..."
I turned.
She looked different.
Broken.
Not the confident woman from earlier.
Not the woman who controlled every room she entered.
Just someone who finally understood the damage she caused.
"I need to tell you something."
I stared at her.
"Not now."
"It is about Maya."
That stopped me.
"What?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I knew something was strange about her records."
The room became silent.
I walked closer.
"What records?"
"After Sarah died..."
She swallowed.
"I tried to understand everything about your family."
I almost laughed.
"You mean you searched for ways to control us."
She accepted the accusation.
"Yes."
A pause.
"But I found something."
"What?"
She looked at Maya.
"Her birth certificate had been requested twice."
My heart tightened.
"By who?"
She looked at me.
"David."
Silence.
"He requested a copy before you ever met me."
My blood ran cold.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
I turned toward Thomas.
"You knew?"
Thomas shook his head.
"No."
For once...
he looked honest.
"I didn't know about Maya."
Then Claire spoke.
"I think I know."
Everyone looked at her.
She slowly opened Sarah's old file.
"Sarah discovered David had been manipulating company records."
She pulled out another document.
"She also discovered he had access to private information."
I stared.
"Including birth records."
Claire nodded.
"Yes."
My mind started connecting everything.
David wasn't just trying to take my company.
He wasn't just trying to destroy my reputation.
He had been building a backup plan.
A way to take everything.
Including my daughter.
"Let's go."
I turned toward the door.
But before I moved...
Maya grabbed my hand.
"Daddy."
I stopped.
She looked terrified.
"Am I not your daughter anymore?"
Those words broke me.
I immediately dropped to my knees.
"Maya."
Tears filled her eyes.
"What if he tells the truth?"
I held her hands.
"Listen to me."
She looked at me.
"You are my daughter because I chose you every single day."
My voice cracked.
"Because I held you when you cried."
"Because I taught you how to ride a bike."
"Because I stayed awake all night when you were sick."
I touched her cheek.
"Nobody can take that away."
She cried.
And finally...
after months of fear...
she ran into my arms.
I held her tightly.
And I made a promise.
Not just to her.
To Sarah.
"I will find the truth."
---
Thirty minutes later...
We arrived at the private airport.
Rain hit the windshield.
The same rain from the night I came home.
The same rain that brought me back to my daughter.
David's plane was waiting.
The engine was already running.
He was leaving.
Running.
My security team surrounded the area.
David stood beside the plane.
Older.
Tired.
But still wearing the same confident smile.
"Richard."
I walked toward him.
"You were going to leave."
He shrugged.
"I had no choice."
"No choice?"
I laughed.
"You destroyed my family."
He looked at me.
"You destroyed mine first."
I shook my head.
"Still saying that?"
He smiled.
"Because it's true."
Then he reached into his coat.
And pulled out a folder.
"The truth is inside."
I stared.
"What is that?"
"Maya's original records."
My chest tightened.
He held it up.
"Everything you want."
I stepped forward.
"Give it to me."
He smiled.
"Not that easy."
My eyes narrowed.
"What do you want?"
He looked past me.
At the cars behind.
At my security team.
At the police approaching.
Then he laughed.
"You really think you won?"
I didn't answer.
He opened the folder.
"I have DNA results."
My heart stopped.
"David."
He looked at me.
"Sarah knew."
The world went quiet.
"What?"
"She knew Maya wasn't biologically yours."
I felt like I had been hit.
"No."
"She knew before she died."
I shook my head.
"You're lying."
"Am I?"
He pulled out a paper.
"Ask Claire."
Everyone went silent.
Because Claire was standing behind me.
And her face changed.
She knew.
I turned.
"Claire?"
She looked away.
My heart sank.
"Tell me."
She whispered:
"Sarah found out."
I couldn't breathe.
"Found out what?"
Claire looked at Maya.
Then at me.
"That Maya's biological father was not you."
The rain became louder.
My hands went cold.
David smiled.
"I told you."
I stared at Claire.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
"Because Sarah made us promise."
"Why?"
Her voice broke.
"Because she was afraid you would lose Maya."
Silence.
I looked at David.
"You knew."
He nodded.
"I knew."
"Then why wait fifteen years?"
His smile disappeared.
"Because I needed Sarah gone."
Everyone froze.
The confession.
The words.
The truth.
He had finally said it.
My security team immediately moved.
But David wasn't finished.
He looked at me.
"Do you want to know the worst part?"
I stared.
"What?"
He smiled.
"Sarah never doubted you."
A pause.
"She doubted me."
My breathing stopped.
David continued:
"She discovered Maya's real father."
He looked at me.
"And she discovered he wasn't the man you think."
I froze.
"What are you talking about?"
David looked toward the folder.
Then whispered:
"Because Maya's biological father..."
"was someone Sarah trusted."
The rain fell harder.
The airport lights flickered.
And David said the name that made everyone go silent.
"The man who helped you raise her."
A pause.
"The man Maya has called Daddy her entire life..."
"was never her father."
I stared at him.
Then he said:
"Richard..."
May you like
"Sarah's secret was not who Maya's father was."
"It was why she chose you."
