Chapter 2 - THE MAN AT THE EMPLOYEE DOOR
Daniel walked into the basement office smiling.
He stopped smiling when he saw the screen.
Then he saw Lily.
“Maya.”
I moved Lily higher against my shoulder.
“Don’t come near her.”
He raised both hands.
“I’m not here to cause trouble.”
Veronica whispered, “You idiot.”
Daniel looked at her.
That was enough.
Sebastian noticed.
“So you know each other.”
Daniel tried to recover.
“I’ve met her.”
“Today?”
“No.”
Veronica cut in.
“He’s lying.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You told me this was handled.”
The room went silent.
Veronica’s face changed.
Sebastian leaned against his desk.
“Please continue.”
Daniel realized what he had said.
He looked toward the door.
The guards did not move.
“I want a lawyer.”
“You are free to leave,” Sebastian said.
Daniel blinked.
“What?”
“I’m not police.”
Sebastian gestured toward the door.
“Leave.”
Daniel hesitated.
He expected a trap.
So did I.
Then Sebastian added, “But the police officers currently coming through my employee entrance may want to speak with you.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“You called the cops?”
“I called them when I found an unattended infant on my private staircase.”
Daniel turned toward me.
“You’re making this bigger than it is.”
I almost laughed.
“You paid my manager to steal my baby.”
“I didn’t pay her to steal anybody.”
“What did you pay her for?”
He looked at Veronica.
She looked away.
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“To document things.”
“What things?”
“You bringing Lily to work.”
My skin went cold.
“How did you know?”
“People talk.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You left eight months ago.”
“Six.”
“Thank you for correcting the exact month you abandoned your daughter.”
His face twitched.
Sebastian’s eyes moved between us.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Maya, my parents want to meet Lily.”
I stared at him.
“Your parents?”
“You never met them.”
“You told me your mother was dead.”
“She isn’t.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Daniel continued.
“My family didn’t approve of us.”
“Us?”
“There was never an us after Lily was born.”
“I made mistakes.”
“You vanished.”
“I was told to.”
“By who?”
He swallowed.
“My mother.”
Veronica whispered, “Daniel, shut up.”
I turned to her.
“Why do you care?”
Nobody answered.
Then Lily began to cry.
Not loudly.
A tired, confused cry.
Daniel stepped forward instinctively.
I stepped back.
Sebastian blocked him with one arm.
Daniel’s eyes hardened.
“That’s my daughter too.”
“Then act like it,” I said.
The police arrived minutes later.
As officers separated everyone, one of them asked Daniel for identification.
He handed over his license.
Sebastian saw the name.
Daniel Rafael Vega.
Then the officer asked for his emergency contact.
Daniel hesitated.
“My mother.”
“Name?”
“Lucia Vega-Hale.”
Veronica’s head snapped toward him.
So did mine.
Hale.
The same last name as Veronica.
Sebastian looked at his manager.
“Family?”
Veronica said nothing.
Daniel did.
May you like
“She’s my aunt.”
