Chapter 2: The Woman in the Photograph
Maya stepped back as if the floor had shifted beneath her.
“Tell me that mark means nothing, Charles.”
Charles lowered his shirt with a shaking hand.
“Maya, I can explain.”
“Then explain why Jama’s baby has your birthmark!”
Their son looked between them.
“Dad already knew Jama had that mark.
He told me she was my sister, but he made me promise not to tell anyone.”
Maya’s face tightened.
“You knew?”
“I only found out last week,” he said.
“Jama came here because she wanted answers from Dad.”
Charles reached for Maya, but she pulled away.
“Don’t touch me.
Who is that girl?”
Before Charles could answer, the baby began crying.
Maya’s daughter searched the diaper bag for a bottle and found a sealed envelope hidden beneath a blanket.
“Mom,” she whispered.
“Your name is on this.”
Maya tore it open.
Inside was an old photograph of a much younger Charles standing beside a pregnant woman whose face had been folded out of sight.
On the back, Jama had written one sentence:
“Before you blame Charles, ask him what he promised my mother.”
Maya unfolded the picture—and froze when she recognized the woman.
Charles closed his eyes.
“Maya…
that’s your sister, Denise.”
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Why was Jama carrying this photograph, and what had Charles hidden from Maya for years?
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