Chapter 6: The Father Who Never Stopped Looking
At 9:15 the following morning, Monica stood outside Renee's front door.
Her hands were shaking.
A black sedan had pulled into the driveway.
The driver had not gotten out.
Monica recognized the face behind the windshield.
Twelve years older.
A little heavier.
A few gray hairs near the temples.
But unmistakably Darius.
Renee stood behind her.
"Are you ready?""
Monica shook her head.
"No.""
"Do you want me to come with you?""
"Yes.""
Renee opened the door.
Darius stepped out.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then he looked at Monica.
"Hey, Mon.""
Her lips trembled.
"Hello, Darius.""
He looked past her.
"Where's Malik?""
"Inside.""
"Can I see him?""
Monica hesitated.
"He's been asking about you.""
Darius closed his eyes.
A tear slipped down his cheek.
"I know.""
Monica frowned.
"What do you mean, you know?""
He looked at her.
"Because I've been trying to find a way to reach him for years.""
She felt her knees weaken.
"Then why didn't you?""
Darius looked toward the street.
"Because Curtis made sure I couldn't.""
They sat in Renee's living room.
Malik stood near the staircase, watching the man he'd spent twelve years believing had abandoned him.
Darius saw him.
For a moment, he seemed unable to breathe.
"Malik?""
The teenager didn't move.
Darius stood slowly.
"Man, look at you.""
Malik stared at him.
"You're my father?""
Darius nodded.
"Yes, son.""
"Why didn't you come back?""
Darius's eyes filled.
"That's what I came here to explain.""
Malik folded his arms.
"You better have a good explanation.""
Darius nodded.
"I know.""
He looked at Monica.
"Can I tell him?""
Monica sat beside Renee.
"Tell him everything.""
Darius took a long breath.
"Twelve years ago, after I left your house, I received a phone call from Curtis.""
Malik's jaw tightened.
"What did he say?""
"He told me if I kept coming around, he'd make sure I never saw you again.""
"Why didn't you call the police?""
"I should have.""
Darius rubbed his palms together.
"I was young. I was angry. I thought I could handle him myself.""
Monica leaned forward.
"What happened?""
Darius looked at her.
"He knew things about me that I didn't want anyone knowing. I had gotten into trouble when I was younger. Nothing involving you, but enough that I was afraid he'd use it against me.""
Malik interrupted.
"So you just disappeared?""
"No. I left town because I was threatened. But I kept trying to contact you.""
"How?""
"I called your mother.""
Monica frowned.
"I never received those calls.""
Darius nodded.
"Because Curtis answered.""
The room went silent.
Darius continued.
"I called from work. I called from my sister's phone. I even went to your old daycare once, hoping I could get a message to your mother.""
Monica stared at him.
"Curtis told me you moved to Georgia.""
Darius laughed bitterly.
"I never moved to Georgia.""
"Then where were you?""
"About forty minutes away, in Akron, for a while. Then I moved back to Cleveland.""
Monica pressed her fingers against her lips.
All those years.
All those unanswered questions.
All those nights she'd cried while Curtis sat beside her pretending to comfort her.
Darius looked toward Malik.
"I started a family. I have a daughter named Nia. She's fifteen now.""
Malik looked confused.
"Does she know about me?""
"Yes.""
"Does she know I'm her brother?""
Darius nodded.
"She's known about you since she was little.""
Malik looked down.
For the first time, his anger seemed to have nowhere to go.
"Did you ever want to meet me?""
Darius's voice broke.
"Every birthday. Every Christmas. Every time I saw a kid your age playing basketball.""
Malik wiped his face.
"Then why didn't you fight harder?""
Darius didn't defend himself.
He simply nodded.
"You're right to ask me that. I made mistakes. I was scared, and I let fear make decisions for me. I should have kept looking for a way to reach you.""
Malik looked at the photograph on the coffee table.
The one showing him on Darius's shoulders.
"Do you still have pictures?""
Darius smiled sadly.
"More than you can imagine.""
Monica waited until Malik went upstairs before asking the question she'd been holding back.
"Why did Curtis contact you yesterday?""
Darius's expression changed.
"Because he wanted me to take the blame for something.""
"What?""
Darius reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded envelope.
"He told me Malik had become dangerous. He said the boy had threatened him with a firearm and that you were planning to report him for assault.""
Monica stared at him.
"That's true. Malik found a gun when he came home.""
"I know. Curtis told me.""
"Why would he call you?""
Darius looked at her.
"He wanted me to say I had given Malik the gun.""
Monica's mouth fell open.
"What?""
"He said if I cooperated, he'd make sure nobody bothered me or my daughter.""
Monica stood.
"That man is insane.""
Darius nodded.
"There's more.""
He unfolded the paper.
It was a printed message.
The sender's name was partially visible.
Curtis.
The message read:
I need you to confirm that you gave Malik access to the firearm. If you don't, I'll make sure everyone knows what happened twelve years ago.
Monica felt cold.
"What happened twelve years ago?""
Darius looked toward the staircase.
Then back at her.
"That's what I came to tell you.""
He lowered his voice.
"The night I disappeared, Curtis didn't just threaten me.""
Monica's breathing became shallow.
"What did he do?""
Darius hesitated.
"He followed me.""
That afternoon, Officer Daniels met with Darius at the police station.
Monica and Renee accompanied him.
Malik stayed with Renee's daughter until they returned.
Darius handed over the messages he'd received from Curtis.
He also provided his old call logs and several emails.
Officer Daniels studied the documents.
"Did you ever report the threats?""
Darius nodded.
"Once. But I couldn't prove anything.""
"Do you still have the report number?""
"Yes.""
Officer Daniels wrote it down.
Monica looked at Darius.
"Why didn't you tell me about this before?""
He lowered his eyes.
"Because I thought telling you would put you in danger.""
She shook her head.
"You let me believe you abandoned our child.""
"I know.""
"You let me spend twelve years thinking you didn't care.""
Darius looked at her.
"I know, Monica.""
She wiped her eyes.
"I needed you to fight for him.""
"I should have.""
Officer Daniels gently interrupted.
"We need to focus on what can be verified now. The messages are important. The call records are important. And we need to establish whether Curtis has made similar threats to anyone else.""
Darius nodded.
Then he pulled another sheet from his folder.
"I have something else.""
It was a photograph of a handwritten note.
The paper was old.
The ink had faded.
But the message was clear.
Stay away from Monica and the boy. You won't get another warning.
At the bottom was a signature.
Curtis.
Monica stared at it.
"Where did you get that?""
"Darius answered quietly.
"He left it under my windshield wiper after following me to work.""
Officer Daniels took a closer look.
"Do you still have the original?""
"Yes.""
She looked up.
"That's important.""
At 6:30 p.m., Monica returned to Renee's house.
Malik was waiting in the living room.
"How did it go?""
Monica sat beside him.
"We gave the officers everything Darius had.""
Malik looked toward the kitchen.
"Is he coming back?""
"He's staying nearby.""
"Can I talk to him?""
"Of course.""
Malik hesitated.
Then he asked something unexpected.
"Can we go see his daughter sometime?""
Monica smiled sadly.
"If that's what you want, we'll talk about it.""
Malik nodded.
He looked down at his hands.
"Mom?""
"Yes?""
"I don't want to be angry all the time.""
Monica pulled him closer.
"Then you don't have to be.""
"But when I think about what Curtis did...""
"I know.""
"I keep seeing you standing in front of him.""
Monica kissed his forehead.
"That day is over, baby.""
He leaned against her shoulder.
For the first time since the incident, his breathing seemed calm.
Then Monica's phone rang.
Officer Daniels.
She answered immediately.
"Hello?""
"Monica, I need you to listen carefully.""
Monica stood.
"What's happened?""
"We've reviewed the information Darius provided. There's a detail in his old report that may be connected to the firearm found in your garage.""
Monica's stomach tightened.
"What detail?""
Officer Daniels paused.
"According to the original report, Darius told officers that Curtis had threatened him with a firearm twelve years ago.""
Monica stared at the wall.
"What?""
"We're checking the historical record now. I don't want to jump to conclusions.""
Monica gripped the phone.
"Was it the same firearm?""
"We haven't established that yet.""
Malik stood.
"Mom? What's wrong?""
Monica couldn't answer.
Officer Daniels continued.
"There's something else. The serial number on the firearm recovered from your garage appears to have been reported in an earlier police record.""
Monica felt the room tilt.
"Whose record?""
A pause.
Then Officer Daniels said something that made Monica's blood run cold.
"Darius's.""
Monica slowly turned toward her son.
Malik was staring at her.
And suddenly, the question wasn't just why Curtis had kept the gun.
May you like
It was why a weapon connected to Malik's biological father had been hidden in their garage for twelve years.
And whether Curtis had been waiting for the day someone would finally find it.
