Chapter 2 - The Name He Hadn't Heard in Twelve Years
Chapter 2 - The Name He Hadn't Heard in Twelve Years
The hospital confirmed Laura Bennett had been admitted the night before.
They would not tell Daniel much over the phone, which he expected.
They confirmed only that she was a patient and that her condition was serious.
That was enough.
Daniel called 911 next.
Evan panicked.
"You said you wouldn't call Uncle Ray."
"I'm not."
"Then who are you calling?"
"The police. Because you're eleven years old and you've been running around the city alone."
Evan took a step away.
Daniel raised a hand.
"I'm not getting you in trouble. I'm making sure nobody can say I picked up a child off the street and disappeared."
That stopped him.
Twenty minutes later, after a police officer had taken their information and confirmed Evan had been reported missing by his temporary guardian, Daniel was allowed to drive Evan to the hospital while the officer followed.
Ray Bennett was waiting in the lobby.
Daniel recognized him immediately.
Ray was heavier than he had been twelve years earlier, with thinning hair and a face that seemed permanently arranged in irritation.
When he saw Evan, he moved toward him.
"Where have you been?"
Evan stepped behind Daniel.
Ray's eyes narrowed.
Then he recognized Daniel.
"No."
Daniel said nothing.
Ray looked from him to Evan.
"What did you do?"
"I found him," Evan said.
Ray's expression changed.
Only for a second.
But Daniel saw it.
"You had no business leaving the apartment," Ray snapped.
"Easy," Daniel said.
"This has nothing to do with you."
Daniel held up the photograph.
"I think it might."
Ray stared at it.
The police officer stepped forward.
"We're going to sort out where Evan needs to be tonight."
Ray forced his voice down.
"I'm his uncle. Laura put me down as emergency contact."
That turned out to be true.
But the hospital also had a social worker assigned to the case, and once Evan repeated what Laura had told him about finding Daniel, the situation became less simple.
No one accused Ray of anything.
No one removed Evan from his care on the spot.
They simply slowed everything down.
Daniel was grateful for that.
The last thing he wanted was to become the stranger who arrived after twelve years and immediately started making decisions about a child he barely knew.
While they waited, Daniel sat beside Evan in a quiet corner near the elevators.
"How long has your mother been sick?"
"She's not sick."
"The accident."
"It happened yesterday morning."
"Where?"
"Near Parma."
Daniel nodded.
"Was she alone?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know what happened?"
"They said she lost control."
Evan looked at him.
"But she doesn't drive fast."
Daniel almost smiled.
"Most people say that about their parents."
"I'm serious."
"I believe you."
Evan looked at the floor.
After a moment, Daniel asked, "How much has your mother told you about me?"
"Not much."
"Nothing?"
"She said you were a good man."
Daniel looked away.
That hurt more than he expected.
"Did she tell you why we stopped seeing each other?"
Evan shook his head.
"Did she tell you I knew about you?"
The boy frowned.
"Knew about me how?"
Daniel did not answer.
He realized the question had escaped before he was ready to hear the response.
A nurse approached.
"Mr. Mercer?"
"Yes."
"There's something for you."
She held a white envelope.
Daniel stood.
"For me?"
"Ms. Bennett left instructions in her chart two weeks ago. If a Daniel Mercer came to the hospital with her son, we were to give him this."
Ray, standing across the lobby, turned his head sharply.
Daniel noticed.
"So she expected this?"
"I don't know," the nurse said. "I only know the instruction was there."
Daniel took the envelope.
His name was written on the front in Laura's handwriting.
He recognized it instantly.
Eleven years vanished.
He remembered birthday cards.
Notes on his refrigerator.
A grocery list she'd once written on the back of one of his invoices.
He sat down and opened the envelope.
Daniel,
If Evan found you, then something has gone very wrong.
I'm sorry this is how you had to learn any of it.
Please believe me when I say I tried to contact you. More than once. For years, I thought your silence was your answer.
Maybe I was wrong.
Maybe I wasn't.
I don't know anymore.
But if I am not able to speak for myself, Evan needs someone outside my family who will ask questions.
Especially about Ray.
Daniel stopped reading.
His pulse had begun to beat in his ears.
The letter continued.
Do not confront him.
Do not take Evan anywhere without telling the hospital or the authorities.
And if Ray tells you Evan is perfectly safe with him, please do not accept that without asking why I was trying to change my emergency contact.
There is more.
You will have to find it.
I'm sorry, Daniel.
Laura
Daniel read the letter twice.
Then he looked toward Ray.
Ray was watching him.
Their eyes met.
Ray folded his arms.
"What did she write?"
Daniel placed the letter back inside the envelope.
"That's between Laura and me."
Ray gave a humorless smile.
"After twelve years, you think there's still a Laura and you?"
Daniel might once have answered that.
Instead, he looked at Evan.
"No," he said quietly. "I think there's something she wanted me to understand."
Before Ray could respond, a doctor entered the waiting area.
"Evan Bennett?"
Evan jumped to his feet.
Daniel stood beside him.
The doctor spoke gently.
"Your mother's stable. She's still unconscious, but her condition hasn't worsened."
Evan closed his eyes.
Daniel saw his shoulders drop.
Then the doctor looked at the adults.
"There may be someone from social services who needs to speak with the family."
Ray stepped forward.
"I'm family."
May you like
Daniel looked down at Laura's envelope.
For the first time, he wondered whether that was exactly the problem.
