SIX YEARS OF PAIN

Chapter Six

Maya Collins had always imagined what it would feel like to hear Daniel Bennett admit that Lia was his daughter.

She thought she would feel victorious. She thought the years of loneliness would finally make sense.

Instead, she felt afraid.

Daniel now knew the truth, but that didn’t erase the six years they had spent apart. It didn’t erase the nights she had cried herself to sleep or the mornings she had forced herself to smile for Lia.

Most importantly, it didn’t guarantee that Daniel would remain in their lives.

“Mummy, are we going home today?” Lia asked.

Maya adjusted the blanket around her daughter.

“Soon, sweetheart. The doctor wants to make sure you’re doing well first.”

“Will Daddy come with us?”

The word made Maya pause.

Lia had started calling Daniel Daddy almost immediately after learning the truth. Maya couldn’t blame her. Every child deserved to know their father.

But she couldn’t ignore the fear growing inside her.

What if Daniel changed his mind?

What if his family rejected Lia?

What if he eventually decided that Maya was too much of a reminder of the past?

Before she could answer, Daniel appeared at the doorway carrying a paper bag.

“I brought breakfast,” he said.

Lia’s face brightened.

“Daddy!”

Daniel smiled as she reached for him. He lifted her carefully into his arms, looking almost surprised by how naturally she settled against him.

“What would you like to eat?” he asked.

“Pancakes!”

“I’ll remember that.”

Maya watched them quietly.

Daniel looked different with Lia. His usual seriousness softened whenever she spoke, and he listened to every little story she told him.

It was a side of him Maya remembered loving.

And that made everything more complicated.

After Lia finished breakfast, Daniel asked Maya to accompany him into the corridor.

“I want to talk about the future,” he said.

Maya folded her arms.

“What about it?”

“Lia needs proper treatment, and I want to be involved in every decision concerning her.”

“She needs stability, Daniel. Not expensive gifts and promises.”

His expression tightened.

“Do you honestly think that’s all I can offer?”

“I think you don’t understand what it’s like to raise a child alone.”

The words struck him harder than she intended.

“No,” he admitted. “I don’t.”

For a moment, Maya had no response.

Daniel looked down.

“I missed her first steps, her first words, and five birthdays. I can’t change that. But I want to be there from now on.”

Maya’s eyes stung.

“Do you know what I went through when I discovered I was pregnant? I had no money, no support, and no idea how I would raise her. Every time she got sick, I was terrified.”

Daniel swallowed.

“I wish I had known.”

“So do I.”

Their eyes met, and the silence between them became unbearable.

Daniel wanted to reach for her, but he knew he had no right to demand her forgiveness.

“I won’t force you to trust me,” he said. “I’ll earn it.”

Maya looked away.

She wanted to believe him.

But hope was dangerous when it came from the same person who had once destroyed her heart.

That afternoon, Daniel took Lia to the hospital garden while Maya spoke with the doctor.

Lia held his hand as they walked slowly along the path.

“Daddy, did you know about me before?”

Daniel’s chest tightened.

“No, sweetheart.”

“Why not?”

He struggled to find an answer a five-year-old could understand.

“Sometimes grown-ups make mistakes, and sometimes people hide things from one another. I’m still trying to understand what happened.”

Lia considered this.

“Are you going to leave again?”

Daniel stopped walking.

He knelt so they were at eye level.

“No, Lia. I can’t promise that everything will always be easy, but I promise I’ll do my best to be here for you.”

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

Daniel held her close, silently promising himself that he would never allow anyone to take those years away from them again.

From the hospital window, Maya watched them.

For the first time in years, she allowed herself to imagine a future where Lia had both parents.

Then her phone vibrated.

An unknown number.

You should be careful. The Bennett family doesn’t forgive easily.

Maya’s smile disappeared.

Another message followed.

Ask Daniel what his mother is capable of before you trust him again.

Her hands began to tremble.

She looked toward the garden, where Daniel was laughing at something Lia had said.

Whoever was sending the messages knew about her return. They knew about Lia. And they wanted her afraid.

Maya deleted neither message.

This time, she would keep the evidence.

That evening, Daniel returned to his office and called Adrian.

“I need you to investigate something for me,” he said.

“What is it?”

“Find out who sent the anonymous messages. Start with anyone who worked at my family home six years ago.”

Adrian paused.

“You think your mother was involved?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“Then be careful. If someone has been hiding this for six years, they won’t want you uncovering it now.”

Daniel ended the call and stared at the photograph of Lia on his phone.

He had spent years believing money and power could solve almost anything.

Now he understood that neither could return the time he had lost.

He wanted to make things right with Lia.

And somewhere beneath the anger and disappointment, he still wanted Maya.

But before he could ask either of them to trust him, he needed to discover who had turned their love into six years of pain.

His phone vibrated again.

This time, the message contained only a location and a time.

Tomorrow. 8 p.m. Come alone if you want to know what Victoria Bennett did.

Daniel stared at the screen.

Tomorrow night, he might finally discover the truth.

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was leading him into a trap.