As I held Ella in my arms one night, I searched for answers about Scott’s past and his half-sister, Maya. “Scott, if you and your family severed ties with your half-sister, why do you insist on raising her baby?” I asked.
Scott’s reluctance to answer infuriated me.
“But she’s Ella’s mother, isn’t she? What else do you know about her?” I insisted, even more angrily.
“Everly, this isn’t about Maya anymore. It’s about Ella. She has nothing to do with any of this. And she has no one but us,” Scott finally said.
I tried to find out about Ella’s father, but he refused to talk to me.
A few weeks later, curiosity led me to Scott’s office while he was at work. I discovered a photograph on his desk that contradicted everything he had told me before. It was a picture of Scott, seemingly happy and close to a pregnant woman, possibly Maya.
When Scott came into the house later that night, his smile vanished when he noticed my stern expression. “Everly, what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.
I showed him the photo, my voice calm but cold. “Explain this to me, Scott. And I want the truth this time. You told me you and your sister had lost contact. But this photo says otherwise.”
Scott’s attempt to respond only fueled my frustration.
