Chapter 2 - The Truth Spoken
The afternoon sun cast long, golden shadows across the baseball diamond.
Luca sat on the porch, a thick blanket draped over his lap to hide the brutal muscle spasms wracking his legs.
Maya was twirling in the grass, her oversized coat flapping in the autumn breeze like the wings of a clumsy bird.
She finished her spin with a dramatic bow, laughing when she nearly lost her balance.
Tommy Reyes was sitting on the grass nearby, meticulously tossing a baseball into his worn glove.
The boy had practically become Maya's shadow over the last week.
Tommy looked at Luca with that familiar, calculating stare.
"You look sick today, boss," Tommy stated bluntly.
"I am getting better, Tommy," Luca replied smoothly.
Maya bounded up the wooden steps, her cheeks flushed bright pink from the cold air.
She rested her small arms on the armrest of his wheelchair, looking at him with immense curiosity.
"My mom said you have something important to tell me," Maya said.
Luca felt his heart hammer against his ribs, a sensation completely foreign to a man who had faced down rival cartels without blinking.
He looked up and saw Elena standing behind the screen door, her silhouette framed by the dim light of the hallway.
She nodded at him, a silent gesture of permission and trust.
Luca looked back down at the little girl who possessed his exact shade of dark, intense eyes.
"Maya, do you remember when you asked me why I looked sad?" Luca asked gently.
"Yes," she replied, tilting her head.
"You said you weren't sad."
"I was lying," Luca confessed, his voice thick with emotion.
"I was sad because for a very long time, I thought I had no family."
Maya frowned, processing the concept with the deep seriousness only children possess.
"You have all those men in suits," she pointed out.
"Those are soldiers, Maya," Luca explained.
"They are not family."
He reached out, his hand trembling slightly, and gently brushed a stray curl behind her ear.
"Before you were born, I knew your mother," he said softly.
"We cared for each other very much."
Maya's eyes widened as the pieces began to click together in her sharp mind.
"Are you my dad?" she asked directly.
The word hung in the cold air, terrifying and beautiful.
"Yes, Maya," Luca said, bracing himself for rejection.
"I am your father."
Maya did not scream, nor did she run away.
She simply stepped forward, wrapping her small arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder.
May you like
"I knew it," she whispered against his coat.
"I knew my dad wasn't a ghost."
