ANTHONY FIND OUT THE DARK SECRET ABOUT BRODIE AND SHAYYLA

 The afternoon sun filtered through the stained-glass windows of the small law office, painting colorful shadows across the floor. Anthony sat in a stiff leather chair across from Brody Marshall, the man he had feared, respected, and tiptoed around for nearly a decade — Shayla’s father. Or so he’d thought.

Today’s meeting wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a formality — something about property titles and old paperwork. Anthony had agreed to come only because Shayla asked him to. She was busy taking Kai to his dentist appointment, and she’d trusted Anthony to handle it.

But the universe had other plans.

Brody sat behind his massive mahogany desk, flipping through a dusty folder with the deliberate calm of a man who always held the upper hand. Anthony tried not to fidget, though something about the way Brody kept pausing and sighing made his skin crawl.

Finally, Brody leaned back and said, “I suppose there’s no easy way to say this. So I won’t bother dressing it up.”

Anthony raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Brody looked him dead in the eye.

“Shayla’s not my daughter.”

The room fell silent. The ticking clock on the wall suddenly sounded deafening.

Anthony leaned forward. “I—I’m sorry. What?”

Brody dropped the folder on the desk with a soft thud. “She’s not mine. Biologically. I found out twenty-nine years ago, a few days after she was born.”

Anthony’s jaw slackened, his thoughts scrambling for logic. “But… you raised her. You—Shayla calls you her father.”

“I am,” Brody said, calm but firm. “In every way that matters, I am. I changed her diapers. Taught her to ride a bike. Paid for her schooling. Sat by her side when she broke her arm in seventh grade. But blood? No. That belongs to someone else.”

Anthony felt like the floor shifted beneath him. “Does Shayla know?”

Brody looked away. “No.”

Anthony stood now, pacing the room. “You’re telling me this like it’s a business transaction. Do you have any idea what this would do to her?”

“I know exactly what it would do. That’s why I never told her.”

Anthony stared at him, jaw clenched. “So why are you telling me?”

“Because you’re in her life. You’ve hurt her. You’ve loved her. You’ve watched her rebuild herself from nothing. And one day, this truth might fall in your lap whether you like it or not. I’d rather you hear it from me, now, when you can do something with it — or not — instead of hearing it later when it causes more damage.”

Anthony dropped back into the chair, stunned. “Do you know who her real father is?”

Brody hesitated. “Yes. He was… a mistake from your typical wild night in college. Her mother told me the truth after Shayla was born. She was ready to walk away, thought she ruined everything. But I looked at that little girl and realized I didn’t care whose blood ran through her. She was mine from the moment I held her.”

A long silence stretched between them.

Anthony exhaled, rubbing his hands over his face. “This is too much, man.”

Brody’s voice softened. “Don’t tell her yet. Not unless you have to. I’ve made peace with this. So did her mother, God rest her soul. I only told you because I think this will come up eventually. And when it does, I need someone near her who won’t let it destroy her.”

---

That evening, Anthony sat in his car outside Shayla’s townhouse. He hadn’t called. He hadn’t texted. His mind was a cyclone of questions and hypotheticals. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Shayla’s face — full of strength and pride — and he wondered how this truth might fracture it.

He walked to the door like he was approaching sacred ground.

Shayla answered with Kai in her arms, all smiles and peanut butter smudges.

“Hey, stranger,” she said. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

He smiled weakly and took Kai from her, hugging the boy tightly.

“You okay?” she asked, watching him closely.

Anthony nodded slowly. “Yeah. Just… had a long conversation with your dad.”

Shayla raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

He looked at her then, really looked at her. The woman who had survived betrayal, who had mothered a child with grace, who had fought her way out of every storm life tossed at her.

And he knew right then: this wasn’t his truth to tell. Not now.

He smiled faintly. “Nothing important. Just property stuff.”

She narrowed her eyes for a moment, sensing something more — but didn’t push.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” she said, turning back inside.

Anthony followed, still holding Kai. His heart beat loud in his chest.

The truth sat heavy on his tongue — but for now, he would carry it.

Not as a lie.

But as a vow.

Because when the day came that Shayla learned the truth, he would be the one standing beside her… ready to remind her that no matter what her bloodline said, she was made of fire, love, and everything that truly mattered