Chapter 6 - The Ghost from the Past
Just four days before the showcase, trouble struck from an unexpected direction.
A man arrived at the doors of the Sterling Conservatory. He was wearing a leather jacket, looking disheveled, with hollow eyes and a desperate posture.
It was Marcus Parker—Emily’s ex-husband and Lily’s father.
Emily met him in the private lobby, her heart sinking into her stomach.
"What are you doing here, Marcus?" Emily asked, her voice cold and distant.
"I saw the news, Em," Marcus said, trying to reach for her hand, but she pulled back. "There was a write-up in the New York Post about a five-year-old piano prodigy named Lily Parker. I came as fast as I could."
"You left five years ago!" Emily spat, her eyes flashing with anger. "You left us with six hundred dollars and a rent notice! You never called! You never sent a dime!"
"I made mistakes, Em!" Marcus pleaded, pulling a legal document from his pocket. "I was young, I was stupid! But I'm back now. I want to be a father to my daughter!"
Emily saw right through him. "Victoria Whitmore found you, didn't she?"
Marcus hesitated, looking away nervously.
"She paid you," Emily realized, sickened. "She paid you to come back and claim parental rights so she could use you to take Lily away from me!"
"She offered me two hundred thousand dollars, Emily!" Marcus yelled, losing his composure. "That's enough for all of us to start over! If I sign the joint custody papers with Mrs. Whitmore, Lily gets the best training in the world, and we get taken care of!"
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"Get out," Emily whispered, pointing to the glass doors. "Get out before I call security."
"I'm her biological father, Emily!" Marcus shouted as he was escorted out by conservatory guards. "The court will listen to me!"
