Chapter 2
Victor Hayes was already halfway toward the side exit when I turned around.
“Victor!”
He stopped.
Hundreds of eyes followed him.
My company's chief financial officer stood beneath the crystal chandeliers with his shoulders stiff and his face drained of color.
He had worked beside me for seven years.
I trusted him with financial reports, investment meetings, and contracts worth millions.
I had even asked him to be one of my groomsmen.
Now he looked like a man who had been caught doing something unforgivable.
“Come here,” I said.
He glanced at Nia.
She gave him a look that made my stomach turn.
Not surprise.
Not confusion.
A warning.
Victor slowly approached.
“Marcus, this isn't the place.”
I laughed bitterly.
“My mother walked into my wedding looking like she's been living on the streets, and you're worried about the place?”
He opened his mouth.
I raised my hand.
“Don't.”
My mother gripped my arm.
“Son, please.”
I turned toward her.
“What did my father leave behind?”
She looked at the silver key in my hand.
“Something he wanted you to have when you were old enough to understand its value.”
“My father died when I was eleven.”
“I know.”
“Why haven't you told me?”
She began crying.
“Because I promised him I would protect it.”
Nia stepped forward.
“Marcus, your mother is manipulating you.”
I stared at her.
“Are you seriously going to keep talking?”
Her face hardened.
“You're humiliating me.”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“My mother is standing here wearing torn clothes, and you're worried about being embarrassed?”
She looked around.
Guests whispered.
Someone began recording.
I turned toward the wedding coordinator.
“Please ask everyone to leave.”
Nia gasped.
“What?”
“The wedding is suspended.”
The words felt strange in my mouth.
I had spent nearly a million dollars on this ceremony.
There were white roses flown in from overseas.
A six-tier wedding cake.
A string orchestra.
Two hundred and eighty guests.
And the woman standing beside me was suddenly a stranger.
“Marcus!” Nia screamed.
I looked at her.
“I need answers before I make another promise.”
She began crying.
But I had spent two years comforting her whenever she cried.
Not this time.
My mother needed me.
I helped Evelyn into a chair.
A waiter brought her water.
She drank with trembling hands.
Then she asked for something that nearly destroyed me.
“Could I please have some bread?”
I stared at her.
“Mom?”
She looked ashamed.
“I haven't eaten since yesterday.”
I felt tears burn behind my eyes.
I immediately asked the kitchen staff to bring food.
Then I removed my tuxedo jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.
She tried to protest.
I shook my head.
“Please.”
She pulled it tightly around herself.
And I realized that the woman who had once given me everything now looked afraid to accept a piece of bread.
I turned toward Victor.
“You're coming with me.”
He hesitated.
“Marcus, I have nothing to do with—”
“My mother has a photograph of you meeting my fiancée. You're going to explain it.”
Victor glanced toward the exit.
Two security officers stood nearby.
I instructed them to keep the situation calm and to call for assistance if anyone became aggressive.
Then I led my mother into a private bridal suite.
Nia followed.
Victor came reluctantly.
Claire, my longtime attorney and family friend, joined us after I called her from the ballroom.
She had attended the wedding as a guest.
Now she was sitting beside my mother, listening carefully.
I placed the photograph on the table.
“Start talking.”
Nia folded her arms.
“There's nothing to explain.”
My mother looked at her.
“You told me Marcus wanted me gone.”
Nia scoffed.
“You misunderstood.”
“You gave me twenty thousand dollars.”
I froze.
“What?”
Evelyn opened the sealed envelope.
Inside was a cashier's check.
Twenty thousand dollars.
It had never been deposited.
The payee line contained my mother's name.
The purchaser information led back to a business account.
Claire leaned forward.
“May I see that?”
My mother handed it to her.
Claire studied the document.
Then she looked at Victor.
“Why does the purchaser information reference Hayes Strategic Consulting?”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“That company handles outside consulting work.”
Claire raised an eyebrow.
“Your consulting company?”
He said nothing.
My stomach dropped.
I turned toward Nia.
“You used Victor's company to pay my mother?”
Nia's eyes filled.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“Your mother kept demanding money!”
My mother made a wounded sound.
I stared at Nia.
“My mother has never demanded money from me.”
“She was becoming dependent on you!”
“She raised me!”
Nia stepped closer.
“Marcus, she was going to destroy our future!”
I looked at her.
“How?”
She hesitated.
Then Victor interrupted.
“Maybe we should let everyone calm down.”
Claire looked at him sharply.
“Victor, unless you're prepared to answer directly, I suggest you stop interfering.”
My mother reached into her bag again.
“There are letters.”
She handed me a bundle tied with string.
I recognized the envelopes.
They had my mother's handwriting.
My name was written across the front of each one.
The first letter was dated eight months earlier.
I opened it.
“Dear Marcus, I don't understand why you won't answer me. The bank says my rent payments have stopped. I know you're busy, but please call me. I love you.”
My chest tightened.
I opened the next.
“Son, a man came to the apartment and said I had to leave. I tried calling the number Nia gave me, but nobody answered.”
The third was worse.
“Marcus, I don't know what I've done to make you ashamed of me. If I've hurt you, please tell me. I just want to hear your voice.”
I couldn't read any more.
My hands began shaking.
I looked at Nia.
“Where were these letters?”
She stared at the floor.
“Nia.”
Her voice was barely audible.
“I intercepted them.”
My heart stopped.
“You what?”
She began crying.
“I thought you needed distance.”
I stood so abruptly that the chair struck the wall.
“You made me believe my mother abandoned me!”
Nia covered her face.
Victor suddenly moved toward the door.
Claire spoke firmly.
“Victor, I think it would be wise for you to remain available while we clarify what happened.”
He stopped.
But my attention was on my mother.
“Mom, where have you been living?”
She lowered her eyes.
“Shelters. Sometimes with friends. Sometimes outside.”
I felt my chest tighten.
I had been living in a mansion.
Driving luxury cars.
Planning an extravagant wedding.
While my mother slept outside.
I knelt beside her.
“I'm sorry.”
She touched my cheek.
“Oh, my baby.”
I began crying.
“I thought you didn't want me anymore.”
She shook her head.
“Never.”
I pressed my forehead against hers.
“Never again.”
Then Claire picked up the silver key.
“Evelyn, you mentioned something Marcus's father left behind.”
My mother nodded.
“A safety-deposit box.”
I looked up.
“Where?”
“At First Heritage Bank.”
Claire examined the key.
“What's inside?”
My mother swallowed.
“Documents. Old records. And a letter your father wrote.”
I felt a strange coldness.
“Why would Nia care about those?”
My mother looked toward Victor.
“Because Victor found out what was inside.”
Victor's face became white.
Claire leaned forward.
“What exactly did he find out?”
My mother looked at me.
Then she whispered, “Marcus, your father owned part of the land beneath the company's biggest development.”
I stared at her.
That was impossible.
My company had purchased the development rights years ago.
Victor managed the original records.
I turned toward him.
He couldn't meet my eyes.
May you like
Then my mother said something even worse.
“The papers in that box could prove somebody has been stealing from you for years.”
