Chapter 6
I stared at Nia.
For several seconds, I couldn't understand what she'd said.
"Vanessa told you what?"
Nia looked frightened.
"She said she was pregnant."
My chest tightened.
"With my child?"
Nia nodded.
I stood.
Then sat down again.
Vanessa and I hadn't been romantically involved before Noah was born.
We'd been friends for years.
She helped organize events for the family foundation.
She attended business dinners.
And she had always been close to my mother.
But there had never been a relationship between us.
"That wasn't possible," I whispered.
Nia looked confused.
"She told me you'd been seeing her."
I covered my face.
"No."
She stared at me.
"Marcus?"
"I was never involved with Vanessa while we were together."
Nia began trembling.
I reached for her hand.
"She lied."
For a moment, Nia didn't speak.
Then she whispered, "She showed me an ultrasound photograph."
My stomach twisted.
"Did it have her name on it?"
Nia hesitated.
"I don't remember."
She looked down.
"I was nine months pregnant. I was exhausted. I didn't know what to believe."
I closed my eyes.
I remembered those final weeks before Noah's birth.
Nia had become unusually quiet.
She stopped asking about wedding plans.
She seemed distant.
I'd worried she was overwhelmed by pregnancy.
Now I realized Vanessa had been feeding her lies.
Nia continued.
"She told me you wanted to marry her."
I felt sick.
"That's not true."
"She said you were only staying with me because of Noah."
I shook my head.
"Nia, I was planning to propose after the baby was born."
Her eyes filled.
"What?"
I stood and walked toward my desk.
Inside the bottom drawer was a small velvet box.
I had kept it for four years.
I opened it.
Inside was a diamond ring.
Nia covered her mouth.
"I bought this two weeks before Noah was born," I said.
My voice cracked.
"I wanted to ask you to marry me after we brought him home."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then she whispered, "I thought you didn't love me anymore."
My heart broke.
"I never stopped."
The words escaped before I could stop them.
Nia looked at me.
I realized how much had changed.
Four years.
A child.
An engagement to another woman.
And a betrayal neither of us had fully understood.
I gently closed the ring box.
"We don't have to figure out what this means tonight."
Nia nodded.
But her eyes remained fixed on the box.
The following morning, Rachel arrived with an investigator named Samuel Price.
Samuel was a retired detective with experience examining document fraud.
We gathered in the library.
Nia brought her medical records.
I brought the letter Vanessa had given me.
Samuel reviewed the documents carefully.
Then he looked up.
"These should be examined by qualified specialists."
I nodded.
"We'll do whatever is necessary."
He continued.
"The hospital's official records may help establish exactly what happened after Nia's surgery."
Nia leaned forward.
"Can we find out who told me Noah died?"
Samuel nodded.
"We can investigate that."
I looked toward Claire's name on several documents.
My stomach tightened.
"Can we find out who prepared the false custody paperwork?"
"That's one of the questions we'll pursue."
Rachel spoke next.
"There's also the matter of the Sterling trust."
She placed several documents on the table.
"Based on the records currently available, Claire exercised significant influence over trust administration."
I looked at her.
"And Vanessa?"
Rachel turned another page.
"Her company received payments that require further review."
I nodded.
Then Samuel asked something unexpected.
"Marcus, did Vanessa ever ask you to change Noah's beneficiary arrangements?"
I thought back.
She had.
Six months earlier, she'd suggested I appoint her as Noah's legal guardian in case anything happened to me.
At the time, I thought she was simply planning for the future.
I'd refused because I wanted to discuss it with my mother and attorney.
Vanessa became upset.
She accused me of not trusting her.
I looked at Samuel.
"Yes."
He made a note.
"Did you sign anything?"
"No."
"Good."
Then Rachel reached into her folder.
"Marcus, there's another issue."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"We found a draft trust amendment."
I stared at her.
"What amendment?"
"It proposed giving Vanessa expanded financial authority over assets held for Noah."
My heart pounded.
"Was it executed?"
"Not according to the records we've obtained."
I exhaled.
But I couldn't ignore the pattern.
Nia had been removed from our lives.
Vanessa became Noah's primary female caregiver.
She gained influence in my household.
She became my romantic partner.
And now she was seeking authority over assets intended for my son.
I looked at Rachel.
"Was this about money?"
She answered carefully.
"Money may have been one motive. We need evidence before concluding who did what."
I nodded.
Then I turned toward Nia.
She was staring at the documents.
Her face looked exhausted.
I reached for her hand.
"We'll find out."
She nodded.
"I know."
That afternoon, I took Noah to the garden.
He wanted to show Nia his favorite hiding place.
A small wooden playhouse beneath an enormous oak tree.
He ran ahead.
"Mommy! Come see!"
Nia laughed.
Then hurried after him.
I watched them together.
For the first time, Noah wasn't asking why his mother had left.
He was showing her his world.
His toys.
His drawings.
His little collection of smooth stones.
I felt something in my chest begin to heal.
Then my phone rang.
Rachel.
I answered.
Her voice was serious.
"Marcus, we received an update from the hospital."
My heart pounded.
"What happened?"
"The physician listed on the neonatal death notice has confirmed he never signed it."
I closed my eyes.
Rachel continued.
"And the hospital has no record of Noah ever being declared deceased."
I looked toward Nia.
She was laughing with our son.
Then Rachel said something that made my blood run cold.
"Marcus, the hospital also located an old access log."
My stomach tightened.
"What does it show?"
"Claire accessed Nia's records repeatedly during her hospitalization."
I stared at the phone.
Then Rachel continued.
"And on the day Nia woke up, Vanessa visited the hospital."
I stopped breathing.
"Was she there when Nia was told Noah died?"
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Rachel paused.
"That's what investigators are now trying to establish."
