Chapter 2
"Give me your phone, Mom."
Marcus's voice was low.
That frightened me more than his shouting had.
Diane clutched her phone against her chest.
"You're not going to speak to your mother like that."
"Then tell me who Vernon is."
She glanced at me.
I recognized that look.
She was calculating.
Trying to decide how much she could reveal without losing control.
"He's an old acquaintance."
"An acquaintance who knows about my daughter's DNA test?"
Diane said nothing.
Marcus reached for her phone.
She stepped backward.
"Don't touch me!"
I stood carefully, keeping Ava close against my chest.
"Nobody needs to touch anybody. Just answer the question."
Diane pointed at me.
"Stay out of this."
I felt my anger rise.
"You're standing in my house after accusing me of cheating and lying about my child. You don't get to tell me to stay out of anything."
Marcus turned toward me.
"Nia, please."
That one word nearly broke me.
Please.
After everything he'd said.
After he'd stood beside his mother while she questioned my character.
Now he wanted me to help keep the peace.
"No, Marcus. You don't get to ask me to be calm just because the truth isn't going your way."
His face tightened.
"You're right."
I hadn't expected that.
He looked back at Diane.
"Mom, did you give me a fake paternity test?"
Diane's eyes filled with tears.
"Everything I did, I did because I love you."
My heart sank.
It was the answer of someone who had no intention of apologizing.
"What did you do?" Marcus asked.
"I was trying to protect you."
"From my wife?"
"From making the biggest mistake of your life."
I stared at her.
"Your biggest mistake?"
Diane looked away.
And that was when I understood.
This was never about Ava's paternity.
It was about removing me.
I walked toward the kitchen.
Marcus followed immediately.
"Nia, where are you going?"
"To put Ava somewhere quiet."
He reached toward our daughter.
"Let me hold her."
I pulled back.
His face changed.
"Nia."
I swallowed against the lump in my throat.
"Ten minutes ago, you pointed at her like she was evidence in a criminal investigation."
He lowered his hand.
"I know."
"No, Marcus. You don't know."
I went upstairs and settled Ava safely in her bassinet.
She stirred, then relaxed.
I stood over her, watching her tiny chest rise and fall.
I had spent my entire pregnancy imagining our family.
The three of us at Christmas.
Marcus teaching her to ride a bicycle.
Her first day of school.
Now I couldn't stop wondering whether I'd made a terrible mistake trusting him.
When I returned downstairs, Diane was whispering urgently.
"You cannot let that woman turn you against your own mother."
Marcus stood near the front door.
"Leave."
Diane blinked.
"What?"
"I want you out of my house."
She pressed a hand against her chest.
"After everything I've sacrificed for you?"
"Mom."
"You wouldn't have anything without me!"
Marcus stared at her.
"That isn't true."
Diane's expression hardened.
"You're choosing her."
Marcus looked toward me.
I couldn't read his face.
Then he said something I'd been waiting four years to hear.
"I'm choosing the truth."
Diane grabbed her handbag.
"You'll regret this."
She walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
"You have no idea what that woman has done."
My stomach tightened.
"What are you talking about?"
Diane gave me a strange smile.
"Ask your husband what happened before your wedding."
Marcus went pale.
I turned to him.
"What happened before our wedding?"
"Mom, stop."
Diane opened the door.
"Ask him about the money."
Then she left.
The silence afterward felt unbearable.
I looked at Marcus.
"What money?"
He rubbed his forehead.
"Nia, this isn't the time."
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course it isn't."
He took a step toward me.
"Please, just let me explain."
"Then explain."
He looked toward the staircase.
"I need to make sure Ava is okay."
"She's asleep. And she's safe."
I folded my arms.
"Now tell me what your mother meant."
Marcus sat down.
Three years earlier, just before our wedding, his mother had told him I had approached her privately asking for fifty thousand dollars.
My mouth fell open.
"What?"
"She said you needed it to settle debts."
I stared at him.
"I never asked your mother for money."
"I know that now."
"You knew it then if you knew me at all."
He looked ashamed.
"She showed me messages."
My skin prickled.
"Messages from whom?"
"From a number she said belonged to you."
I remembered losing my phone during that period.
It had disappeared from my workplace locker.
I'd replaced it and changed my number.
At the time, I assumed someone had stolen it.
Now I wasn't so sure.
"Marcus, did you ever ask me about those messages?"
"No."
"Why?"
He stared at the floor.
"Because I didn't want to believe them."
My chest tightened.
"Then why did you keep them from me?"
"Because I thought bringing it up would ruin our wedding."
I shook my head.
"You let your mother accuse me privately and kept it hidden for three years."
He didn't defend himself.
That was the first sensible thing he'd done all day.
His phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
He answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
A man's voice came through.
"Marcus Carter?"
"Who's asking?"
"This is Vernon Price."
Marcus straightened.
I moved closer.
Vernon continued.
"I think your mother has put you in a very dangerous situation."
Marcus's expression changed.
"What situation?"
A pause.
Then Vernon said, "The DNA test was only supposed to scare your wife. Diane wasn't supposed to send it to you as a real medical document."
My knees weakened.
Marcus switched to speaker.
"Who paid you?"
Vernon hesitated.
"Your mother."
"Why?"
"Because she wanted Nia gone before the trust documents were finalized."
I stared at Marcus.
"What trust documents?"
Vernon's voice dropped.
"Ask your attorney about the Carter family trust. And whatever you do, don't let Diane near the original paperwork."
The call disconnected.
Marcus stared at his phone.
I felt sick.
A fake DNA test.
Forged messages.
A trust I'd never heard about.
All connected to my husband's mother.
Then Marcus looked at me and whispered something that made my heart pound.
"Nia, my father left instructions about what would happen to his estate when I had my first child."
I swallowed.
"What instructions?"
May you like
Marcus looked toward the upstairs nursery.
"Everything was supposed to change when Ava was born."
