Chapter 5
I met with a lawyer the next morning.
Her name was Attorney Denise Harper.
She was a sharp, calm woman in her forties who specialized in family law and financial disputes.
My mother came with me.
I brought every document I could find.
Bank statements.
Insurance papers.
Emails.
Screenshots.
Photographs.
Even the text messages Marcus had sent while he was supposedly at sea.
Denise spent nearly an hour reviewing everything.
Then she removed her glasses.
"Nia, I need you to understand something."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"Your husband may have used your signature to authorize financial transactions without properly explaining what you were signing."
I stared at her.
"Am I responsible?"
"That depends on the documents, the transactions, and whether the signatures were legally obtained."
I felt tears gathering.
"I trusted him."
Denise nodded.
"I understand."
I looked down.
"He told me it was insurance."
She leaned forward.
"Then we need to document exactly what he told you and determine whether you were deceived."
My mother squeezed my hand.
Denise continued.
"I also recommend that you protect your personal accounts immediately."
She explained how to review my credit reports, contact financial institutions, preserve evidence, and dispute any unauthorized activity.
I listened carefully.
For the first time since the harbor, I felt like I was doing something instead of simply reacting.
Then Denise showed me a document.
"Harbor Crown Holdings appears to have been involved in a real estate purchase."
I nodded.
"The waterfront house?"
"Yes."
"Is it in my name?"
She looked at the page.
"Your name appears in supporting financial documents. We need certified records to determine exactly what obligations were created."
I felt sick.
"Marcus never told me."
"That's important."
My mother spoke.
"Can my daughter lose her home over this?"
Denise answered carefully.
"We're going to investigate before making assumptions. But the sooner we act, the better."
I nodded.
Then I asked the question that had been haunting me.
"What about Vanessa?"
Denise looked up.
"What about her?"
"Marcus married her."
My voice broke.
"While he was still married to me."
Denise became very still.
"Do you have proof?"
I showed her the wedding photograph.
Then the messages Vanessa had sent me that morning.
After leaving the harbor, Vanessa had contacted me through social media.
She apologized repeatedly.
She said she wanted answers too.
And she had sent me copies of her marriage certificate.
Denise examined it.
Her expression changed.
"Nia, this is serious."
I swallowed.
"What does it mean?"
"It raises questions about the validity of the second marriage and possible criminal conduct, depending on the facts and jurisdiction."
I stared at the certificate.
Marcus had signed it.
Vanessa had signed it.
And a licensed officiant had witnessed the ceremony.
My husband hadn't simply pretended to marry her.
He had apparently gone through an actual wedding.
I began crying.
Denise handed me a tissue.
"Take your time."
I shook my head.
"No."
I wiped my face.
"I've spent too much time crying."
My mother looked at me.
"Nia."
I turned toward Denise.
"Tell me what I need to do."
She nodded.
"First, we protect you and your daughters. Then we establish the facts."
I took a deep breath.
"Okay."
That afternoon, I met Vanessa at a quiet café.
I almost canceled.
Part of me couldn't stand the idea of sitting across from the woman Marcus had kissed.
But another part knew she might hold answers I needed.
When I arrived, she was already waiting.
She wore a simple black blouse.
Her eyes were swollen.
Her wedding ring was gone.
"Thank you for coming," she whispered.
I sat down.
"Let's talk."
She nodded.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she said, "I didn't know you existed."
I looked at her.
"I believe you."
She began crying.
"I feel so stupid."
I shook my head.
"Don't."
She looked surprised.
I took a breath.
"He lied to both of us."
She wiped her face.
"I thought he was the most honest man I'd ever met."
I almost laughed.
I had once thought the same thing.
"How did you meet him?" I asked.
She explained that Marcus had been introduced to her through a business conference.
He told her he worked in international shipping.
He claimed his first wife had died several years earlier.
He said he had spent a long time grieving.
Then he said he was ready to love again.
My chest tightened.
"He used my death to make himself look romantic."
Vanessa covered her face.
"I'm so sorry."
I looked away.
It was difficult to hear.
But I needed the truth.
"What did he tell you about Harbor Crown Holdings?"
She lowered her hands.
"That it was our business."
I stared at her.
"Our?"
She nodded.
"He said we would invest in shipping-related real estate."
"Did you put money into it?"
Her face collapsed.
"Everything."
I felt my stomach drop.
"How much?"
"Almost two hundred thousand dollars."
I stared at her.
She began crying harder.
"It was my inheritance from my grandmother."
For a moment, I forgot my own anger.
I had watched Marcus manipulate me for years.
Now I was watching another woman realize how much she had lost.
"What happened to the money?" I asked.
"Marcus said it was invested in the waterfront property."
"Did you see the documents?"
She nodded.
"I signed them."
I swallowed.
"Did you read them?"
She looked ashamed.
"Not carefully."
I understood that mistake too well.
Then Vanessa reached into her purse.
She removed a small envelope.
"There's something else."
I stared at it.
"What?"
"Marcus gave this to me before his last trip."
She slid it across the table.
Inside was a printed insurance document.
I read the first page.
Then the second.
My stomach twisted.
It listed Marcus as the insured person.
Vanessa as the beneficiary.
And the amount?
One million dollars.
I looked up.
"He told you this was life insurance?"
She nodded.
"He said he wanted to protect me if anything happened at sea."
I stared at the document.
Then I noticed the issuing company.
It was the same company connected to the paperwork Marcus had asked me to sign.
My hands began trembling.
"Vanessa, did he ever ask you to sign insurance documents?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Did he say what they were for?"
She hesitated.
"Some were for the business."
I looked at her.
"Do you have copies?"
She nodded.
"At home."
I leaned forward.
"Please get them."
Her face changed.
"Why?"
"Because I think Marcus has been using both our names to move money."
Vanessa stared at me.
Then she whispered, "Nia, there's something I haven't told you."
My heart started pounding.
"What?"
She looked toward the café window.
"Marcus wasn't supposed to come home on that ship."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"He told me he was coming back because somebody had discovered a problem with the business."
I felt cold.
"What problem?"
She swallowed.
"He said a woman in the finance department had found missing money."
I stared at her.
"Did he tell you her name?"
Vanessa nodded slowly.
"Rachel Greene."
My breath caught.
The same woman who had called me.
Vanessa continued.
"Marcus said Rachel was dangerous."
I leaned forward.
"Why?"
Her voice dropped.
"Because she had proof that Harbor Crown Holdings wasn't the only company involved."
I stared at her.
"How many companies?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"I don't know."
Then she said something that made me forget how to breathe.
"He told me if Rachel kept investigating, both of us could lose everything."
I whispered, "Both of us?"
Vanessa looked directly into my eyes.
"No, Nia."
She shook her head.
"He said all three of us."
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Because suddenly I understood why Marcus had seemed so frightened at the harbor.
He wasn't afraid of losing his marriages.
May you like
He was afraid of losing the money.
And he had already placed both of us directly in the path of whatever was coming.
