Chapter 5
I didn't sleep after receiving Tasha's email.
I kept looking at the photographs.
Vanessa smiling beside another man.
His arm wrapped around her waist.
Her head resting against his shoulder.
I wanted to believe the worst.
Part of me wanted Marcus to experience the same humiliation he'd forced on me.
But another part knew that wasn't the person I wanted to become.
I wasn't going to destroy someone with rumors.
Even if that someone had destroyed my marriage.
At seven the next morning, I forwarded the messages to Patricia.
Then I called Tasha.
She answered after several rings.
"Hello?"
"Is this Tasha Williams?"
"Yes."
"My name is Nia Bennett."
Silence.
Then she whispered, "I was hoping you'd call."
I took a breath.
"Why did you send those photographs?"
She hesitated.
"Because Vanessa has been lying to you."
I looked out the window.
"What do you know?"
Tasha explained that she'd known Vanessa for several years.
They'd worked together at a luxury event-planning company.
Vanessa had always talked about marrying someone wealthy.
She loved designer clothes.
Expensive vacations.
Private parties.
But that alone didn't prove anything.
I asked about the man in the photographs.
Tasha hesitated.
"His name is Adrian Cole."
I wrote it down.
"Who is he?"
"Vanessa's former boyfriend."
My stomach tightened.
"Former?"
Tasha sighed.
"That's what she called him."
I waited.
"Are they still involved?"
"I don't know for certain."
I appreciated that she didn't pretend to know more than she did.
Then she said something important.
"I saw them together four months ago."
I stared at the photograph.
"Was Vanessa already pregnant?"
Tasha hesitated.
"She hadn't announced it yet."
I closed my eyes.
That didn't prove anything.
Pregnancy timelines could be misunderstood.
Photographs could be misleading.
And even if Vanessa had been involved with Adrian, that didn't establish paternity.
I needed to remember that.
I thanked Tasha for contacting me.
Then I asked whether she'd be willing to provide a statement if necessary.
She agreed.
After the call, I sat quietly.
I thought about Marcus.
Would I tell him?
Should I?
The answer wasn't simple.
I didn't want to become involved in his relationship with Vanessa.
But I also didn't want a child to grow up surrounded by deception.
I called Patricia.
She listened carefully.
Then advised me not to make accusations about paternity.
I agreed.
If Marcus had legitimate questions, he could pursue appropriate testing and legal advice.
It wasn't my responsibility to investigate his unborn child.
My responsibility was protecting Noah and Lily.
That afternoon, Marcus appeared at the front gate.
Security called me.
"Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Bennett is here."
I looked toward the living room.
The children were at school.
I took a breath.
"Is he alone?"
"Yes, ma'am."
I thought for a moment.
Then asked security to tell him to contact Patricia.
A minute later, my phone rang.
Marcus.
I answered.
"Nia."
His voice sounded different.
Exhausted.
"Can we talk?"
I leaned against the kitchen counter.
"Through our attorneys."
"Please."
I closed my eyes.
"Marcus, what do you want?"
He hesitated.
"Vanessa and I had a fight."
I almost laughed.
"And?"
"She said some things."
I waited.
"About money."
My stomach tightened.
"What things?"
He took a shaky breath.
"She said I promised her a certain lifestyle."
I looked toward the garden.
"Didn't you?"
He didn't answer.
I continued.
"You bought her a car. An apartment. Expensive jewelry."
His voice cracked.
"I made mistakes."
I took a slow breath.
"Marcus, mistakes are forgetting an anniversary."
Silence.
"Spending company money on your mistress and humiliating your children is a series of choices."
He began crying.
I closed my eyes.
For nine years, I'd loved this man.
Hearing him cry still hurt.
But I couldn't let that pain erase what he'd done.
"Nia, I think she's using me."
I stared at the phone.
"Marcus."
"Please listen."
I took a breath.
"What?"
"She keeps asking about the house."
My stomach tightened.
"Which house?"
"The new one."
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
The mansion.
He continued.
"She says I promised we'd move in before the baby arrives."
I looked down.
"Then perhaps you should discuss that with her."
He began crying harder.
"Nia, I don't know what to do."
I felt a terrible sadness.
Once, I would've solved everything for him.
I'd have called the accountant.
Negotiated with the lender.
Prepared a plan.
Protected his reputation.
But I couldn't keep rescuing a man who'd deliberately hurt our family.
"You need your attorney," I said quietly.
He swallowed.
"Nia, please."
"And you need to tell the truth about the business money."
Silence.
Then he whispered, "I didn't think you'd find out."
Those words stopped me.
I stared at the wall.
"What?"
He seemed to realize what he'd said.
"Nia—"
"You didn't think I'd find out?"
He began breathing heavily.
I felt something inside me harden.
"Marcus, did you know those payments were improper?"
He didn't answer.
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
Not confusion.
Not a bookkeeping accident.
He knew.
I took a slow breath.
"Tell your lawyer everything."
Then I ended the call.
For several minutes, I stood perfectly still.
I felt sick.
Not because he'd betrayed me again.
But because he'd finally admitted he'd expected to get away with it.
That evening, I picked up the children from school.
Noah climbed into the back seat.
Lily followed.
They were unusually quiet.
I looked at them through the mirror.
"Everything okay?"
Noah nodded.
Lily didn't.
I glanced at her.
"Sweetheart?"
Her eyes filled.
"Some girls at school were talking about Daddy."
My heart tightened.
"What did they say?"
She looked down.
"That he has a new baby."
I felt tears gather.
Noah clenched his fists.
"I told them to stop."
I swallowed.
Lily whispered, "Does that mean Daddy doesn't want us anymore?"
I pulled into a safe parking space.
Then turned around.
I looked at both children.
"No."
Their faces were frightened.
I continued.
"Your father is responsible for his choices. But neither of you did anything wrong."
Noah began crying.
"Then why did he say the new lady gives him a better family?"
My heart shattered.
He'd heard everything.
Every cruel word.
I reached into the back seat.
Took his hand.
Then Lily's.
"Listen to me carefully."
They looked at me.
"No family is better because a parent has another baby."
I swallowed.
"And no child is worth less because an adult makes a selfish decision."
Lily wiped her cheeks.
"Promise?"
I nodded.
"I promise."
That night, after the children were asleep, Patricia called.
Her voice was serious.
"Nia, we received another document."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"A copy of the proposed purchase agreement for the new mansion."
I sat straighter.
"And?"
"The financing application contains information that doesn't match the records we've reviewed."
I frowned.
"What information?"
She took a breath.
"Marcus appears to have represented that he had access to assets that may be subject to your ownership interests and the pending divorce."
I stared at the wall.
Then Patricia continued.
"And there's something else."
My heart began pounding.
"What?"
"The application includes a statement that you approved certain financial arrangements."
I froze.
"I never approved anything."
Patricia's voice became firm.
"That's why we need to challenge it."
I looked toward the children's bedrooms.
Marcus hadn't only betrayed me emotionally.
He'd apparently been making financial representations in my name.
And this time, I wasn't going to let him explain it away.
Because the more I uncovered, the clearer it became that the public humiliation was only one part of his plan.
May you like
He hadn't simply wanted another family.
He'd wanted to take the life we'd built and hand it to someone else.
