Chapter 5
Marcus arrived at seven that evening wearing an expensive jacket and a smile that disappeared the moment he saw me.
“What is he doing here?” he demanded.
Keisha stood near the kitchen counter.
“He's my husband.”
“Your husband who apparently thinks he's a detective?”
I remained seated.
“Sit down, Marcus.”
He laughed.
“I'm not taking orders from you.”
“Then stand. But you're going to answer our questions.”
Keisha stepped between us.
“Please. I just want to understand what happened to the money.”
Marcus's expression softened immediately.
That was his talent.
He could transform from an arrogant bully into a wounded little boy whenever he needed sympathy.
“Keisha, you know I would never intentionally hurt you.”
“Then show me where the money went.”
He rubbed his face.
“The deal fell through.”
“What deal?”
“The transportation company.”
“Which company?” I asked.
Marcus glared at me.
Keisha's voice trembled.
“Just tell us.”
He finally pulled a folded document from his jacket.
It was a business proposal listing several commercial vehicles, projected revenue, and potential contracts.
“This was the plan,” he said. “The investors backed out. I lost money too.”
I examined the document.
There were no signed contracts, no confirmed investors, and no proof that the vehicles had ever been purchased.
“Where did the thirty-eight thousand dollars go?” I asked.
Marcus threw his hands up.
“Expenses! Deposits! Legal fees! You think businesses run themselves?”
“Then provide the receipts.”
“I don't have everything with me.”
“Bring them tomorrow.”
He looked at Keisha.
“You're really going to let him interrogate me?”
She hesitated.
Then she surprised me.
“Yes.”
Marcus stared at his sister as if she had slapped him.
“Wow.”
He turned toward the door.
“After everything I've done for this family, this is how you treat me?”
Keisha started crying.
For years, that sentence had been enough to make her surrender.
Not this time.
“Marcus, I gave you money I couldn't afford to lose. I took out a loan because you promised me a real business opportunity. Now the bank is calling, and you won't even show me a receipt.”
His jaw tightened.
“I said I'd handle it.”
“When?”
“When I can!”
“And Grandma's house?”
Marcus froze.
I watched the color drain from his face.
Keisha stepped forward.
“Why did you ask her to sign those papers?”
He recovered quickly.
“Because I needed collateral.”
“You told me the investment was already secured.”
“It was supposed to be.”
“That's not what you said!”
He slammed his hand against the doorframe.
“Because I was trying to make something work!”
The sound made Keisha jump.
I stood up.
“Lower your voice.”
Marcus turned on me.
“Stay out of this!”
“No. You involved my wife, threatened the security of her mother, and put our household finances at risk. You're not going to intimidate anyone in this house.”
For a moment, I thought he might swing at me.
Instead, he laughed bitterly.
“You're enjoying this, aren't you? The great Andre finally gets to feel like a man again.”
I didn't move.
“I'm not enjoying any of it.”
“You lost everything and now you want to blame me!”
“I lost a company. I didn't lose my integrity.”
Marcus stared at me.
Then he pointed at Keisha.
“Fine. You want the truth? Your sister-in-law wasn't the only person who helped me.”
Keisha's face went pale.
“What does that mean?”
He looked directly at her.
“You've been telling everyone Andre had no money. Ask him where the rest of the property sale went.”
My stomach tightened.
Keisha turned toward me.
“What rest of the money?”
I took a slow breath.
“When I sold my share of the warehouse, I used part of the proceeds to pay our mortgage and expenses. I also set aside money to restart my company.”
“How much?”
“Enough to cover the initial costs of rebuilding.”
Marcus smiled cruelly.
“Tell her about the other account.”
I stared at him.
“How do you know about that?”
His smile vanished.
It was a small reaction.
But it told me everything.
Marcus knew more about my finances than he should have.
Keisha looked between us.
“What's he talking about?”
I pulled my phone from my pocket and opened the account records I had saved.
The account was legitimate, funded from my property sale, and separate from the money I used for household expenses.
But someone had recently attempted to access information about it.
The bank had sent me an alert three days earlier.
I had assumed it was a routine security check.
Now I knew why Marcus had brought it up.
I turned the phone toward him.
“Did you try to access my account?”
His face hardened.
“No.”
“Then how do you know it exists?”
“I hear things.”
“From whom?”
He said nothing.
Keisha was staring at her brother with growing horror.
“Marcus, what did you do?”
He backed toward the door.
“I didn't do anything.”
But his eyes kept shifting toward the phone.
I understood then that the missing money wasn't the only problem.
May you like
Someone had been looking for the savings I had protected.
And Marcus had a reason to believe there was enough in that account to solve all his problems.
