Chapter 4
I didn't sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Nia standing beside our anniversary table.
Then Daniel's messages appeared again.
What we agreed you'd tell Marcus tonight.
I wondered what would have happened if I hadn't picked up her phone.
Would she have calmly handed me those papers?
Would I have believed her explanation?
Would I have signed something that destroyed my company?
At six the next morning, Jasmine found me sitting at her kitchen table.
“You haven't slept.”
I shook my head.
She placed a mug of coffee in front of me.
“You need help, Marcus. Professional help.”
“I know.”
She handed me a business card.
“Attorney Patricia Reed.”
I looked at it.
“She handles commercial fraud cases.”
“How do you know her?”
“She helped my employer with a contract dispute.”
I called immediately.
Patricia agreed to meet me before the bank opened.
By eight-thirty, Jasmine and I were sitting in her office.
I explained the affair.
The forged documents.
The proposed holding company.
The bank application.
Patricia listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she leaned forward.
“Marcus, we need to separate your marriage from your business.”
I nodded.
“Can they take the company?”
“Not legally through forged documents. But we need to act quickly to prevent further damage.”
She reviewed the paperwork.
Then she looked at the signature.
“Did you sign this?”
“No.”
“Have you ever authorized anyone to sign on your behalf?”
“Never.”
She nodded.
“Then we document your denial and notify the relevant institutions immediately.”
I felt a small amount of relief.
“What about Nia?”
Patricia's expression softened.
“You'll need a family law attorney as well.”
I looked down.
“Divorce.”
She didn't answer immediately.
“That decision is yours.”
I stared at my empty hands.
For five years, I had worn a wedding ring.
Now my finger felt strangely naked.
“I don't know what I want yet.”
“Then don't decide today,” she said. “Protect yourself first.”
We went to First Southern Bank.
Olivia Grant met us in a private conference room.
She had already flagged the suspicious application.
Patricia presented my written statement denying authorization.
Olivia opened the application record.
“This was submitted electronically three days ago.”
“By whom?”
“The contact listed is Nia Bennett.”
My stomach tightened.
“Was anything approved?”
“No. The verification process isn't complete.”
I exhaled.
At least the money hadn't been released.
Then Olivia showed us the supporting documents.
Financial statements.
Tax summaries.
Ownership records.
Some were accurate.
Others contained figures I didn't recognize.
Patricia examined them carefully.
“Who prepared these?”
“According to the submission, Eric Lawson.”
My accountant.
I leaned back.
Of course.
Olivia continued.
“We can freeze this application while the matter is investigated.”
“Please do.”
She nodded.
“We'll also review access permissions and any other recent requests.”
I thanked her.
Then we left.
In the parking lot, my phone rang.
Eric Lawson.
I looked at Patricia.
She nodded.
“Answer. Don't make accusations. Just listen.”
I put the call on speaker.
“Marcus,” Eric said warmly. “How are you?”
“Not great.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
He paused.
“I wanted to check whether you reviewed those restructuring documents.”
I looked at Patricia.
“Why?”
“We need to finalize the new arrangement.”
“What new arrangement?”
He hesitated.
“The holding company.”
“I never agreed to create one.”
Silence.
Then he laughed nervously.
“Marcus, we discussed this.”
“We discussed tax planning. Not transferring ownership.”
“It's essentially the same thing.”
Patricia shook her head.
I kept my voice calm.
“Eric, did you submit documents to First Southern Bank?”
Another pause.
“Nia was handling that.”
“Did you prepare them?”
“I provided financial information.”
“Did you know my signature appeared on documents I never signed?”
His voice changed.
“Marcus, I think you need to calm down.”
I almost laughed.
There it was.
The same phrase Nia used whenever she didn't want to answer a question.
“I am calm,” I said.
“Then let's talk in person.”
“Not without my attorney.”
He went silent.
Then the line disconnected.
Patricia looked at me.
“That tells us we need to preserve every communication.”
I nodded.
We returned to her office.
She began preparing notices and coordinating with the appropriate authorities.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from Nia.
Please come home. We need to talk.
I stared at it.
Another message arrived.
Daniel lied to me.
I looked at Jasmine.
“She says Daniel lied.”
Jasmine frowned.
“Maybe he did.”
“Or maybe she's scared.”
Both possibilities hurt.
I didn't answer.
An hour later, another message appeared.
Marcus, please. I didn't know about the bank application until yesterday.
I showed Patricia.
She read it.
“Save it.”
I nodded.
Then Nia called.
I let it ring.
She called again.
And again.
Finally, I answered with Patricia present.
“Marcus?”
Her voice sounded small.
“What do you want?”
“Please come home.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel isn't answering my calls.”
I stared at the wall.
“That sounds like your problem.”
“He told me something terrible.”
I waited.
“Richard is planning to make it look like you committed fraud.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
Nia began crying.
“He said if you refuse to cooperate, they'll use the company records against you.”
I looked at Patricia.
She leaned closer.
“What records?” I asked.
“I don't know everything.”
“Nia.”
“I swear.”
I closed my eyes.
“You have lied to me for eight months. You need to understand that I can't simply believe you now.”
“I know.”
Her breathing shook.
“But I have something that proves Daniel planned this.”
“What?”
“A recording.”
I stared at the phone.
“Of what?”
“Daniel and Richard talking in our kitchen.”
My stomach dropped.
“When?”
“Last month.”
I remembered being in Atlanta last month.
“Were you with them?”
“Yes.”
I swallowed.
“Why did you record them?”
There was a long silence.
Then Nia whispered, “Because I heard Daniel tell Richard he didn't actually love me.”
I closed my eyes.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then I asked, “What did he say?”
Nia began sobbing.
“He said I was just the easiest way to get to you.”
I gripped the phone.
The betrayal suddenly had another layer.
Daniel had used my wife.
And my wife had helped him use me.
“Send the recording,” I said.
She hesitated.
“Will you come home?”
“Send it first.”
A minute later, the file arrived.
I pressed play.
Daniel's voice filled the office.
“Nia will do whatever I ask. She's convinced we're going to be together.”
Then Richard laughed.
“And after we get Bennett Construction?”
Daniel answered.
“Then she's no longer my problem.”
I stared at the phone.
Nia began crying on the other end.
“I heard him, Marcus. I heard everything.”
I said nothing.
Then another voice appeared on the recording.
A voice I recognized.
My heart stopped.
Because the third man discussing the plan was my oldest business partner.
May you like
Terrence Brooks.
The man who had helped me build Bennett Construction from the beginning.
