Chapter 3
I stared at Gloria.
"What debt?"
Nia stood too quickly.
"Gloria, don't."
She swayed.
I caught her before she fell.
"Sit down."
She pushed my hand away.
"I'm fine."
But she wasn't fine.
Her skin looked pale beneath the bright fluorescent lights.
Her hands were trembling.
And when I looked closely, I saw a bandage around two fingers.
I had never noticed it at home.
Jordan stood beside us.
"Mom, why are you working here?"
Nia looked at him.
Then she looked away.
"Because people need help."
Gloria shook her head.
"That's true. But it isn't the whole story."
I turned toward her.
"Please explain."
Gloria hesitated.
Then she gestured toward a small office.
"Not in front of everyone."
We followed her inside.
The room was cramped.
A desk stood beneath a window.
Boxes of donated children's clothes lined one wall.
Nia sat in a chair.
Jordan stood behind her.
I stayed near the door.
I suddenly felt like a stranger in my own marriage.
Gloria opened a drawer.
She removed a folder.
"Nia started volunteering here almost two years ago."
I looked at my wife.
"Two years?"
She nodded.
"At first, she came twice a week," Gloria continued. "She helped sort donations and prepare food deliveries."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
Nia stared at her hands.
"Because you were busy."
"That's not a reason."
She looked up.
"It was the reason I told myself."
Gloria continued.
"Six months ago, our organization nearly closed. A major donor withdrew funding."
My wife shifted uncomfortably.
"Nia offered to help us stay open."
I frowned.
"How?"
"She took out a personal loan."
I felt my stomach sink.
"How much?"
Nia whispered, "Forty-five thousand dollars."
Jordan gasped.
I stared at her.
"Forty-five thousand?"
She nodded.
"Marcus, I thought I could repay it."
"With what money?"
She swallowed.
"My bookkeeping income. Some savings."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
We lived in a beautiful house.
I owned a successful business.
And my wife had secretly borrowed forty-five thousand dollars.
"Why didn't you ask me?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Because I knew what you'd say."
"What would I say?"
"You'd tell me it wasn't our responsibility."
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
Because she was right.
I had said those words before.
Whenever Nia wanted to donate money, I asked whether the organization was financially responsible.
Whenever she spent too much time helping someone, I reminded her that we had our own family.
I thought I was being practical.
But I had never asked why helping those people mattered so much to her.
Gloria looked at me.
"The center helps families who have nowhere else to turn. Nia couldn't bear to watch it close."
I rubbed my forehead.
"But why is she working twelve-hour days?"
Nia finally spoke.
"Because the loan payments got bigger."
"Why?"
She glanced toward Gloria.
"There were penalties."
"What penalties?"
Gloria looked uncomfortable.
"The lender changed the terms after Nia signed."
I stared at my wife.
"Who is the lender?"
She said nothing.
"Nia."
Her lower lip trembled.
"Calvin Brooks."
I froze.
I knew that name.
Calvin Brooks was a private investor.
He had approached my construction company the previous year.
He offered financing for a large commercial project.
I refused.
Something about his contracts felt wrong.
I remembered telling Nia that night.
"That man charges desperate people for the privilege of being desperate."
Now my wife had borrowed money from him.
"How did you meet Calvin?"
Nia looked at the floor.
"He was introduced through someone at church."
I felt sick.
"Did you sign a personal guarantee?"
She nodded.
"What did you put up as collateral?"
Her eyes filled.
"Our savings account."
I stared at her.
"Which savings account?"
She whispered the answer.
"Jordan's college fund."
The room went silent.
Jordan stepped backward.
"My what?"
Nia began crying.
"Baby, I was going to replace it."
He stared at her.
"You used my college money?"
"Only part of it."
"How much?"
She couldn't answer.
I turned away.
I needed a moment.
I was angry.
Terrified.
And ashamed.
But I knew one thing.
I wasn't going to repeat what I'd done yesterday.
I wasn't going to let anger turn into cruelty.
I took a slow breath.
Then I faced her.
"How much do we owe now?"
Nia wiped her eyes.
"Almost ninety thousand."
I stared.
"How does forty-five thousand become ninety?"
Gloria handed me a statement.
I read it carefully.
Late fees.
Service charges.
Compounding interest.
And several penalties that looked suspicious.
I shook my head.
"This can't be legal."
Nia covered her face.
"I didn't know what else to do."
Jordan sat beside her.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he whispered, "Mom, why didn't you tell us?"
She looked at him.
"Because I didn't want you to worry."
He stared at her bandaged fingers.
"Did you hurt yourself working here?"
She nodded.
"Just a little burn."
Jordan began crying.
I watched my son take his mother's hand.
"I'm sorry I said laundry was your job."
Nia pulled him close.
"Oh, baby."
He held her tightly.
"I didn't know."
She kissed his forehead.
"You weren't supposed to know."
Something inside me broke.
I had brought Jordan here to teach him how much his mother worked.
But the lesson was turning toward me.
I was the husband.
The adult.
The man who claimed to protect this family.
And I hadn't noticed my wife was destroying herself trying to save other people.
Gloria stepped closer.
"Marcus, there's something else."
I turned.
"What?"
She hesitated.
"Calvin came here yesterday."
My stomach tightened.
"What did he want?"
"He said if Nia didn't pay by Friday, he'd take legal action."
I looked at the calendar.
Friday was only two days away.
"Then we'll call a lawyer."
Gloria shook her head.
"That's not what frightened her."
Nia suddenly stood.
"Please stop."
But Gloria continued.
"Calvin said he knew something about your construction company."
I stared at her.
"What?"
"He claimed that if Nia refused to cooperate, he'd make sure your company lost its biggest contract."
My blood ran cold.
My biggest contract was a new hospital development.
It represented almost half my company's expected revenue for the year.
I looked at Nia.
"How would he know about that?"
May you like
She began trembling.
Then she whispered, "Because he's working with someone inside your company."
