Chapter 4
I thought the secret ended with the loan.
I was wrong.
It was only the beginning.
I stood in Gloria's small office, staring at my wife.
"Someone inside my company?"
Nia nodded.
"Who?"
She hesitated.
"I don't know for certain."
I felt anger rising.
I forced myself to stay calm.
"Nia, please. Tell me everything."
She took a shaking breath.
"Calvin showed me copies of confidential documents."
"What documents?"
"Your hospital contract."
My stomach tightened.
Only four people had full access to that agreement.
Me.
My business partner, Raymond Ellis.
Our finance director, Denise Turner.
And our attorney.
If Calvin had copies, someone close to me had betrayed my trust.
"What did he show you?"
Nia looked toward Jordan.
"Baby, could you wait outside?"
Jordan shook his head.
"No."
"Please."
He stepped closer.
"I'm part of this family."
I looked at him.
Yesterday, he'd been complaining about laundry.
Now he was standing beside his mother, refusing to let her face a crisis alone.
Something in me softened.
"Let him stay," I said.
Nia looked exhausted.
Then she continued.
"Calvin said your company had violated financial disclosure rules. He claimed he could prove it."
I frowned.
"What rules?"
"He said money had been transferred between projects without proper approval."
I stared at her.
"That's not true."
She nodded.
"I told him that."
"What did he say?"
"He laughed."
Her voice cracked.
"He told me the truth didn't matter if he could make the hospital board believe the accusation."
I clenched my fists.
That sounded exactly like Calvin.
He didn't need to win a legitimate dispute.
He only needed to create enough fear to force someone into a settlement.
"Did he ask you for something?"
Nia nodded.
"He wanted access to your home office."
I went still.
"What?"
"He said if I copied certain files, he'd forgive the debt."
My heart pounded.
"Did you?"
Nia shook her head immediately.
"No."
I looked into her eyes.
"Tell me the truth."
"I am."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I made a terrible mistake with the loan, Marcus. But I would never steal from you."
I believed her.
And that frightened me more than if she'd admitted taking the files.
Because it meant Calvin was still looking for another way inside my business.
I pulled out my phone.
I called Raymond.
He answered on the second ring.
"Marcus. Everything okay?"
"Where are you?"
"At the office."
"Don't leave. I'm coming."
He laughed.
"What's going on?"
"I need to review our hospital contract."
There was a pause.
Then he said, "Why?"
The question came too quickly.
I stared at the wall.
"Because I own the company."
Another pause.
"Sure. Come by whenever."
I ended the call.
Nia touched my arm.
"Marcus, be careful."
I looked at her.
"Has Raymond ever contacted you about Calvin?"
Her face changed.
My stomach dropped.
"Nia?"
She swallowed.
"He called me last week."
"What did he say?"
"He told me not to tell you about the loan."
I closed my eyes.
Raymond.
My best friend since college.
The man who helped me build my business from nothing.
The man who stood beside me at my wedding.
The man Jordan called Uncle Ray.
I wanted to believe there was an innocent explanation.
But the pieces were beginning to fit together.
Too well.
I turned toward Gloria.
"Can you keep the center operating until we sort this out?"
She looked surprised.
"Marcus, you don't have to—"
"I'm not making promises about money yet. But I'll help find legitimate support."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Thank you."
I turned to Nia.
"You're coming home."
She shook her head.
"I have work."
"No. You're exhausted. You nearly collapsed."
She looked toward the laundry room.
"Gloria needs me."
Gloria stepped forward.
"Nia, I need you healthy more than I need you folding sheets."
My wife began crying again.
For the first time that morning, she allowed someone else to take responsibility.
Jordan lifted one of the laundry baskets.
"I can finish this."
We all looked at him.
He shrugged awkwardly.
"What?"
Gloria smiled.
"There's a table in the back."
Jordan nodded.
"I know how laundry works."
I raised an eyebrow.
He sighed.
"Okay. I'm learning."
For the first time since yesterday, we laughed.
It was a small moment.
But I needed it.
I left Jordan with Gloria and drove Nia home.
On the way, she rested her head against the window.
I glanced at her.
"Why didn't you trust me enough to tell me?"
She was quiet for a long time.
Then she said, "Because every time I tried, you were tired."
I swallowed.
"That's not fair."
She turned toward me.
"Isn't it?"
I said nothing.
She continued.
"When I asked you to come to the center last year, you said you didn't have time."
"I was working."
"When I told you families were struggling, you said everyone had problems."
I tightened my grip on the wheel.
"When I asked if we could donate more, you told me I was being emotional."
Her voice broke.
"So I stopped asking."
I stared at the road.
She wasn't trying to hurt me.
She was telling me what our marriage had become.
A place where she handled the house.
I handled the money.
And neither of us truly understood what the other carried.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
She looked away.
"I know you love us, Marcus."
"I do."
"But sometimes I feel like I'm running a hotel for two people who only come home to sleep."
I felt those words deep in my chest.
"I don't want you to feel that way."
"Then something has to change."
I nodded.
"It will."
But I knew words wouldn't be enough.
At home, I helped her upstairs.
I insisted she rest.
Then I called our family doctor.
She agreed to see Nia that afternoon.
While Nia slept, I entered my home office.
I logged into the company's secure accounting system.
I wanted to review recent transactions before confronting Raymond.
At first, everything looked normal.
Then I noticed a strange payment.
Two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.
Transferred to a consulting company I'd never authorized.
I clicked the record.
The approval had been entered under my credentials.
My heart pounded.
I checked the date.
Three weeks earlier.
I had been in Chicago that day.
At a construction conference.
I hadn't approved anything.
Then I saw the vendor name.
BROOKS STRATEGIC CAPITAL.
Calvin Brooks.
I stared at the screen.
My phone rang.
Raymond.
I answered.
"Marcus, I heard Nia was at Morning Light today."
My blood turned cold.
I hadn't told him that.
"How did you know?"
He hesitated.
May you like
Then said something that made my stomach drop.
"Because Calvin says your wife has become a problem."
