Chapter 6 - The Betrayal Behind My Divorce
I remembered Deborah Lane as a woman who always smelled like expensive perfume.
She wore beautiful suits.
Spoke gently.
And told me everything would be all right.
She had been my attorney during the final months of my divorce.
When I cried in her office, she handed me tissues.
When I questioned Marcus's financial statements, she assured me the documents had been reviewed.
When I asked whether I should fight for a share of Carter Development, she told me the company was legally Marcus's.
I trusted her.
I trusted her because she was supposed to protect me.
Now Marcus was claiming she had been involved in the fraud.
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Isaiah looked at him.
"Explain."
Marcus rubbed his face.
"Deborah and Richard knew each other before the divorce."
I frowned.
"I knew that."
"They worked together."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
Marcus looked away.
"Richard recommended Deborah when you said you wanted your own attorney."
I stared at him.
"You told me she was independent."
"She was supposed to be."
"Marcus."
He swallowed.
"Richard paid her."
I felt the room tilt.
Isaiah immediately touched my arm.
"Sit down, sweetheart."
I shook my head.
"No."
I looked directly at Marcus.
"How much?"
He hesitated.
"Two hundred thousand."
My breath caught.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
That was what they had allegedly paid to make sure I walked away without the ownership I had earned.
I remembered Deborah telling me I should be grateful Marcus wasn't asking for alimony.
I remembered her saying it was time to be realistic.
I remembered signing a settlement that left me with barely enough money to start over.
And all along, the person I hired to defend me had allegedly been working for the man who betrayed me.
I pressed a hand against my chest.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
Marcus looked desperate.
"Because Vanessa knows everything."
I stared at him.
"What does Vanessa have to do with Deborah?"
He hesitated.
Then spoke quietly.
"Deborah is her aunt."
For a moment, nobody moved.
I remembered Vanessa's smile at the gala.
Her mocking laughter.
Her delight when Marcus insulted me.
And suddenly, their relationship seemed far less accidental.
"Did Deborah send Vanessa to you?"
Marcus nodded slowly.
"After our divorce, Richard and Deborah stayed involved with company matters. Vanessa started working on marketing contracts about two years ago."
I folded my arms.
"And you started dating her?"
"Last year."
"While she was handling company information?"
He looked ashamed.
"Yes."
Isaiah's voice hardened.
"Did she know about the false accounts?"
Marcus nodded.
"She helped create some of the invoices."
I stared at him.
"Then why did she contact me?"
Marcus looked frightened.
"Because she's trying to protect herself."
He explained that Vanessa had discovered Richard was moving money into accounts she couldn't access.
When the acquisition exposed financial problems, she feared she would be blamed.
So she released documents pointing toward me.
If investigators focused on my supposed involvement, she hoped they would ignore her own role.
I felt anger rising.
"She tried to sacrifice me."
Marcus looked down.
"Yes."
Isaiah stepped forward.
"That's enough."
Marcus immediately looked at him.
"Please, Mr. Bennett. I need your help."
Isaiah's face remained cold.
"You need an attorney who represents your interests, and you need to cooperate with investigators."
Marcus stared at him.
"You're destroying everything I built."
Isaiah shook his head.
"No. Your decisions did that."
For the first time, Marcus had no answer.
After he left, I sat in the car beside Isaiah without speaking.
My entire past felt contaminated.
Marcus.
Richard.
Deborah.
Vanessa.
People I had trusted.
People who had smiled at me while taking things I had worked for.
Isaiah reached for my hand.
"What are you thinking?"
I stared ahead.
"I'm wondering how many people knew."
He waited.
"How many people watched me cry during that divorce while they already knew the truth?"
My voice broke.
"How many people laughed after I left the room?"
Isaiah pulled me gently against him.
"Sweetheart, their cruelty doesn't make your pain embarrassing."
I closed my eyes.
"But I feel humiliated."
"I know."
He kissed my forehead.
"And I'm here."
For a long time, I let him hold me.
Then I sat up.
"I want Deborah investigated."
He nodded.
"We'll make sure Patricia has everything Marcus told us."
"And Vanessa."
"Yes."
"And Richard."
Isaiah's expression hardened.
"All of them."
The following week, Patricia arranged for investigators to review the divorce records.
The evidence was disturbing.
Payments from a company controlled by Richard had reached Deborah's business account around the time of my settlement.
Email records suggested she had shared confidential information with Richard.
Several documents appeared to have been altered before being presented to me.
Patricia explained that these findings could support both civil and criminal proceedings.
But the investigation would take time.
I understood.
For the first time, I wasn't asking someone to magically fix my life.
I wanted the truth established properly.
I wanted evidence.
I wanted accountability.
And I wanted to make sure no other woman experienced what I had.
Meanwhile, Carter Development's financial problems became impossible to hide.
Several major projects had been financed through questionable transactions.
Investors demanded explanations.
Employees feared losing their jobs.
And Marcus was suspended from management while Bennett Capital's appointed restructuring team reviewed the company's operations.
I expected to feel satisfied.
Instead, I worried about the workers.
I remembered their faces.
The engineers who stayed late.
The accountants who worked weekends.
The young employees who believed Marcus when he promised them a future.
They didn't deserve to lose their livelihoods because of his greed.
I brought my concerns to Isaiah.
He listened carefully.
Then he smiled.
"That's why I love you."
I frowned.
"What?"
"After everything Marcus did, you're still thinking about the innocent people affected."
I looked down.
"They have families."
"I know."
He took my hand.
"Then help me protect them."
I stared at him.
"How?"
Isaiah explained that Bennett Capital could restructure the company, preserve viable projects, and establish independent oversight.
But he wanted someone who understood its early history.
Someone who knew why the business had originally been created.
Someone who cared about more than profit.
I slowly realized what he meant.
"Isaiah."
He smiled.
"Yes?"
"You're not suggesting—"
"I am."
I shook my head.
"I haven't worked in property development for years."
"You understand business."
"I run education programs."
"You also helped build a company from nothing."
I stared at him.
He continued.
"I'm not asking you to run it alone. I'm asking whether you'd like to help decide what happens next."
I felt fear.
Then excitement.
Then something I hadn't experienced in years.
Confidence.
But before I could answer, Patricia called.
Her voice was unusually serious.
"Nia, we need to meet immediately."
My stomach tightened.
"What happened?"
She hesitated.
"Deborah Lane has agreed to speak with investigators."
I held my breath.
Patricia continued.
"And she claims Marcus wasn't the person who originally ordered your ownership documents altered."
I looked at Isaiah.
"Then who was?"
There was a pause.
May you like
And Patricia answered with a name that made my blood run cold.
"His father. Charles Carter."
