Chapter 3 - The Pastor's Wife Had Been Living a Lie
Deborah Whitfield stepped into my kitchen looking nothing like the woman who had arrived at church that morning.
Her elegant cream dress was wrinkled.
Her eyes were swollen.
She had removed her pearl necklace.
And she was carrying a small suitcase.
I locked the door behind her.
"What happened?" I asked.
She looked at Nia.
"Before I say anything, I need you to understand something."
Nia stood.
"What?"
"I didn't know what Marcus was doing to you."
My daughter crossed her arms.
"Then why did you come?"
Deborah's face twisted with guilt.
"Because I've spent twenty-seven years defending a man I no longer recognize."
I pulled out a chair.
"Sit down, Deborah."
She lowered herself carefully.
Then her eyes landed on the ring.
She covered her mouth.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Finally, she whispered, "I bought that ring."
The room became perfectly still.
"You bought Rebecca's wedding ring?" I asked.
Deborah nodded.
"Fourteen years ago."
I felt my heart beating against my ribs.
"Who did Rebecca marry?"
Deborah looked down.
"Marcus."
Nia stumbled backward.
Jasmine caught her arm.
I stared at Deborah.
"But you were already married."
"Yes."
The word barely escaped her lips.
I gripped the edge of the table.
"You're telling me your husband married another woman while he was still married to you?"
Deborah closed her eyes.
"Not legally. He held a private ceremony. He told Rebecca God had called them together, and that he would divorce me."
I felt sick.
For years, Marcus had preached about marriage.
He had counseled couples through difficult times.
He had stood beside me at Samuel's funeral and told me God never abandoned the faithful.
And all those years, he had been living a lie.
"How did you discover it?" I asked.
"Rebecca came to me."
Deborah's voice shook.
"She was crying. She said Marcus had promised her a future, but he was threatening her because she'd discovered financial crimes."
I looked at the ring.
"Why did you buy it?"
"Marcus asked me to choose a ring for a church anniversary display. He said it was for a dramatization about marriage. I ordered it through a jeweler and had the initials engraved as he requested."
She shook her head.
"I didn't know what it really meant until Rebecca showed me a photograph of herself wearing it."
Nia whispered, "Why didn't you expose him?"
Deborah's tears began falling.
"Because I was afraid."
"Of losing your marriage?" I asked.
"Of losing everything."
She looked directly at me.
"Marcus told me Rebecca was unstable. He said she had stolen church funds and was trying to destroy him."
"And you believed him?"
"I wanted to."
The honesty of those three words hurt.
Deborah opened her suitcase.
She removed a thick envelope.
"Rebecca disappeared two weeks after confronting me."
I felt my stomach drop.
"What happened to her?"
"I don't know."
"Did you report her missing?"
"Marcus told me she'd left voluntarily. He showed me a letter supposedly written by her."
Nia shook her head.
"Mrs. Collins said Rebecca would never leave without telling her mother."
Deborah nodded slowly.
"Her mother went to the police. Nothing came of it."
She pushed the envelope toward me.
"Three nights ago, I found this inside Marcus's locked desk."
I opened it.
Inside were bank statements, copies of property records, and a photograph of a small house.
I recognized it.
My husband's childhood home.
Samuel had inherited it from his mother.
After he died, I had been forced to sell it because the mortgage company claimed there were unpaid loans secured against the property.
I had never understood those loans.
Samuel hated debt.
Now I saw the same property address on documents bearing the church's financial seal.
"Why is my husband's house here?" I whispered.
Deborah looked away.
"Because Marcus and Raymond used it as collateral."
I stared at her.
"For what?"
"Loans taken through a church development company."
My hands began shaking.
"Samuel never agreed to that."
"I know."
"Then how?"
Deborah's voice dropped.
"They forged his signature."
I felt something break inside me.
Not just anger.
Grief.
My husband had worked two jobs to keep that little house in the family.
He had wanted Nia to inherit it.
After his death, I had sold it to pay a debt he never owed.
I remembered standing on the porch the day the buyers arrived.
I had cried because I felt I was betraying Samuel.
And all that time, the real betrayal had come from the men he trusted.
Nia placed her hand over mine.
"Mama."
I couldn't speak.
Deborah continued.
"The money went into a company called Covenant Community Holdings."
I looked through the papers.
Raymond Price's name appeared repeatedly.
So did Marcus's.
But another name caught my attention.
Anthony Bell.
The detective.
I looked up.
"The police officer?"
Deborah nodded.
"He owns part of the company through a relative."
Jasmine cursed quietly.
Nia sank into her chair.
"That's why my report disappeared."
I pulled my daughter close.
"Not anymore."
Deborah leaned forward.
"There is something else you need to know."
I looked at her.
"Marcus has been searching for the flash drive since Thursday."
"How does he know about it?"
"Because Mrs. Collins contacted him."
Nia stiffened.
"She wouldn't."
"She called him from the hospital. She said she wanted to make a deal."
I felt suspicion rise.
"Why would she do that?"
Deborah shook her head.
"I don't know."
A silence settled over us.
Then Jasmine spoke.
"We need a lawyer. Someone outside this county."
I nodded.
"My nephew Daniel."
Daniel Carter was Samuel's sister's son.
He had become a federal prosecutor in Washington before moving into private practice.
He had always told me to call if I needed anything.
I hadn't wanted to trouble him.
Now I reached for my phone.
Daniel answered on the second ring.
"Aunt Evelyn?"
The sound of his voice nearly made me cry.
"Daniel, I need help."
His tone changed immediately.
"What's happened?"
I told him about the ring.
The missing money.
Samuel's death.
And the message threatening my daughter.
He listened without interrupting.
Then he asked one question.
"Is anyone else in the house?"
I told him.
"Don't let anybody leave alone," he said. "And don't give the flash drive to anyone until I arrive."
"When can you come?"
"I'm leaving now."
I breathed shakily.
"Daniel, do you think Samuel was murdered?"
There was a long pause.
"Aunt Evelyn, I don't know."
Then his voice hardened.
"But I intend to find out."
After we hung up, Deborah stood.
"I should go."
"No," I said. "You'll stay here."
She hesitated.
"Marcus will look for me."
"Then let him look."
I glanced at the windows.
Night had begun falling.
For the first time in my life, my own home felt unsafe.
Jasmine offered to help us move the cars behind the garage.
While she and Deborah went outside, Nia and I remained at the kitchen table.
I reached for her hand.
"Baby, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Tears filled her eyes.
"Because Marcus said if I exposed him, I'd lose you too."
My heart broke.
"What did he mean?"
"He showed me copies of documents with Daddy's signature. He said Daddy had helped steal the money."
I stared at her.
"He told you your father was a criminal?"
She nodded.
"And he said you knew."
I pulled her against me.
"Oh, sweetheart."
She sobbed into my shoulder.
For six months, my daughter had been carrying the belief that her parents were somehow involved in the crimes she uncovered.
I held her tighter.
"Your daddy was many things, Nia. Stubborn. Proud. Sometimes too trusting."
I kissed her hair.
"But he was not a thief."
Suddenly, we heard Jasmine scream outside.
I rushed toward the window.
Her car door was open.
Deborah stood frozen near the driveway.
And a black SUV was speeding away.
Jasmine had disappeared.
On the ground beside her car lay a single white choir glove.
I recognized it immediately.
It belonged to my daughter.
May you like
Someone had left us a warning.
And this time, they had taken a person with them.
