Chapter 6
I forwarded everything to Detective Price.
She called within seconds.
"Do not respond to that number."
"Who sent it?"
"We're tracing it."
"Who is the second witness?"
She hesitated.
"Nia, I'm going to need you to trust me."
I almost shouted.
Trust.
That word had destroyed my life.
But Detective Price had done nothing except help me.
So I swallowed my fear.
"Okay."
That afternoon, she came to the hotel.
Renee stayed in the room while the detective explained what investigators had uncovered.
Maya hadn't acted entirely alone.
A hospital accounts-payable analyst named Simone Harris had noticed unusual payments months earlier.
Simone raised concerns internally.
Her supervisor dismissed them.
Soon afterward, she was transferred.
Then her position was eliminated.
She believed the transactions were fraudulent but couldn't prove who was responsible.
Maya found her through a professional networking website.
They began exchanging information.
Simone explained the hospital's payment system.
Maya compared those records with files from Marcus's company.
Together, they uncovered a network of fake vendors.
Millions of dollars had been transferred through accounts controlled by Marcus and Elaine.
I stared at Detective Price.
"Millions?"
She nodded.
"The investigation suggests a substantial fraud scheme."
"And Maya found it."
"She helped expose it."
My chest tightened.
"What happened to Simone?"
"She's alive. She's cooperating with investigators."
I pressed my hands together.
For the first time, I felt a small amount of relief.
Someone else could explain what Maya had discovered.
Someone else had survived.
Detective Price continued.
Simone had been frightened after receiving threatening emails.
Maya encouraged her to preserve the records.
They planned to meet with an attorney before approaching authorities.
But Marcus apparently discovered Maya had copied files.
"How?" I asked.
"We're still determining that."
I knew.
Or at least I suspected.
Marcus always checked our home security system.
He monitored our internet connection.
He claimed it was for protection.
Now I wondered what else he'd been watching.
Detective Price showed me a printed account record.
One withdrawal caught my attention.
It was from our joint savings account.
Forty-eight thousand dollars.
I stared at the figure.
"That's impossible."
"Do you recognize it?"
"That's Maya's education fund."
I felt dizzy.
For years, I had deposited money into that account.
Tax refunds.
Extra shifts.
Every small bonus.
Marcus convinced me to move the funds into a joint account because he could supposedly earn better interest.
I trusted him.
And now the money was gone.
"He stole from my daughter."
Detective Price's expression softened.
"We're documenting the financial losses."
I thought about Maya telling me our statements looked wrong.
She hadn't just discovered hospital fraud.
She had discovered that Marcus was stealing from us.
And I had accused her of disrespecting him.
Renee put her hand over mine.
"We'll deal with the money later."
But it wasn't about the money anymore.
It was about every sacrifice Maya had made.
Every shift she worked.
Every time she told me not to worry about tuition.
Marcus had taken all of it.
That evening, Simone agreed to speak with me briefly through Detective Price.
She was a quiet woman in her early thirties.
Her voice trembled.
"I wanted to tell you how sorry I am."
I shook my head.
"You don't have to apologize."
"Maya was incredibly brave."
I began crying.
"She was."
Simone looked down.
"She kept saying she didn't want anyone else to get hurt."
"Did she tell you she was afraid of Marcus?"
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
"How afraid?"
Simone took a breath.
"She told me he had threatened to ruin your life if she reported him."
My throat tightened.
"Did she say anything else?"
Simone hesitated.
"She said she found something that made the fraud look small."
I leaned toward the screen.
"What?"
"A recording."
"What recording?"
"She never showed it to me. She said it proved Marcus and Elaine were planning to frame someone else."
"Who?"
"You."
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
"Me?"
Simone nodded.
"Maya believed they intended to transfer responsibility for some of the fake payments to an account connected to your name."
I felt cold from head to toe.
Marcus hadn't merely stolen our savings.
He had apparently planned to make me look responsible for part of his crime.
If Maya hadn't discovered the records, I might have been facing criminal accusations.
I looked at Detective Price.
"Did you know?"
"We found documents that suggest the same plan."
My mind raced.
Marcus had always insisted on managing our finances.
He had asked me to sign business forms without reading them.
When I questioned him, he became offended.
Don't you trust me, Nia?
Those words echoed in my head.
I gripped the edge of the table.
"How close was he?"
"We're examining the paperwork."
Simone wiped her eyes.
"Maya said she would never let him destroy you."
The room blurred.
My daughter had been trying to save my life while I was defending the person threatening it.
After the call, Detective Price told us there was another development.
Investigators had recovered security footage from a nearby business.
The video showed a dark sedan entering the parking structure shortly before Maya was struck.
Its license plate was obscured.
But the driver's side was visible.
A figure wearing a charcoal jacket appeared behind the wheel.
My breath caught.
Marcus had worn a charcoal jacket that morning.
Detective Price placed another photograph beside the first.
It showed the sedan leaving the garage.
The front headlight was broken.
And someone was sitting in the passenger seat.
I leaned closer.
"Was he alone?"
"No."
"Who was with him?"
"We're enhancing the images and seeking additional camera footage."
I looked at the shadow behind the passenger window.
A woman.
Short hair.
A familiar shape.
My stomach dropped.
"Elaine."
Detective Price didn't confirm it.
But her expression told me they were considering the same possibility.
Then her phone rang.
She listened.
Her face became serious.
"Understood."
She ended the call.
"What happened?" I asked.
She looked directly at me.
"Federal investigators have obtained arrest warrants connected to the fraud investigation."
I stood.
"For Marcus?"
"Yes."
"And Elaine?"
"Yes."
"Have they found them?"
"Not yet."
My heart sank.
Then she added, "But we found something else in Marcus's office."
"What?"
"A folder prepared under your name."
She opened her notebook.
"Inside were copies of your identification, financial records, and a draft statement claiming that you authorized fraudulent payments."
I stared at her.
The man I loved had prepared to destroy me.
May you like
But Maya had discovered his plan.
And now I understood why he had been so desperate to silence her.
