Chapter 6
My mother's office had remained locked for three years.
Not because we wanted to hide anything.
But because neither Isaiah nor I could bear to change it.
The room was on the second floor of Bellamy Hospitality's original headquarters.
My mother, Evelyn Bellamy, had built the company from a single neighborhood restaurant.
By the time she died, she owned restaurants, event venues, and two small hotels.
She worked harder than anyone I had ever known.
But she never made her employees feel small.
She knew the names of their children.
She paid for emergency medical expenses when families struggled.
She treated people with dignity.
That was the company Isaiah and I wanted to protect.
Now Marcus had apparently been searching her private office.
I stood outside the door with Isaiah, Angela, and Tasha Monroe.
Tasha looked nervous.
She was thirty, with short natural curls and a serious expression.
"I didn't know what to do when I heard them talking," she said.
I looked at her.
"Why did you record them?"
She swallowed.
"Because Marcus mentioned your mother."
My heart tightened.
"What did he say?"
"He said Evelyn Bellamy had left something behind that could change who controlled the company."
I stared at her.
"What?"
Tasha shook her head.
"I didn't hear everything. But Devin said they needed the original documents before Isaiah discovered them."
Isaiah looked toward Angela.
She frowned.
"Let's be careful. We need to distinguish what Tasha directly heard from what we think it means."
I nodded.
Then I asked Tasha, "Why did you send the video anonymously?"
She lowered her eyes.
"Because I was scared."
"Of Marcus?"
"And Devin."
She explained that Devin's consulting company had been doing business with the hotel where she worked.
He had powerful connections.
She feared losing her job if anyone discovered she had recorded the conversation.
"I wasn't trying to ruin your wedding," she whispered.
I looked at her.
"You didn't ruin it."
My voice broke.
"Marcus did."
She nodded.
Then she handed Angela a copy of the original recording.
Angela arranged for it to be preserved and reviewed.
Isaiah unlocked the office.
I stepped inside.
The familiar smell nearly brought me to my knees.
My mother's perfume.
Old paper.
Polished wood.
Everything looked as though she might walk through the door at any moment.
Her reading glasses rested beside a stack of design plans.
A framed photograph of Isaiah and me stood on her desk.
I touched it.
In the picture, I was seventeen.
Isaiah was twenty-four.
Mom stood between us, laughing.
I began crying.
Isaiah placed a hand on my shoulder.
"We don't have to do this today."
I shook my head.
"Yes, we do."
Angela examined the filing cabinets.
We had arranged for the office records to be inventoried because of the concerns Tasha raised.
Nothing would be removed without documentation.
I wanted the truth handled properly.
We began with the cabinet containing corporate agreements.
Most files were ordinary.
Lease renewals.
Insurance records.
Vendor contracts.
Then Isaiah discovered an empty space between two folders.
He frowned.
"Something's missing."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"The original Bellamy family trust amendment."
My heart tightened.
I remembered signing documents after Mom died.
But I didn't know every detail.
Isaiah continued.
"The trust controlled how certain shares could be transferred."
Angela looked up.
"Do you have copies?"
"Yes. But the original should be here."
I stared at the empty space.
"Could Marcus have taken it?"
Isaiah shook his head.
"We don't know."
Then Tasha spoke quietly.
"Devin mentioned a trust document."
We all turned.
She swallowed.
"He said they needed to make sure Nia couldn't challenge the transfer."
My stomach tightened.
Angela took notes.
Then she asked whether Tasha remembered the exact wording.
Tasha nodded.
"I think he said, 'Find the old amendment before the board meeting.'"
Angela thanked her.
We continued searching.
Inside a locked drawer, we found a small envelope addressed to Isaiah and me.
It was written in our mother's handwriting.
My hands trembled.
Isaiah looked at me.
"Do you want to open it?"
I nodded.
Inside was a letter.
My dearest children,
If you are reading this together, I hope it means you still trust each other enough to face difficult things side by side.
I started Bellamy Hospitality because I wanted our family to have opportunities I never had.
But I learned that money can divide people faster than poverty ever could.
Never let someone convince you that love requires surrendering your judgment.
I stopped reading.
Tears blurred the words.
Isaiah took my hand.
I continued.
I have left both of you ownership because I believe you will balance each other. Isaiah sees danger quickly. Nia sees possibilities others miss.
Neither gift is complete without the other.
I began crying harder.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
If anyone tries to use our company to turn you against each other, remember that the company is not worth losing your family.
Love,
Mom.
I pressed the letter against my chest.
For the first time since the wedding, I felt something stronger than humiliation.
I felt my mother's love.
Isaiah hugged me.
"I'm sorry I didn't trust you with the video sooner."
I held him tightly.
"I know."
He kissed my forehead.
"We'll do this together."
I nodded.
"Together."
Then Angela called us back to the desk.
She had found a copy of the trust amendment in another file.
It contained an important provision.
Certain transfers of the family's controlling shares required approval under specific trust and corporate governance procedures.
That meant Marcus couldn't simply obtain my signature on one document and take control of everything.
But the clause also explained why he wanted Denise's support.
He needed multiple approvals.
He needed us divided.
And he needed the original documents to make the transaction appear legitimate.
Angela examined the amendment carefully.
Then she looked at me.
"Nia, I think we need to review the corporate records for the past six months."
My stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Because if someone has been preparing unauthorized documents, we need to know whether anything was actually filed or executed."
Isaiah nodded.
"We'll authorize a full review."
That evening, the audit team began examining the company's records.
By midnight, Angela called with the first major discovery.
A corporate consent form had been submitted to an outside development partner.
It claimed that Bellamy Hospitality's shareholders had approved preliminary terms for Harbor Point.
My heart began pounding.
"Who signed it?"
Angela took a breath.
"Denise signed for herself."
"And?"
"Your electronic signature appears beside hers."
I closed my eyes.
"That's not mine."
"I know."
Then Angela continued.
"There's a third signature."
I sat upright.
"Whose?"
She hesitated.
"Isaiah's."
I turned toward my brother.
He stared at me.
"I never signed anything."
I looked back at the phone.
Two unauthorized signatures.
One hidden consulting company.
Millions of dollars.
May you like
And the man who planned it had laughed while humiliating me at our wedding.
For the first time, I wondered how far he had been willing to go.
