Chapter 2
I stared at my husband's name on the receipt.
Marcus Williams.
Authorized purchaser.
Twenty-eight thousand six hundred dollars.
For a private event I knew absolutely nothing about.
The ballroom around me seemed to disappear.
All I could hear was the quiet music playing near the restaurant entrance and Evelyn's nervous breathing.
"Marcus," I said, "look at me."
He didn't.
"Marcus."
Slowly, he raised his head.
"Please tell me you didn't use my company's money."
His mouth opened.
Then closed.
That was enough.
I felt something cold spread through my chest.
Evelyn reached toward me.
"Nia, sweetheart, you're misunderstanding."
I stepped backward.
"Don't call me sweetheart."
She froze.
I looked at Marcus again.
"What event?"
He swallowed.
"Mom was planning a celebration."
"For what?"
Evelyn interrupted.
"My seventieth birthday."
I stared at her.
"Your birthday is tonight."
She lifted her chin.
"It's a surprise celebration for next year. The venue offered an advance-booking discount."
I almost laughed.
She had arranged an expensive party nearly two years before her seventieth birthday.
Using my company account.
Without asking me.
I turned toward Marcus.
"Did you approve this?"
He looked miserable.
"I thought we could discuss it afterward."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"You thought we could discuss spending almost thirty thousand dollars after you spent it?"
"Nia, I was going to replace the money."
"With what?"
He said nothing.
That silence hurt more than any explanation.
My husband worked as a regional sales manager.
He earned a respectable salary.
But he had no savings of his own.
He'd spent years helping his younger brother, covering his sister's bills, and sending money to Evelyn whenever she called.
Every month, he promised things would change.
Every month, another emergency appeared.
And every month, I became the solution.
I looked at the restaurant manager, who had approached after hearing the argument.
"I need a copy of that receipt."
Evelyn immediately protested.
"That is private family business!"
I looked directly at her.
"No. That's a transaction involving my company."
The manager agreed to preserve the records and provide documentation through the appropriate process.
I photographed the receipt.
Then I called my company's financial controller.
Her name was Olivia Brooks.
She had worked beside me for seven years.
When she answered, I asked one question.
"Olivia, is our corporate card ending in 4418 still active?"
She hesitated.
"Yes. Why?"
"Freeze it."
"Nia?"
"Immediately."
Olivia heard something in my voice.
She didn't argue.
"Understood."
I stepped away from the table while she contacted our card provider.
Behind me, Evelyn was accusing me of ruining her birthday.
Anthony demanded that Marcus defend his mother.
Vanessa told everyone I had become arrogant since my business started making money.
I ignored them.
Olivia returned to the call.
"The card is locked."
I closed my eyes.
"Check the recent transactions."
"What's happening?"
"I found an unauthorized payment."
She became silent.
"How much?"
"Twenty-eight thousand six hundred."
I heard her inhale sharply.
"Nia, that card has been used for several unusual expenses recently."
My stomach dropped.
"What expenses?"
"I need to review them carefully."
I looked back toward Marcus.
He was standing beside his mother.
She was whispering something into his ear.
He looked frightened.
"Olivia, preserve everything."
"Of course."
"And restrict any account access Marcus has until we review it."
"Understood."
I ended the call.
Then I returned to the table.
Evelyn crossed her arms.
"Finished causing a scene?"
I looked at her.
"Not yet."
Marcus stepped forward.
"Nia, please. Let's go home and talk."
I stared at him.
"How long have you been using my company account for your family?"
He looked around nervously.
"Not here."
"How long?"
He rubbed his forehead.
"Mom needed help."
I felt my throat tighten.
"That wasn't my question."
Evelyn stood.
"Your husband has every right to support his mother."
"With his money," I replied. "Not company funds he wasn't authorized to spend."
She laughed bitterly.
"You act like we are strangers."
I looked around the table.
The people who'd ordered expensive meals because they assumed I would pay.
The relatives who laughed when Evelyn handed me the bill.
The people who had never once asked how I was doing.
"Strangers might have shown me more respect."
Vanessa gasped.
Marcus whispered my name.
I shook my head.
"I'm leaving."
Evelyn pointed toward the unpaid bill.
"And what about our dinner?"
I looked at Anthony.
Then Vanessa.
Then the other relatives.
"You're adults."
I picked up my handbag.
"Figure it out."
I walked toward the exit.
Marcus followed.
"Nia, wait."
Outside, the night air felt cool against my face.
I stopped beside my car.
He reached for my hand.
I stepped away.
"Don't."
His eyes filled with tears.
"I made a mistake."
I stared at him.
"A mistake is forgetting our anniversary."
He lowered his head.
"A mistake is paying the wrong invoice."
My voice shook.
"Using money from my business without permission is a choice."
He began crying.
"I was trying to keep everyone happy."
I looked at him.
"And what about me?"
He said nothing.
"Who was trying to keep me happy, Marcus?"
He wiped his face.
"Of course I care about you."
"Then why was protecting your mother's feelings more important than protecting my company?"
He couldn't answer.
I opened my car door.
"I'm going to stay at my sister's house tonight."
He looked shocked.
"Nia, don't do this."
I turned toward him.
"Do what?"
"Walk away from our marriage."
Tears filled my eyes.
"I'm not walking away from our marriage."
I swallowed.
"I'm walking away from another night of being used."
I drove to my sister Angela's apartment.
By the time I arrived, my phone had seventeen missed calls.
Six from Marcus.
Five from Evelyn.
Three from Vanessa.
The rest from relatives who suddenly remembered how to contact me.
Angela opened her door before I knocked.
She took one look at my face and pulled me into her arms.
"What happened?"
I began crying.
For years, I'd defended Marcus.
I'd told Angela his family simply needed extra help.
I'd insisted Evelyn didn't mean to sound demanding.
I'd said Vanessa and Anthony were going through difficult times.
Now I couldn't defend any of it.
I told her everything.
When I finished, Angela sat beside me.
"Nia, you know this isn't normal, right?"
I nodded slowly.
"I think I've known for a long time."
Then my phone rang.
Olivia.
I answered immediately.
"Nia, I've completed a preliminary review."
My stomach tightened.
"How bad?"
She took a breath.
"The twenty-eight-thousand-dollar event payment isn't the only suspicious transaction."
I closed my eyes.
"How much?"
Olivia hesitated.
"Over the last eleven months, the corporate card and related expense accounts show approximately one hundred and thirty-seven thousand dollars in charges that don't appear connected to company business."
I stopped breathing.
One hundred and thirty-seven thousand dollars.
Then Olivia said something worse.
"Nia, several transactions were categorized as payments to a design consultant."
I frowned.
"What consultant?"
She gave me the company name.
Evelyn Heritage Events.
I stared at the wall.
Evelyn.
My mother-in-law.
May you like
And suddenly, I realized this wasn't simply a family that expected me to pay for dinner.
Someone had been quietly building a business using money stolen from mine.
