Chapter 5
Eight million dollars.
I stared at Danielle's face on the video call.
I wanted her to tell me she had made a mistake.
Instead, she opened the loan summary.
Carter Development had borrowed money from a private finance company called Meridian Equity Partners.
The loan was secured by several assets.
Some belonged to Marcus's business.
Others appeared connected to Carter Residential Holdings.
The company holding our mansion.
My chest tightened.
“Did I sign anything?”
Danielle shook her head.
“We haven't found an authentic authorization from you.”
I closed my eyes.
“Then how did they approve it?”
“That's what we're investigating.”
I looked toward Dad.
He was sitting beside me.
His jaw tightened.
Danielle continued.
“Meridian claims it received documents showing that Marcus had sufficient authority.”
I swallowed.
“Are those documents real?”
“We haven't verified them.”
Dad leaned forward.
“Who represents Meridian?”
Danielle checked her notes.
“A firm called Wallace & Pierce.”
My father frowned.
“I know the name.”
I turned.
“From where?”
He hesitated.
“They represented a developer we declined to finance several years ago.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why did we decline?”
Dad looked at Patricia.
She answered.
“Concerns about financial reporting.”
I stared at them.
“Who was the developer?”
Patricia opened her laptop.
Then her expression changed.
“Carter Development.”
The room went silent.
I looked at Dad.
“You knew?”
He shook his head.
“Not this transaction.”
I swallowed.
“But you knew Marcus had financial problems before we married?”
Dad looked pained.
“Nia, we knew his company had serious weaknesses.”
My eyes filled.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
He took a breath.
“Because you already knew he was struggling.”
I stared at him.
He continued.
“And you believed he could recover.”
I looked away.
That was true.
Marcus had never hidden that his first projects failed.
He told me he needed someone who believed in him.
I did.
I believed so completely that I stopped asking whether he deserved it.
Danielle returned us to the present.
“The important issue now is whether Meridian's security documents are valid.”
I nodded.
“What happens if they aren't?”
“We challenge them.”
“And if they are?”
She hesitated.
“Then the situation becomes more complicated.”
My stomach tightened.
I looked toward the photograph of my wedding on the side table.
I had brought it from the mansion years earlier when we renovated the bedroom.
In the picture, Marcus was smiling.
He looked proud.
I looked happy.
I wondered whether he had ever looked at that photograph and felt guilty.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I sat on the balcony with a blanket around my shoulders.
Tiana joined me.
She carried two cups of tea.
“Still thinking?”
I nodded.
She sat beside me.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then she said, “You know what makes me angriest?”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“He made you feel like you had to earn your place in that house.”
I swallowed.
She continued.
“Every family dinner, Evelyn acted like you were lucky they accepted you.”
I looked down.
“I know.”
“And you spent years trying to prove you were worthy.”
My eyes filled.
I remembered Evelyn criticizing my clothes.
My cooking.
My career.
The way I arranged flowers.
She never said I was good enough.
Not once.
Even after I helped Marcus rebuild his business, she called me a woman who had married above her station.
Tiana took my hand.
“You were never beneath them.”
I began crying.
“I know that now.”
She leaned closer.
“Do you?”
I nodded.
“I'm learning.”
The following morning, Danielle called with unexpected news.
Vanessa wanted to speak with my attorney.
I stared at the phone.
“Why?”
“Her lawyer contacted us.”
My stomach tightened.
“What does she want?”
“She says she has information about the refinancing application.”
I sat upright.
“Then she can give it to investigators.”
Danielle agreed.
“We're arranging an appropriate process.”
I looked toward the window.
Part of me wanted to confront Vanessa.
I wanted to ask how she could sit at my table while secretly sleeping with my husband.
I wanted to ask whether she laughed at me.
Whether she enjoyed taking my place.
But I knew those questions wouldn't heal me.
And they wouldn't protect my future.
So I stayed away.
Two days later, Danielle called again.
Vanessa had provided copies of messages between herself and Marcus.
The messages showed that he had represented the mansion as his personal property.
He also claimed the divorce was already being finalized months before I knew anything was wrong.
I felt sick.
He had been telling Vanessa we were separated while sleeping beside me every night.
One message was especially revealing.
Marcus wrote:
“Once Nia signs the settlement, the financing can close and we can start fresh.”
I stared at the words.
Start fresh.
With money connected to assets I had helped preserve.
Danielle continued.
“Vanessa says she believed you had agreed to divorce.”
I swallowed.
“Do you believe her?”
“That's not something I can determine from one interview.”
I nodded.
“Fair.”
Then Danielle said something unexpected.
“Vanessa also claims she never knew the proposed loan included a disputed signature.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did she know?”
“She understood her consulting company might receive funds connected to the project.”
I leaned back.
“So she expected money.”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
It was difficult to feel sympathy for her.
But I also knew Marcus had a habit of telling different people different stories.
Maybe he had manipulated her.
Maybe she had willingly helped him.
The evidence would decide.
That afternoon, Marcus appeared outside my apartment.
I saw him through the security camera.
He stood in the hallway wearing a tailored gray suit.
He looked angry.
I didn't open the door.
Instead, I called through the intercom.
“Marcus, leave.”
He stared into the camera.
“Nia, we need to talk.”
“Contact Danielle.”
His jaw tightened.
“Stop hiding behind lawyers.”
I felt anger rise.
Then I remembered something Dad told me.
Never let someone else's anger choose your next move.
I took a breath.
“I'm not discussing this at my home.”
Marcus stepped closer to the camera.
“You think your father's money makes you untouchable?”
I stared at the screen.
“No.”
He laughed coldly.
“Then remember who built your life.”
I felt something inside me harden.
I pressed the intercom button.
“I remember exactly who helped build it.”
His expression changed.
I continued.
“And I remember who tried to tear it apart.”
He stepped backward.
Then he pointed toward the door.
“You're going to regret this.”
I didn't answer.
I saved the recording.
Then I called building security.
Marcus left before they arrived.
But the encounter confirmed something.
He was losing control.
And frightened people sometimes became reckless.
The next morning, I received a call from an unfamiliar number.
I almost ignored it.
Then I answered.
“Hello?”
A woman spoke softly.
“Is this Nia Carter?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Olivia Price.”
I frowned.
“Can I help you?”
She hesitated.
“I used to work as Marcus's executive assistant.”
My stomach tightened.
“When?”
“Until last month.”
I sat upright.
“Why are you calling?”
Her voice trembled.
“Because I saw something in his office.”
I took a breath.
“What?”
She hesitated.
“Documents.”
“What kind?”
“Financial records. Emails. A folder with your name.”
I looked toward Danielle's number on my contact list.
“Olivia, you should speak with my attorney.”
“I know.”
She sounded frightened.
“But I wanted you to hear one thing first.”
My heart pounded.
“What?”
“Marcus didn't just plan to divorce you.”
I closed my eyes.
Olivia continued.
“He had been preparing a financial exit for himself.”
My stomach twisted.
“From what?”
“From Carter Development.”
I sat completely still.
She lowered her voice.
“He was planning to move whatever money he could before the lenders discovered how bad things really were.”
I gripped the phone.
“And Vanessa?”
Olivia paused.
“Her companies were part of the plan.”
I could barely breathe.
Then she whispered something that changed everything.
“Nia, the money wasn't supposed to stay in Atlanta.”
I stared at the wall.
“Where was it going?”
Olivia took a shaky breath.
“Overseas.”
I closed my eyes.
Marcus wasn't simply trying to replace me.
May you like
He might have been preparing to disappear with money that didn't belong to him.
And suddenly, I understood why he needed my signature so urgently.
