Chapter 3
I called my younger sister before I called anyone else.
Jasmine Bennett was thirty-four.
She worked as a forensic accountant.
And she was the one person in my family who never allowed emotions to replace facts.
When she answered, I could barely speak.
"Marcus?"
I closed my eyes.
"Jasmine, I need you."
Her voice changed immediately.
"What happened?"
I looked toward the nursery.
Maya was sitting beside Hope's bassinet.
Claire had gone into the bathroom.
I lowered my voice.
"I found out Claire's been having an affair."
Silence.
Then Jasmine whispered,
"With who?"
I swallowed.
"Julian."
She inhaled sharply.
"Julian Brooks?"
"Yes."
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then I continued.
"And I found a transfer from Bennett Construction to his company."
Her voice became serious.
"How much?"
"Seventy-five thousand."
I heard her moving.
"Marcus, don't touch the business records until we preserve them properly."
I nodded.
"Okay."
She continued.
"I'm coming over."
When Jasmine arrived forty minutes later, she immediately hugged me.
I hadn't realized how badly I needed that.
I held her tightly.
Then began crying.
She didn't tell me to be strong.
She didn't ask why I hadn't noticed.
She simply held me.
Finally, she whispered,
"Big brother, we're going to handle this one problem at a time."
I nodded.
We sat in my study.
I showed her the bank receipt.
Then the photograph.
Then the DNA report.
Her face changed as she examined each document.
"Marcus..."
I looked down.
"I know."
She reached for my hand.
"Have you contacted the bank?"
"Not yet."
She nodded.
"We need to report any transaction you didn't authorize."
I took a breath.
"Okay."
She looked toward the hallway.
"Where's Maya?"
"With Hope."
Jasmine's expression softened.
"How is she?"
I closed my eyes.
"Scared."
My sister nodded.
"And you?"
I swallowed.
"Broken."
She squeezed my hand.
I felt tears rising again.
Then Jasmine opened her laptop.
With my permission, she reviewed the company's financial records.
I watched her expression change.
At first, she looked confused.
Then concerned.
Then angry.
"Marcus."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"That transfer isn't the only one."
I stared.
She turned the screen toward me.
Payments to Brooks Financial Partners.
Different amounts.
Different dates.
Nine thousand dollars.
Fourteen thousand.
Twenty-one thousand.
Thirty-five thousand.
I felt sick.
"How much altogether?"
Jasmine calculated carefully.
Then looked at me.
"At least one hundred and fifty-four thousand dollars needs investigation."
My hands began shaking.
I stared at the numbers.
That money belonged to the business.
To payroll.
Materials.
Insurance.
Equipment.
The company I had built over fourteen years.
I thought about the twenty-six employees who depended on me.
People with families.
Mortgages.
Children.
I felt panic rising.
"Jasmine, can we still make payroll?"
She looked at the account balances.
Then took a breath.
"We need a complete reconciliation, but it looks possible this month."
I exhaled.
Then covered my face.
For years, Julian had been my closest friend.
We met while working on a construction project.
He was ambitious.
Charming.
Good with numbers.
When my business began growing, he offered to help with financial planning.
He said he believed in me.
I trusted him.
I gave him access to information about contracts.
Vendor relationships.
Expansion plans.
And financial projections.
Now I wondered how much of that trust he had used against me.
Jasmine interrupted my thoughts.
"Marcus, there's something else."
I looked up.
"What?"
"Some of these payments were submitted under consulting agreements."
I frowned.
"We never hired his company for those services."
She nodded.
"That's the problem."
I felt cold.
She continued.
"Several approvals appear under your name."
My stomach tightened.
"I didn't sign them."
She looked at me.
"Then we need to investigate possible forgery."
I closed my eyes.
The betrayal seemed endless.
My wife.
My best friend.
My company.
Everything I thought was secure.
Then Jasmine asked something unexpected.
"Have you checked your personal credit reports recently?"
I shook my head.
"No."
She nodded.
"We should."
My stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Because people attempting unauthorized business transfers sometimes try other financial transactions."
I stared.
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Then I nodded.
"Okay."
We contacted the appropriate financial institutions.
We preserved the records.
We arranged a meeting with our attorney, Olivia Grant.
And we began securing company access.
Meanwhile, Claire remained upstairs with Hope.
I asked Jasmine to stay with Maya while I spoke with her.
When I entered the bedroom, Claire was sitting beside the bassinet.
Her eyes were swollen.
She looked exhausted.
For a moment, I remembered the woman I loved.
The woman who held my hand when Maya was born.
The woman who cried when my father died.
The woman who stood beside me through years of struggle.
Then I remembered Julian.
The photograph.
The forged documents.
And the way Maya trembled when Claire told her to stay silent.
I took a breath.
"Claire, I need complete honesty."
She looked up.
"I've told you everything."
I shook my head.
"No."
Her expression changed.
I continued.
"There are multiple transfers to Julian's company."
Her face went pale.
"Marcus..."
"Did you know about them?"
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
My chest tightened.
"Did you authorize them?"
She began crying.
"Julian said he would pay everything back."
I stared.
"So you knew."
She covered her face.
"He told me the business needed an investment partner."
I shook my head.
"He didn't own the business."
She looked away.
I took a slow breath.
"Did you forge my signature?"
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered,
"Only on some documents."
I felt my stomach drop.
Only.
As though there were an acceptable number of forged signatures.
I looked toward Hope.
She was sleeping peacefully.
I lowered my voice.
"Claire, this is serious."
She began sobbing.
"I know."
I swallowed.
"Did Julian threaten you?"
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
"He said he'd tell you about the affair."
I closed my eyes.
I wanted to understand what happened.
But I couldn't let her fear erase her responsibility.
I looked at her.
"You could have told me."
She began crying harder.
"I was scared."
I took a breath.
"So was Maya."
Her face changed.
I continued.
"She's seven years old, Claire."
Tears filled my eyes.
"And she's been trying to protect us from secrets we forced her to carry."
Claire began sobbing.
For the first time, she didn't argue.
Then my phone rang.
Olivia.
I answered.
Her voice was urgent.
"Marcus, I reviewed the documents Jasmine sent."
My heart pounded.
"And?"
"There's a loan application using Bennett Construction as security."
I froze.
"What loan?"
She hesitated.
"Four hundred and twenty thousand dollars."
My stomach dropped.
I stared at Claire.
"What?"
Olivia continued.
"And Marcus, the application lists Julian Brooks as an authorized financial representative."
My hands began shaking.
Then she added,
"The lender has already disbursed part of the money."
I couldn't breathe.
My closest friend hadn't merely taken money from my business.
May you like
He had apparently used my company's future as collateral for a debt I never agreed to.
And my wife knew far more than she had admitted.
