Chapter 2
I had never seen my father truly frightened until he looked at the document in my hands.
Arthur Bennett was not an easily intimidated man.
He had started his construction company with one borrowed truck and three hundred dollars.
He had survived recessions.
Lawsuits.
Business partners who lied.
And the death of my mother.
But when he saw his company's name printed above a signature that looked like mine, something changed in his expression.
"Nia," he said quietly. "Let me see that."
I handed him the page.
His eyes moved across the document.
Then stopped.
He read one line twice.
"What is this?"
Marcus stood near the chair.
His shoulders were rigid.
"Mr. Bennett, there's been a misunderstanding."
My father looked up.
"A misunderstanding?"
He held up the paper.
"This purports to authorize the transfer of company interests."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
Dad turned the page toward me.
There it was.
An agreement involving thirty percent of Bennett Heritage Holdings.
The company my father had built.
The business my mother had helped keep alive.
And the inheritance Dad had been preparing to place into a family trust for me.
The document identified Marcus as the proposed controlling representative of a new investment company.
Reed Strategic Partners.
Marcus Reed.
His name.
His company.
His signature.
And mine.
Except I had never signed anything like it.
I looked at him.
"Why do you have this?"
He swallowed.
"Nia, I can explain."
"Then explain."
Vanessa began crying again.
Marcus looked at her.
"Be quiet."
She flinched.
I noticed.
So did Dad.
"Don't speak to her like that," Dad said.
Marcus looked stunned.
Even after what he had done, my father wasn't going to stand there while he intimidated someone.
That was the kind of man Arthur Bennett was.
He believed accountability mattered.
But cruelty never helped.
I pulled another page from the envelope.
It contained a list of financial transfers.
Three hundred thousand dollars.
Then another.
And another.
My hands shook.
"What is this money?"
Marcus rushed forward.
Dad stepped between us again.
"Back away."
Marcus stopped.
"You're going to ruin everything if you don't let me explain!"
I stared at him.
"Ruin what?"
He looked toward the door.
His face turned red.
"The financing."
My father went still.
"What financing?"
Marcus clenched his jaw.
"An investment arrangement."
Dad took a slow breath.
"Using my company?"
Marcus didn't answer.
I looked at Vanessa.
She was staring at the floor.
"Did you know about this?"
Her lips trembled.
"Nia, please."
"Did you know?"
She nodded.
My chest tightened.
"How long?"
She whispered, "Months."
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Months.
Not minutes.
Not one terrible mistake.
Months.
I thought about the bridal shower.
The dress fittings.
The weekend Vanessa helped me choose table decorations.
She had smiled through all of it.
While helping Marcus hide something involving my father's company.
I stepped backward.
My wedding dress brushed against the chair.
"Get out."
Marcus stared at me.
"Nia."
"Get out."
He raised his voice.
"We are supposed to get married in twenty minutes!"
I looked directly at him.
"No."
The word came out quietly.
But it felt like the strongest word I had ever spoken.
His eyes widened.
"No?"
I shook my head.
"There isn't going to be a wedding."
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Marcus looked toward Dad.
"Mr. Bennett, talk some sense into her."
My father stared at him.
"Do not ask me to convince my daughter to marry a man who betrayed her."
Marcus's expression hardened.
"You don't understand what's at stake."
Dad folded the document.
"Then I suggest you explain it to my attorney."
Marcus's face went pale.
I watched him.
That was the second time he had reacted with fear.
Not when I caught him kissing Vanessa.
Not when I told him the wedding was over.
But when someone mentioned lawyers.
My father noticed too.
He pulled out his phone.
"Call security," he told me.
I looked at him.
"Dad?"
"Now."
I called the wedding coordinator.
Within minutes, two security employees arrived.
Marcus tried to argue.
He claimed this was a family disagreement.
He said the documents were private.
But Dad was firm.
"Escort him out of the suite."
Marcus looked at me.
"Nia, if you do this, you'll regret it."
My heart pounded.
Dad stepped closer.
"Was that a threat?"
Marcus said nothing.
The security employees guided him toward the door.
Vanessa followed.
But before leaving, she turned toward me.
Her eyes were swollen.
"Nia, I'm sorry."
I stared at her.
"You were my friend."
She began crying harder.
I continued.
"I told you things I didn't tell anyone else."
She lowered her head.
"And you used those things to help him."
She didn't deny it.
The door closed behind them.
Silence filled the room.
Then my knees gave way.
Dad caught me before I reached the floor.
He helped me sit.
I started sobbing.
Not the pretty crying people do in wedding photographs.
The kind that hurts.
The kind that comes from somewhere deep inside your chest.
Dad knelt beside me.
"I'm here, sweetheart."
I grabbed his arm.
"Daddy, I'm so sorry."
He looked confused.
"For what?"
"For bringing him into our family."
His eyes filled.
He gently lifted my chin.
"Nia, you trusted someone you loved."
I shook my head.
"I should have known."
"No."
His voice was firm.
"You are not responsible for his lies."
I cried against his shoulder.
For several minutes, he simply held me.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
I heard him say, "Yes, this is Arthur Bennett."
His expression changed.
He listened carefully.
Then stood.
"How much?"
My stomach tightened.
He walked toward the window.
"Are you certain?"
I wiped my cheeks.
"Dad?"
He held up one finger.
Then spoke again.
"Freeze any pending transactions that can lawfully be suspended. I'm contacting counsel."
He ended the call.
For a moment, he stared at his phone.
Then he looked at me.
"Nia, there's something you need to know."
I swallowed.
"What?"
"That was our company's chief financial officer."
My heart started racing.
"What happened?"
Dad took a slow breath.
"Someone submitted documents authorizing a major financing transaction last night."
I stood.
"Using the forged signature?"
He nodded grimly.
"And the transaction involves more than the amount listed in that envelope."
My stomach dropped.
"How much?"
He looked directly at me.
"Eight million dollars."
I couldn't speak.
Dad continued.
"The money was supposed to be released after confirmation of today's marriage."
I stared at him.
The wedding.
The documents.
The timing.
Suddenly, everything connected.
Marcus hadn't simply wanted to marry me.
He needed the ceremony completed.
I gripped the back of the chair.
"Why?"
Dad's expression hardened.
"Because someone apparently represented that our marriage would trigger a financial agreement."
I shook my head.
"But I never agreed to that."
"I know."
Then my father's phone rang again.
He answered.
His expression became even more serious.
"What?"
I watched him listen.
Then he looked at me.
"Nia, the bank has identified another person involved in the transaction."
My heart pounded.
"Who?"
Dad took a breath.
"Vanessa Carter."
I stared at him.
My former best friend.
The woman Marcus had been kissing.
The woman who had helped plan my wedding.
Dad continued.
"She's listed as an authorized contact for the investment account."
I felt sick.
Then he added something that made my blood run cold.
"And according to the account records, she isn't simply Marcus's business associate."
I whispered, "What do you mean?"
May you like
Dad looked devastated.
"She's his wife."
