Chapter 5
I didn't tell Maya about the threatening message immediately.
Not because I wanted to hide the truth.
Because the police were already responding, and I needed to understand what had happened before frightening her further.
Rebecca stepped into the hallway.
“Marcus?”
I showed her the message.
Her face tightened.
“We need to give this to the detective.”
“I already called.”
She nodded.
Then she looked toward Maya.
“You have to tell her.”
I closed my eyes.
“I know.”
We returned to the living room.
Maya noticed my expression.
“Dad, what's wrong?”
I sat beside her.
“Steven may be in trouble.”
Her smile disappeared.
“What kind of trouble?”
“He called me from a gas station. Victor appeared, and the call ended.”
She covered her mouth.
“Did someone hurt him?”
“I don't know.”
I showed her the message.
She read it slowly.
Then looked up.
“This is about my house?”
I nodded.
Her eyes filled.
“They won't stop.”
I took her hand.
“They don't get to decide what you do.”
She stared at the screen.
For a moment, she looked terrified.
Then her expression changed.
“No.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“No, Dad. I'm not signing anything.”
I felt a fierce pride rise inside me.
“Good.”
She squeezed my hand.
“Grandma worked her whole life for this house. I'm not giving it away because someone thinks they can scare me.”
I hugged her.
“You sound just like her.”
She began crying against my shoulder.
“I miss her.”
“Me too.”
The police called twenty minutes later.
Officers had reached the gas station.
Steven was gone.
His SUV remained in the parking lot.
Witnesses reported seeing him enter a dark sedan with two men.
No one could confirm whether he went willingly.
My stomach tightened.
I didn't know whether Steven was a victim, a participant, or both.
But I couldn't ignore the possibility that he was in danger.
The detective advised us not to communicate with Victor or attempt to arrange a private meeting.
I agreed.
Then I drove home with Rebecca following behind me.
Felicia was waiting in the living room.
She rushed toward me.
“Where's Steven?”
“I don't know.”
Her face twisted.
“What do you mean?”
“He disappeared after calling me.”
She grabbed my arm.
“What happened?”
I explained.
She began crying.
“This is your fault!”
I stared at her.
“My fault?”
“If you'd just given him the properties, none of this would have happened!”
I felt anger surge through me.
Then something unexpected happened.
I became calm.
Completely calm.
“Felicia, listen carefully.”
She stared at me.
“Your son borrowed money without telling anyone. He offered property he didn't own. You supplied my private documents. And now a man connected to those choices may have taken him.”
She shook her head.
“You're blaming us.”
“I'm describing what happened.”
Her lips trembled.
“I was trying to help my child.”
“So am I.”
She stared at me.
I continued.
“That's why I won't sacrifice Maya to rescue Steven from decisions you helped him make.”
Felicia covered her face.
“I don't know what to do.”
I stepped back.
“Tell the truth.”
She lowered her hands.
“What?”
“Everything. Starting with Victor.”
She looked toward the staircase.
“Marcus, please.”
“Felicia, a police investigation is underway. If you know something, now is the time.”
She sat down.
For several seconds, she stared at the floor.
Then she spoke.
“I met Victor before Steven did.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“What?”
She nodded.
“At a charity fundraiser last year.”
I slowly sat across from her.
“Go on.”
“He told me he was a real estate investor. We talked about your properties.”
My blood went cold.
“You discussed my family's assets with a stranger?”
“He seemed successful.”
I stared at her.
“How did Steven become involved?”
“Victor said he could mentor him.”
I shook my head.
“And you introduced them.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Felicia began crying.
“Because Victor told me you'd never approve.”
I almost laughed.
“He was right.”
She wiped her eyes.
“Marcus, I thought Steven could build something for himself.”
“Then why did Victor need my property records?”
She hesitated.
I leaned forward.
“Felicia.”
She whispered, “He said he could help restructure the family trust.”
My stomach dropped.
“What did he promise you?”
She looked away.
“Financial independence.”
I stared at her.
“Explain.”
She swallowed.
“He said that if the properties were transferred into a new holding company, Steven and I could receive ownership interests.”
I felt sick.
“And Maya?”
Felicia remained silent.
I understood.
“Maya would lose her house.”
She began sobbing.
“I didn't think it would happen like that.”
I stood.
“How did you think it would happen?”
She looked up.
“Marcus, I never wanted anyone hurt.”
“But you were willing to take from my daughter.”
Her silence answered me.
I walked toward the study.
Then stopped.
“Felicia, I want you to understand something.”
She looked at me.
“When I married you, I believed we were creating a family.”
“We were.”
“No. I was trying to create one. You were keeping score.”
She began crying harder.
I continued.
“I gave Steven opportunities because I cared about him. I never expected anything in return.”
She whispered, “I know.”
“But you decided that everything Maya received was something Steven had been denied.”
Felicia lowered her eyes.
I took a breath.
“That thinking has destroyed our marriage.”
Her head snapped up.
“What?”
“I can't live with someone who sees my daughter as an obstacle.”
“Marcus, don't say that.”
I shook my head.
“We'll let the attorneys handle what comes next.”
She stood.
“Are you divorcing me?”
I looked at her.
I remembered our wedding.
The promises.
The laughter.
The nights we stayed awake talking about growing old together.
And I felt grief.
Real grief.
But love without trust had become a dangerous place to live.
“Yes,” I answered.
Felicia made a broken sound.
I turned away.
Before reaching my study, my phone rang.
It was the detective.
“Mr. Bennett, we located Steven.”
I stopped.
“Is he safe?”
“He's alive.”
I closed my eyes.
“Where is he?”
“He walked into a police station in Marietta.”
I exhaled.
“Thank God.”
“But there's something you need to know.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“He says he wasn't abducted.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“He says he went voluntarily because Victor promised to cancel the debt.”
I stared at the wall.
The detective continued.
“Steven claims Victor then demanded access to a safe-deposit box.”
“What safe-deposit box?”
“A box registered in your late mother's name.”
My blood went cold.
I had completely forgotten about it.
My mother maintained a safe-deposit box for important family documents.
After her death, Rebecca and I had transferred most of the contents.
But one sealed packet remained under instructions from her estate attorney.
I swallowed.
“Why would Victor want that?”
The detective paused.
“Steven says it contains a document that could change who controls several Bennett family properties.”
I sat down slowly.
My mother had protected Maya while she was alive.
May you like
Now someone was trying to reach into her final arrangements.
And for the first time, I wondered whether the three deeds on my breakfast table were only the beginning of a much larger plan.
