Chapter 5
The first thing Marcus said when he walked into Patricia's office was, "Dad, I'm sorry."
I looked at him.
He appeared exhausted.
His eyes were swollen.
His dark shirt was wrinkled.
And there was a bruise on his knuckle.
I wondered whether he'd punched something in anger.
But I didn't ask.
Not yet.
He stopped several feet away.
He didn't try to hug me.
I appreciated that.
Because I wasn't ready.
Patricia gestured toward a chair.
"Marcus, please sit."
He obeyed.
Then he placed a phone on the desk.
Vanessa's second phone.
Patricia looked at it.
"How did you find this?"
Marcus swallowed.
"It was in a locked drawer in her home office."
"How did you access it?"
"I found the key in our desk organizer."
Patricia nodded carefully.
She explained that the way information was obtained could affect how it was used.
She advised him not to explore or alter anything further and to let the authorities determine what they could lawfully review.
Marcus nodded.
Then he looked at me.
"Dad, I saw enough."
I didn't speak.
He continued.
"Vanessa and Daniel were together for almost a year."
My stomach tightened.
"How do you know?"
"There were pictures."
His voice cracked.
"Messages from last Christmas. From our anniversary. From the weekend she told me she was visiting her sister."
I felt sorry for him.
But my sympathy didn't erase my anger.
Marcus wiped his face.
"She was using me."
I looked at him.
"Yes."
He seemed surprised by my answer.
I continued.
"But she wasn't the one who slapped me."
He lowered his head.
"I know."
I felt tears gather.
"Marcus, I watched you grow from a little boy into a man."
He started crying.
"I know, Dad."
"I taught you to stand up for people who were being hurt."
His shoulders shook.
"And when someone accused me, you didn't ask a question."
He covered his face.
"You hit me."
"I know."
I took a slow breath.
"Do you understand what that did to me?"
He looked up.
His eyes were red.
"I don't think I ever will."
I nodded slowly.
"At least you're being honest."
Patricia remained quiet.
So did Raymond.
Marcus swallowed.
"I want to make it right."
I looked at him.
"Then start by telling the truth."
He nodded immediately.
"I will."
Patricia asked him to describe what happened.
He explained how Vanessa called him into the living room.
How she claimed I'd attacked her.
How he'd reacted without thinking.
Then he described watching the security footage.
He broke down while recounting the slap.
I listened.
It was painful.
But necessary.
For the first time, my son wasn't hiding behind anger.
He was facing what he'd done.
Afterward, Patricia discussed the financial investigation.
Marcus provided the information he'd found about Sterling Luxury Ventures.
He also gave us contact details for Daniel Price.
Patricia explained that the relevant authorities would need to investigate the alleged forgery and financing application.
We couldn't simply assume every piece of information proved a crime.
But there was enough to justify serious scrutiny.
Marcus nodded.
Then he looked at me again.
"Dad, there's something else."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
He hesitated.
"Vanessa asked me to remove the living room camera last week."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
"She said it invaded her privacy."
I remembered the notification.
Someone had accessed the settings earlier that morning.
"Did you remove it?"
Marcus shook his head.
"No. I told her I'd look at it after your recovery."
I felt cold.
"She tried to turn it off."
He nodded.
"I checked the system logs."
Patricia leaned forward.
"What did you find?"
"She logged into the security app that morning."
My stomach tightened.
"Did she disable anything?"
Marcus shook his head.
"Not successfully. She tried to change recording settings, but the system required my administrator password."
I stared at him.
Vanessa had tried to remove the one thing that could prove my innocence.
Then she'd staged the accusation anyway.
Either she thought the camera was off, or she believed she could stop Marcus from checking.
I remembered her face when I pointed toward the ceiling.
The sudden panic.
The fake tears disappearing.
It all made sense.
Patricia asked Marcus to preserve the logs.
He agreed.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from an unfamiliar number.
I opened it.
"Arthur, you should stop asking questions."
I stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
"You have no idea how much trouble you're causing."
Raymond leaned closer.
"Who is it?"
I showed him.
His expression hardened.
Patricia asked me to forward the messages to her office.
I did.
Then Marcus's phone rang.
Vanessa.
He stared at the screen.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Patricia spoke.
"You don't have to answer."
Marcus looked at me.
I shook my head.
"Do whatever your attorney advises."
He declined the call.
A message appeared.
"Marcus, we need to talk before your father destroys everything."
My son laughed bitterly.
Not because it was funny.
Because he'd finally begun to recognize the manipulation.
He showed Patricia.
Then another message arrived.
"Daniel says your father can still fix this."
I felt my stomach tighten.
Fix what?
The loan?
The company?
Their escape plan?
Marcus looked at me.
"Dad, she's still trying."
I nodded.
"Yes."
For the first time, we were looking at the same danger.
Not as enemies.
But as two people who had been deceived.
Still, I couldn't pretend everything between us was healed.
When the meeting ended, Marcus approached me.
"Dad, can I drive you home?"
I shook my head.
"Raymond's taking me."
He looked disappointed.
"I understand."
I began walking toward the door.
Then he spoke again.
"Dad?"
I turned.
He looked like the little boy who used to apologize after breaking something.
"Will you ever forgive me?"
My throat tightened.
I wanted to say yes.
I wanted to make his pain disappear.
But I remembered the slap.
The disbelief.
The moment he'd chosen Vanessa's accusation over my word.
I took a slow breath.
"I hope so, son."
Tears filled his eyes.
I continued.
"But forgiveness isn't something you can demand because you're sorry."
He nodded.
"I know."
I stepped toward him.
Then placed one hand on his shoulder.
"Show me you've changed."
He began crying again.
"I will."
I believed he wanted to.
But wanting to change and actually changing were different things.
As Raymond drove me home, I watched the city pass outside the window.
My phone vibrated again.
This time, the message contained a photograph.
It showed Vanessa and Daniel standing outside a bank.
The timestamp was from that morning.
Below it were five words.
"They're trying another lender now."
I stared at the screen.
The first application had been stopped.
May you like
But Vanessa and Daniel hadn't given up.
And now I knew we were running out of time.
