Chapter 3
Marcus was shouting my name through the front door.
"NIA! OPEN UP!"
I stood in his office with the phone pressed against my chest.
My first instinct was to hide the documents.
My second was to confront him.
But for once, I refused to let anger make my decisions.
I gathered the originals, placed them back exactly where I had found them, and kept the photographs on my phone.
Then I locked my screen and walked downstairs.
Marcus was still pounding.
"Nia, I know you're in there!"
I stopped several feet from the entrance.
"Leave."
"We need to talk!"
"No, Marcus. We need lawyers."
There was a long silence.
Then his voice changed.
Soft.
Almost pleading.
"Baby, please."
I closed my eyes.
That word had once been enough to melt my anger.
Baby.
He used it when he wanted forgiveness.
When he wanted money.
When he wanted me to stop asking questions.
Now it sounded like a stranger speaking through my door.
"Don't call me that."
"I made mistakes."
"You married another woman."
"I can explain."
"You forged my signature."
Silence.
I heard him move closer to the door.
"What did you just say?"
I swallowed.
"I know about the downtown building."
His voice sharpened.
"Nia, open this door right now."
"No."
"Those documents are confidential."
"They have my name on them."
"You don't understand business!"
I almost smiled.
That sentence was his favorite weapon.
For years, whenever I questioned a financial decision, he told me I lacked the education to understand.
I had a master's degree.
I had managed a nonprofit budget larger than his company's annual revenue.
But marriage had made me doubt things I once understood perfectly.
"I understand forgery, Marcus."
He lowered his voice.
"You're making dangerous assumptions."
Headlights swept across our driveway.
Tasha's car pulled up behind his Mercedes.
I looked through the window as she stepped out carrying a leather briefcase.
She wore jeans, a black blazer, and the expression of a woman who had already decided she wasn't leaving without answers.
"Marcus!" she called.
He turned.
"This is between my wife and me."
Tasha walked straight past him.
"Your wife asked me to come."
I opened the door for her.
Marcus immediately tried to follow.
Tasha blocked him.
"Did she invite you inside?"
"This is my house!"
I stepped beside her.
"No, Marcus. It's mine."
His eyes flashed.
Tasha spoke calmly.
"Marcus, I'm advising Nia not to discuss any legal or financial matters with you tonight. You can contact her through counsel."
He pointed at me.
"She's going to destroy everything we've built."
Tasha didn't blink.
"Then perhaps you should have considered that before marrying someone else."
Marcus's face changed.
For the first time, I saw fear.
Not because he had hurt me.
Because someone else knew.
"She doesn't understand the situation," he said.
Tasha stepped closer.
"Then I'm sure your attorney will be delighted to explain it."
I closed the door.
This time, I turned the deadbolt.
My legs nearly gave out.
Tasha caught my elbow.
"Sit down."
I sank onto the sofa.
She looked around the room.
"Did he touch you?"
"No."
"Did he threaten you?"
"Not directly."
"Good. Now tell me everything."
For the next hour, I showed her the photographs, the marriage certificate, and the suspicious property documents.
Tasha listened without interrupting.
Then she said something that frightened me more than Marcus's affair.
"Nia, we need a property litigation attorney immediately."
"Can he take my building?"
"Not legally with a forged signature. But we need to establish exactly what has been filed."
She examined the photograph of the transfer.
"Have you ever signed a power of attorney?"
I thought carefully.
"Marcus had me sign some papers three years ago."
"What kind?"
"He said they allowed him to manage the commercial tenants."
"Do you have copies?"
"I don't know."
Tasha leaned back.
"Okay. Tomorrow morning, we're going to start finding out."
My phone rang again.
Selena.
Tasha glanced at the screen.
"Answer it. Put it on speaker."
I did.
"Hello?"
"Nia?"
Selena sounded breathless.
"Is Marcus there?"
"No."
"Thank God."
Tasha leaned forward.
"Selena, this is Tasha Reed. I'm Nia's friend and an attorney. We need to ask you some questions."
Selena hesitated.
"Are you going to call the police?"
"That depends on what we discover."
A small child began crying in the background.
"Mommy, I'm scared."
Selena moved away from the phone.
"It's okay, sweetheart."
I waited.
Eventually, she returned.
"Marcus came here before he went to your house."
My stomach tightened.
"What happened?"
"He demanded to know whether I'd contacted you."
"Did you tell him?"
"No."
"Why did you send me those letters?"
She began crying again.
"Because I found the papers."
"What papers?"
"Documents about your property. And documents about a trust."
Tasha straightened.
"What trust?"
Selena hesitated.
"A trust in your grandmother's name."
I frowned.
"My grandmother didn't leave me a trust."
At least, I didn't think she had.
Selena continued.
"Marcus told his accountant that he needed you out of the way before Monday."
My body went cold.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know. But I heard him say something about having you declared incapable of managing your affairs."
Tasha's expression hardened.
"Nia, have you been seeing any doctors recently?"
I looked at her.
"Just my regular physician."
"Has Marcus arranged any appointments?"
My heart began pounding.
Three months earlier, Marcus had insisted that I speak with a psychiatrist.
He said my grief over infertility had made me unstable.
The psychiatrist had asked uncomfortable questions about whether I was forgetful, confused, or having trouble managing daily responsibilities.
Marcus had answered several questions for me.
I remembered feeling embarrassed.
I had never returned.
I looked at Tasha.
"He tried to convince a doctor I was mentally unstable."
Tasha closed her eyes briefly.
Then she spoke into the phone.
"Selena, can you send copies of everything you found?"
"Yes."
"Do it tonight."
Before Selena could respond, another sound came through the speaker.
A door opening.
A man's voice.
"Selena?"
Marcus.
She gasped.
"He's here."
The call disconnected.
I jumped to my feet.
"We have to help her."
Tasha grabbed my hand.
"Nia, listen to me. We need to act carefully."
"But Amara is there!"
She looked toward the phone.
"Then we're going to make sure someone checks on them."
I stared at the dark screen.
I had spent the evening believing Selena was my enemy.
Now I was beginning to understand something far more terrifying.
Marcus hadn't simply betrayed two women.
May you like
He had built his entire life around controlling both of us.
And he was losing control.
