Chapter 4
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything.
Not the air conditioning.
Not the distant sounds of the hotel.
Not even my own breathing.
I stared at Olivia.
"She witnessed my signature?"
Olivia nodded.
"That's what the document claims."
My hands tightened around the twins.
"But I never signed anything."
"We understand."
"I wasn't even living apart from Marcus."
Dad placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Sweetheart, breathe."
I shook my head.
"No. I need to understand."
I looked at Marcus.
"Your mother told someone I had left you?"
He looked miserable.
"Nia—"
"Did she?"
He nodded.
"She said it would make the application easier."
I felt a sharp pain in my chest.
"So you let her tell people our marriage was over?"
"I didn't think it would matter."
I stared at him.
"You didn't think lying about your wife would matter?"
Marcus wiped his eyes.
"I was trying to save my company."
I looked at him with disbelief.
"At the cost of your family?"
He didn't answer.
For the first time, I understood that Marcus had built an entire world of secrets around me.
And I had been living inside it without knowing.
I remembered the months before the twins were born.
The late-night calls he took outside.
The strange excuses about business meetings.
The way he guarded his laptop.
The sudden arguments whenever I asked about money.
I had blamed stress.
I had blamed pregnancy hormones.
I had blamed myself.
Now I wondered how many of those moments had been lies.
Olivia closed her folder.
"Nia, I'd like to recommend that you and the babies remain somewhere secure while we sort this out."
I nodded.
"Okay."
Marcus stepped forward.
"She's coming home with me."
Dad turned.
"No."
Marcus stared at him.
"Arthur, she's my wife."
Dad's voice was controlled.
"And she is capable of deciding where she wants to stay."
Marcus looked at me.
"Nia, please."
I studied his face.
The man I loved was still there somewhere.
I could see him beneath the panic.
But love didn't erase what he had done.
And I didn't trust him.
Not anymore.
"I'm not going home with you tonight."
His expression crumbled.
"Nia—"
"I need space."
He shook his head.
"Don't do this."
I felt tears rising again.
"You already did."
Marcus lowered his head.
Dad quietly asked Olivia to arrange for the babies' things to be collected from our townhouse.
I suddenly remembered something.
"Their bassinets."
Dad looked at me.
"What?"
"The girls have special bassinets. Their medicine, diapers, bottles, everything is at home."
He squeezed my shoulder.
"We'll get whatever they need."
I started crying.
Not because I doubted him.
Because after weeks of being exhausted and frightened, someone was finally taking care of me.
Dad had a beautiful private residence on the hotel's upper floor.
He offered it to us for as long as we needed.
I almost refused.
Old habits were difficult to break.
I had spent years convincing myself that accepting help from my father meant surrendering my independence.
But I looked at my daughters.
And I knew pride couldn't be more important than their safety.
"Thank you, Dad."
His eyes filled.
"You're welcome, sweetheart."
Before leaving the lounge, I turned toward Marcus.
"Don't come upstairs."
He looked devastated.
"Can I at least see the girls tomorrow?"
I hesitated.
Despite everything, he was their father.
I didn't want to use them to punish him.
But I needed to know they would be safe.
"We'll arrange something when I've spoken to an attorney."
He nodded slowly.
"Okay."
I walked away before he could see me cry again.
Upstairs, the residence felt almost unreal.
There were wide windows overlooking Atlanta.
A spacious living room.
A bedroom prepared with clean linens.
And a nursery where two bassinets had already been placed.
I stared at them.
Dad stood behind me.
"I asked the staff to arrange everything when I heard you were coming."
I turned.
"You knew Diane would throw us out?"
He shook his head.
"No. I knew something was wrong and wanted to make sure you had somewhere to go."
My throat tightened.
He had prepared a safe place before I even knew I needed one.
I laid Amara in her bassinet.
Then Ava.
Both girls slept peacefully.
I sat beside them and began crying.
Dad knelt in front of me.
"Nia?"
I covered my face.
"I'm sorry."
He frowned.
"For what?"
"For not listening to you."
He shook his head.
"Sweetheart—"
"You warned me."
My voice broke.
"You told me Marcus's family cared too much about money. I thought you were trying to control me."
Dad sat beside me.
"I handled things badly too."
I looked at him.
He took a slow breath.
"I was angry. I said things I shouldn't have said. I made you feel like choosing Marcus meant losing me."
Tears rolled down my face.
"Why didn't you come to my wedding?"
His eyes filled.
"Because I was stubborn."
I stared at him.
He looked toward the babies.
"And I've regretted that decision every day."
I reached for his hand.
He squeezed it.
For the first time in five years, I let my father hold me while I cried.
That evening, my phone began ringing.
Diane.
I ignored it.
She called again.
Then again.
Finally, a message appeared.
Nia, you need to stop letting Arthur poison you against your husband.
I stared at it.
Another message followed.
Marcus made a mistake. Don't destroy his future over paperwork.
Then a third.
You have no idea what your father has done to this family.
I showed Dad.
His expression hardened.
"Don't respond."
I nodded.
But the messages kept coming.
By midnight, Diane had sent thirteen.
The last one made my stomach turn.
If you think Arthur is telling you the whole truth, ask him why Marcus really needed that money.
I stared at the screen.
Then looked toward the bedroom door.
Dad was helping the night nurse prepare bottles.
My father had seemed honest.
Marcus had lied.
Diane had humiliated me.
But now another terrible possibility entered my mind.
What if the business debt was hiding something even bigger?
The next morning, I called Olivia.
I read Diane's message aloud.
Olivia was quiet.
Then she said, "Nia, there's something we haven't finished verifying."
My heart raced.
"What?"
"Marcus's company has made several payments to an account connected to Diane's investment business."
I swallowed.
"How much?"
Olivia hesitated.
"Enough that we need to understand whether the debt was caused only by failed investments."
I stared out the window.
"What are you saying?"
She answered carefully.
"We suspect money may have been transferred out of Marcus's business before the financial crisis."
My knees weakened.
"And the receiving company belongs to Diane?"
"Yes."
I gripped the phone.
May you like
Then Olivia said the words that changed everything.
"Nia, we need to find out whether your mother-in-law created the financial disaster she claimed she was helping Marcus escape."
