Chapter 4
The next morning, I sat across from a lawyer named Priya Shah with three hours of sleep and a folder full of things I no longer trusted.
Tasha sat beside me. Serena had gone home, but she had emailed every message Marcus sent about the house.
Priya read them carefully.
“Did you sign anything related to a sale or loan?” she asked.
“Not that I know of.”
“Did you give Marcus permission to sign for you?”
“No.”
She turned a page. “I’ll look into the property records. You should also give the bank everything you’ve shown me. The account is joint, so that part needs careful handling. The messages matter.”
I leaned forward. “Can he sell our house without me?”
“Your name is on the deed. A legitimate sale needs your participation. If someone claims you signed, we need to examine that claim.”
I thought of the folder on the desk.
Priya must have seen my face.
“What is it?”
“He told me it was insurance paperwork. I hadn’t signed it yet.”
“Good.”
She said it softly, but I felt the weight of the word.
While Priya made calls, I went to the bank with Tasha. The manager gave me copies of the transfers I had requested. Some payments had gone to an apartment complex. Others went to a company called Oakline Property Group.
Then she showed me a withdrawal from two months earlier.
Forty thousand dollars.
I gripped the edge of the desk.
“That came from the savings account,” I said.
“Yes.”
“That money was for repairs.”
It was also what remained of my mother’s gift after we bought the house. Marcus knew how I felt about touching it.
The manager explained that Marcus had made the withdrawal in person. He had the right to access a joint account. She was sorry she couldn’t undo it.
Outside, I stood beside my car and let the anger come.
Tasha waited until I could speak.
“Mom told me something before the wedding,” I said. “She said to keep enough money in my own name to walk away if I ever needed to.”
“She told me the same thing.”
“I thought she was being dramatic.”
“She grew up having to ask Dad for cash to buy groceries. She didn’t want that for us.”
I looked at the bank papers. Forty thousand dollars had vanished while I was making lists of repair costs.
My phone rang.
It was the realtor whose name Priya had found on the appraisal request.
I put her on speaker.
“Mrs. Brooks?” she asked. “I’m sorry to call unexpectedly. Your lawyer said you wanted to know what was discussed.”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Brooks asked for a price estimate. He told me both owners intended to sell. I never met with you, and I didn’t take a listing.”
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
I remembered that week. Marcus had surprised me with tickets to a concert. We’d stood with our arms around each other while a singer played the song from our first dance.
“Did he say why he wanted to sell?” I asked.
“He said you were moving closer to your new job.”
I had no new job.
The realtor apologized again. When the call ended, Tasha stared through the windshield.
“He’s been building a whole life that only exists when you’re out of the room.”
I couldn’t have said it better.
Back at the house, I found Denise waiting in her car. She got out when she saw me.
“I came alone,” she said.
“Marcus sent you.”
“He doesn’t know I’m here.”
Tasha stayed by my side.
Denise looked exhausted. “I knew about Serena. I should have told you.”
“Yes, you should have.”
“I told myself it wasn’t my place.”
“You came last night to ask me to make things easier for him.”
Her eyes filled. “I did.”
I folded my arms. “Do you know where the forty thousand dollars went?”
She went pale.
“Marcus told me he borrowed it from a friend.”
“For what?”
Denise stared at the ground.
“He and his business partner opened a second office. It was failing. Marcus kept putting money into it because he thought one more month would save it.”
“Which partner?”
“Caleb.”
I knew Caleb. He had eaten dinner at our table. He had congratulated us on buying this house.
Denise’s voice trembled. “I found out he used money from you two. I told him to tell you.”
“When?”
“Six weeks ago.”
“Before or after you met Serena?”
She couldn’t answer.
I walked past her to the door.
“Nia, I am sorry.”
I stopped with my key in the lock.
“If you want to help,” I said, “stop telling Marcus how to get around me. Tell him to give my lawyer every document.”
Inside, I checked my email. Priya had sent a brief message. She had found an application for a loan secured by the house, but she was still obtaining the paperwork.
Then her second email arrived.
May you like
Nia, please call me before you speak to Marcus. The application includes what appears to be your signature.
I stared at the screen until Tasha gently took the laptop from my hands.
