Chapter 5
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Jordan sat across from me, watching my face.
"Dad?"
I swallowed.
"Are you sure he called her his wife?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
"Could you have misunderstood?"
He shook his head.
"I heard him say, 'My wife always knows how to handle money.'"
I felt something heavy settle in my chest.
"How did Denise react?"
"She laughed."
My mind raced.
Denise had married me four years earlier.
We had a wedding ceremony, signed a marriage license, and built what I believed was a life together.
Was she involved with another man?
Was she using my son's money to fund another household?
Or was the man simply making a strange joke?
I refused to accuse anyone without evidence.
But I could no longer ignore the pattern.
"Jordan, did you see anything else?"
He thought for a moment.
"There were boxes in the living room."
"What kind?"
"Furniture boxes. And a picture frame on the counter."
"What was in the frame?"
He looked uncomfortable.
"Denise and that man."
I closed my eyes.
"Together?"
He nodded.
"They were standing in front of a lake."
I remembered Denise telling me about a business conference near Lake Lanier.
She had gone away for three days.
I paid for dinner deliveries while she was gone.
I had missed her.
Now the memory made my chest ache.
Raymond advised me not to visit the townhouse or confront anyone.
He said the financial investigation was already serious and we needed to avoid creating additional problems.
I agreed.
But I couldn't stop thinking about the man Jordan described.
That evening, I sat in my bedroom and looked through old photographs.
Our wedding.
Family birthdays.
Christmas mornings.
Graduation celebrations.
Denise smiled in every picture.
Sometimes she stood beside Jordan.
Sometimes her arm rested around his shoulders.
I wondered whether he had been uncomfortable even then.
I wondered how many times he had forced a smile because he didn't want to hurt me.
A knock interrupted my thoughts.
Jordan stood in the doorway.
"Can I come in?"
"Always."
He walked inside.
For a moment, he simply looked around.
Then he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Dad, I need to tell you something."
My stomach tightened.
"Go ahead."
He stared at his hands.
"I didn't tell you about the man because I thought you already knew."
I frowned.
"Why would you think that?"
"Denise told me you and her had an arrangement."
I stared at him.
"What arrangement?"
He looked embarrassed.
"She said you both agreed to have separate private lives."
I felt as though the floor moved beneath me.
"Jordan, that's not true."
He nodded.
"I know now."
I leaned forward.
"What exactly did she say?"
"That adults sometimes stay married for financial reasons. She said it wasn't my business."
I swallowed hard.
"And you believed her?"
"She made it sound normal."
He looked up.
"I thought maybe it was something grown-ups didn't talk about."
I rubbed my face.
My son had been carrying secrets he never should have been asked to keep.
"Jordan, I need you to understand something."
He nodded.
"Your job isn't to protect my marriage."
His eyes filled.
"Okay."
"And you never have to lie for someone just because they're older than you."
He wiped his face.
"I'm sorry."
I shook my head.
"Stop apologizing for what she did."
He leaned forward.
I hugged him.
For a long moment, I held him.
Then he whispered something that broke me.
"I thought if I told you, you'd stop loving me."
I pulled back.
"Why?"
"Because she said I'd destroy the family."
I stared at him.
"Jordan, you are my family."
He began crying.
I hugged him again.
The next morning, Raymond called.
He had found a connection between Denise and the townhouse.
The property was associated with Holloway Property Group.
The company's manager was a man named Terrence Holloway.
I asked for a description.
Raymond sent me a public business profile.
The photograph showed a tall man in his late forties.
He had a gray beard.
I forwarded the picture to Jordan.
A minute later, he called.
"Dad, that's him."
I closed my eyes.
Terrence Holloway.
I searched the name.
He owned a property management business and had appeared at several local real estate events.
Then I found a photograph from a charity dinner.
Terrence stood beside Denise.
His arm was around her waist.
The caption described them as business partners.
It didn't prove an affair.
But it made me wonder what their relationship really was.
I sent the photograph to Raymond.
He called back shortly afterward.
"Marcus, I've reviewed the records we can legally access."
"And?"
"Denise and Terrence have been associated through business filings for several years."
"How many?"
"At least six."
I stared at the wall.
Six years.
I had only known Denise for five.
"Are they married?"
"I haven't confirmed that. Don't jump to conclusions."
I nodded.
But my mind was already racing.
That afternoon, I received a message from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph.
Denise and Terrence were standing outside the townhouse.
He was holding a set of keys.
Her arm was wrapped around his waist.
Beneath the photograph was a message.
"Your wife has been lying to both of you."
I stared at the screen.
Both of us?
Before I could respond, another message arrived.
"Ask Denise what happened on June 12, 2021."
My heart pounded.
June 12, 2021.
That was the date Denise and I had married.
I immediately called Raymond.
He told me to preserve the messages.
Then I called the unknown number.
It rang twice.
A woman answered.
"Hello?"
"Who is this?"
She hesitated.
"My name is Monica Holloway."
I felt cold.
"Holloway?"
"Terrence is my brother."
I gripped the phone.
"Why are you sending me these pictures?"
She took a shaky breath.
"Because I found out what Denise has been doing."
"What do you mean?"
There was a long silence.
Then she whispered, "Marcus, you need to check your marriage records."
I stared ahead.
"Why?"
Monica's voice trembled.
"Because Denise was already legally married when she married you."
I couldn't move.
"What?"
"She married Terrence years before she met you."
My hand began shaking.
"That's impossible."
"I wish it were."
I looked toward our wedding photograph on the dresser.
The smiling faces.
The flowers.
The promises.
Everything I thought I knew.
Monica continued.
"Terrence told me they separated. But I never found evidence of a divorce."
I swallowed.
"Are you saying my marriage might not be valid?"
"I'm saying you need to find out."
I sat down slowly.
Then Monica said something even worse.
"Marcus, I think they chose you because of Jordan's inheritance."
May you like
I closed my eyes.
And I realized I might have invited two strangers into my family's life without ever knowing who they really were.
