Chapter 2
"Give me my envelope."
Vanessa looked at Evelyn.
Evelyn looked at the door.
Neither moved.
Lily squirmed against my chest, still upset by the shouting.
I gently rocked her.
"Vanessa, I am not asking again."
She finally placed the envelope on the console table.
But before I could reach it, Evelyn slammed her hand over the paper.
"You need to speak to Daniel first."
My heart pounded.
"Why?"
"Because marriages are complicated."
I almost laughed.
"My husband is missing, you're threatening my children, and now you're giving me marriage advice?"
"Daniel isn't missing," Vanessa snapped.
I turned toward her.
"Then where is he?"
She opened her mouth.
Evelyn interrupted.
"That's enough."
I stared at them.
"Either tell me where my husband is or leave."
Evelyn leaned toward me.
"You have no idea what you're about to destroy."
I took the envelope from beneath her hand.
It was from my attorney, Patricia Monroe.
The words CONFIDENTIAL FINANCIAL REVIEW appeared beneath my name.
A cold feeling spread through my stomach.
Patricia had helped me purchase the house.
She also handled contracts for my interior design business.
I remembered receiving a brief message from her the previous week.
She had asked me to call about an unusual request involving my property.
I had been in the hospital recovering from delivery.
I told her I would call after returning home.
Then exhaustion swallowed the next several days.
I tore open the envelope.
Inside were four pages.
The first was a letter from Patricia.
The second was a copy of a document bearing my name.
The third was a bank transaction summary.
The fourth contained a signature that looked disturbingly familiar.
Mine.
Except I had never signed it.
My vision blurred.
"What is this?"
Evelyn reached toward the pages.
I pulled them away.
Vanessa backed toward the hallway.
I read the letter again.
Patricia had discovered that someone submitted documents requesting a substantial loan secured against my home.
The application listed Daniel as an authorized representative.
Attached was a financial power of attorney supposedly signed by me.
I stared at the signature.
I recognized the shape of my letters.
But the final stroke was wrong.
Someone had copied my name.
"Daniel forged my signature?"
Evelyn's face hardened.
"Don't accuse my son of something you don't understand."
I looked at the date.
Three days before Lily's birth.
I had been heavily pregnant, swollen, and preparing for a scheduled medical appointment.
Daniel had insisted I stay home that afternoon.
He said he would handle some paperwork.
My stomach turned.
"Did you know?"
Vanessa folded her arms.
"I don't know anything about your personal finances."
"Then why were you afraid of this envelope?"
She looked away.
I turned to Evelyn.
"Did you know Daniel tried to borrow money against my house?"
She pressed her lips together.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
"He was only trying to help the family."
My knees nearly gave way.
I grabbed the back of a chair.
"What family?"
Evelyn looked toward Noah and Jordan.
"Not in front of the children."
I wanted to scream.
She had no problem threatening me in front of them.
But suddenly financial fraud was too upsetting?
I took a breath.
"Boys, please go upstairs to my bedroom. Take the tablet and stay together."
Noah didn't move.
"Mom, are they taking Lily?"
I crouched carefully, protecting the baby.
"No, sweetheart. Nobody is taking your sister."
"Are they taking our house?"
I looked him in the eyes.
"No."
Jordan began crying.
I kissed both their foreheads.
"Go upstairs. I'll be right here."
They reluctantly climbed the stairs.
I waited until I heard my bedroom door close.
Then I turned around.
"What did Daniel do?"
Evelyn's composure began cracking.
"He had debts."
"How much?"
"That's not important."
"How much?"
Vanessa answered quietly.
"Almost three hundred thousand dollars."
My breath caught.
Daniel worked in commercial construction.
His salary was good.
We had separate accounts, but we shared household expenses.
He never mentioned financial trouble.
"Three hundred thousand?"
"He made a bad investment," Vanessa said.
Evelyn interrupted.
"It wasn't his fault."
I stared at them.
"So his solution was to steal my signature?"
"He wasn't stealing," Evelyn insisted. "He was protecting his future."
"What about mine?"
Neither answered.
"What about my children?"
Evelyn lifted her chin.
"Those boys aren't Daniel's biological children."
The words hit harder than I expected.
Noah and Jordan were from my first marriage.
Their father had died four years earlier.
Daniel knew that when he married me.
He had promised to love them as his own.
Now his mother was using their parentage to diminish their place in our family.
I felt my face burning.
"Get out."
Evelyn stepped forward.
"Nia—"
"Get out of my house."
Vanessa grabbed her purse.
"Come on, Mom."
But Evelyn stood firm.
"Daniel will be furious when he hears how you've treated us."
I pointed at the front door.
"Tell him to call me."
She hesitated.
Then she and Vanessa walked out.
I locked the door behind them.
The moment the lock clicked, my legs weakened.
I sat on the stairs, Lily nestled safely against me, and called Patricia.
She answered immediately.
"Nia? Thank goodness."
My throat tightened.
"Patricia, what is happening?"
Her voice became serious.
"Did you receive my letter?"
"Yes."
"Has Daniel contacted you?"
"No."
There was a pause.
"Nia, listen carefully. The loan hasn't been funded. I placed a fraud alert on the application and notified the lender."
I closed my eyes.
"Thank God."
"But there's something else."
My heart sank.
"What?"
"Daniel contacted my office yesterday. He claimed you were mentally unwell after giving birth."
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"What?"
"He wanted information about obtaining authority over your finances."
I couldn't speak.
Patricia continued.
"I refused to discuss your private affairs with him."
I looked toward the stairs.
Toward my sons.
Toward the nursery.
"Why would he do that?"
"I don't know. But I'm concerned."
Then Patricia asked a question that made my hands turn cold.
"Nia, has anyone suggested you are incapable of caring for your baby?"
I remembered Evelyn reaching for Lily.
Vanessa announcing that the family had already made arrangements.
The threats.
The sudden demand that I leave.
"Yes," I whispered.
Patricia's voice sharpened.
"Then I need you to preserve every message and every document. Do not sign anything."
I hugged Lily closer.
"What are they planning?"
"I can't tell you for certain. But I want you to take precautions immediately."
Just then, my phone buzzed.
A message from Daniel appeared.
I'M COMING HOME TONIGHT.
WE NEED TO DISCUSS YOUR CONDITION.
And beneath it:
MOM SAYS YOU'VE BECOME DANGEROUS AROUND THE BABY.
I stared at the screen.
May you like
My own husband had apparently decided I was the problem.
And he was coming home to prove it.
