Chapter 3
I arrived at Rachel Thompson's office at eight the next morning.
I hadn't slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Vanessa laughing at my mother.
Then I pictured the document Rachel described.
Thirty percent of my company.
My signature.
A promise I never made.
Rachel greeted me with a serious expression.
"Marcus, sit down."
I lowered myself into the chair across from her desk.
She opened a folder.
"This is the document Vanessa's attorney sent."
I leaned forward.
The first page was titled:
Premarital Financial and Property Agreement.
My name appeared beside Vanessa's.
The agreement claimed that after our marriage, I would transfer thirty percent of Bennett Construction Group into a marital holding trust benefiting Vanessa.
It also included provisions about company distributions and future property acquisitions.
I felt sick.
"Who wrote this?"
Rachel looked at me.
"That's what we're trying to determine."
I turned the page.
There it was.
My signature.
It looked almost perfect.
But I knew I hadn't signed it.
I looked up.
"Rachel, this is fake."
She nodded.
"I believe you."
I exhaled.
"But we need evidence."
I stared at the document.
The signature date was six weeks earlier.
The same afternoon Vanessa visited my office.
I remembered that day clearly.
She arrived carrying takeout from my favorite restaurant.
She kissed me.
She told me I was working too hard.
Then she said she would wait in my office until my meeting ended.
I trusted her completely.
"What happens now?" I asked.
Rachel folded her hands.
"We preserve the relevant records, challenge the document, and determine who prepared it."
I nodded.
"Can Vanessa actually use it?"
"The agreement's enforceability is highly questionable, especially because the marriage never occurred. But a forged document can still create serious legal problems."
I leaned back.
"And the wedding expenses?"
"That depends on the contracts, payments, and applicable claims. We're reviewing them separately."
I rubbed my forehead.
Rachel studied me.
"Marcus, I want you to be careful."
"About what?"
"Vanessa's public statements."
I sighed.
"She's calling me cruel."
"I've seen them."
"Do I need to respond?"
"Not impulsively."
I nodded.
"She's trying to make you defend yourself emotionally. Don't give her that."
I looked down.
For a moment, I felt overwhelmed.
I had imagined spending my honeymoon in Italy.
Instead, I was sitting in my attorney's office trying to prove my former fiancée had forged my signature.
Rachel reached across the desk.
"Marcus, we'll handle this one step at a time."
I nodded.
Then my phone rang.
Daniel.
I answered.
"What's up?"
His voice sounded tense.
"Where are you?"
"Rachel's office."
"Good."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Because I found something."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"Remember the security cameras in your office?"
"Yes."
"I asked James to preserve footage from the afternoon Vanessa visited."
James Carter was our company's security director.
He had been with us for four years.
I sat upright.
"Did they find anything?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Marcus, you need to see it."
I looked toward Rachel.
"Send it to her."
Five minutes later, the footage arrived through a secure file transfer.
Rachel opened it on her computer.
The recording showed my office hallway.
Vanessa entered carrying a paper bag.
A few minutes later, I walked toward the conference room.
Then the camera showed Vanessa leaving my office.
She looked around.
She walked toward the administrative records room.
My stomach tightened.
"Why was she going there?"
Rachel didn't answer.
On the screen, Vanessa stopped outside the records room.
Then she reached into her handbag.
She removed something small.
An access card.
I leaned forward.
"How did she get that?"
Rachel paused the recording.
"Do you recognize it?"
I nodded slowly.
"It looks like my executive badge."
My heart began pounding.
I remembered leaving my badge on my desk that afternoon.
Vanessa had been alone in the room.
I stared at the screen.
"She took my card."
Rachel resumed the video.
Vanessa entered the records room.
She remained inside for eleven minutes.
Then she emerged carrying a thin folder.
She returned to my office.
Moments later, I came back from my meeting.
The video ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
I leaned back.
My chest felt tight.
"She went through my company records."
Rachel nodded.
"That's what the footage appears to show."
I stared at the screen.
The woman I nearly married had used my trust to access documents she had no reason to touch.
My phone vibrated.
Another message from Daniel.
"There's more. Call me."
I dialed immediately.
"What else?"
Daniel took a breath.
"James checked the access logs."
I waited.
"Someone used your badge to open the records room that afternoon."
I nodded.
"We saw it."
"But the badge was used again later that night."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"At 11:43 p.m."
I stared at Rachel.
"Who was there?"
Daniel hesitated.
"We're still reviewing footage."
I rubbed my forehead.
"Did Vanessa come back?"
"We don't know."
"Then find out."
"I will."
He paused.
"Marcus, there's something else you should know."
My stomach tightened.
"What now?"
"Vanessa's father visited our office two days before the wedding."
I froze.
"Richard?"
"Yes."
Richard Collins was a successful commercial developer.
He owned several office buildings and luxury apartment complexes across Georgia.
He had always treated me politely.
But I never felt comfortable around him.
He frequently asked questions about my company.
How much revenue we generated.
How many contracts we held.
Whether I planned to sell.
I assumed he was simply interested in business.
Now I wasn't so sure.
"Why was Richard at our office?"
Daniel sighed.
"He asked to meet with you."
"I wasn't there."
"I know."
"What happened?"
"He spoke with our chief financial officer."
My stomach tightened.
"About what?"
"Company valuation."
I stared at the wall.
"Why would he ask about that?"
Daniel hesitated.
"He said he was preparing a wedding gift."
I almost laughed.
"A wedding gift?"
"That's what he claimed."
I looked at Rachel.
She was already taking notes.
I asked Daniel another question.
"Did anyone give him confidential information?"
"I don't know yet."
"Find out."
He agreed.
Then I ended the call.
Rachel looked serious.
"Marcus, this may involve more than Vanessa."
I nodded.
I knew.
And that frightened me.
Because a spoiled bride humiliating her future mother-in-law was one thing.
But a coordinated effort to gain ownership of my company was something entirely different.
That afternoon, I visited Mom.
She was sitting on her porch with a cup of tea.
When she saw me, she smiled.
"Come here, baby."
I sat beside her.
She looked at my face.
"Rough day?"
I nodded.
"Very."
She placed her hand over mine.
"Want to talk?"
I told her about the forged agreement.
The office footage.
Richard's visit.
She listened carefully.
When I finished, she was quiet.
Then she asked, "Marcus, when did you first notice Vanessa treating people badly?"
I looked at her.
"What?"
She repeated the question.
I thought for a moment.
"Maybe six months after we started dating."
Mom nodded.
"What happened?"
"She yelled at a waitress because her order was wrong."
I remembered the incident.
Vanessa made the young woman cry.
Later, she told me the waitress deserved it because she was incompetent.
I felt ashamed.
"I should have paid attention."
Mom squeezed my hand.
"Yes."
I looked at her.
She continued gently.
"But now you are."
I nodded.
Mom smiled sadly.
"Don't spend your life punishing yourself for trusting someone."
I took a breath.
"I wanted to believe she loved me."
"I know."
I looked toward the street.
Then I whispered, "What if she never did?"
Mom was silent.
Finally, she said, "Then you loved someone who didn't know how to love you properly."
My eyes filled.
She continued.
"That doesn't make your love worthless."
I leaned against her shoulder.
For a while, we sat quietly.
Then my phone rang.
James Carter.
I answered.
"James?"
His voice was urgent.
"Mr. Bennett, we identified the person who entered the office that night."
I sat upright.
"Who?"
He hesitated.
"Sir, I think you should come see the footage."
My stomach tightened.
"Just tell me."
There was a long pause.
Then James answered.
"It was your future father-in-law."
I froze.
"Richard Collins?"
"Yes."
I stared at the street.
James continued.
"And he wasn't alone."
My chest tightened.
"Who was with him?"
James took a breath.
"Your chief financial officer."
I closed my eyes.
Because suddenly, I understood how serious the betrayal had become.
May you like
Vanessa hadn't merely tried to use my marriage to gain money.
Someone inside my own company might have been helping her.
