Chapter 4
I don't remember standing up.
One second I was beside Noah.
The next I was across the room with my fist pressed against the wall.
Every instinct inside me screamed Daniel's name.
Nia grabbed my shoulder.
"Marcus."
I pulled away.
"He told my son some stranger was going to be his father."
"I heard him."
"I'm going to his house."
"No."
"I'm done sitting here."
"That's exactly what he wants."
"I don't care."
"I do."
She stepped in front of me.
"And Noah does."
That stopped me.
Behind her, my son sat silently on the couch.
His teddy bear covered half his face.
He looked terrified.
Not of Daniel.
Of me.
I forced my hands open.
Then I sat down.
"I'm sorry, buddy."
Noah didn't answer.
I hated myself for that.
Nia crouched in front of him.
"Can you go get your headphones from your room?"
He nodded.
When he disappeared upstairs, Nia turned on me.
"You cannot lose control."
"My brother is manipulating our child."
"I know."
"He has documents with my signature."
"I know."
"And now some mystery man is supposedly becoming Noah's new father."
"I know!"
Her voice cracked.
We both went silent.
Nia wiped her face.
"I am just as scared as you are."
I stared at her.
For months, I had viewed her as the enemy inside my marriage.
Now I realized she had been carrying something alone.
"Why didn't you trust me?"
She laughed weakly.
"Do you really want that answer?"
"Yes."
"You stopped listening."
The words landed hard.
"Every conversation became an accusation."
She counted them on her fingers.
"Where were you?"
"Who texted you?"
"Why are you late?"
"Why are you hiding your phone?"
I looked down.
She continued.
"And every time I tried to tell you Daniel was interfering in our marriage, you defended him."
My head lifted.
"When did you tell me that?"
"Three months ago."
"No. You said he was always around."
"Because he was."
"That's not the same thing."
"I told you he asked whether we had life insurance."
My stomach tightened.
I remembered.
At the time, I thought it was normal.
Daniel sold financial products for years.
"He asked what?"
"How much coverage you had."
I said nothing.
"He asked whether I was the beneficiary."
My skin prickled.
"And?"
"I told him none of his business."
She looked toward the stairs.
"After that, things changed."
"How?"
"Calls from unknown numbers."
"Why didn't you show me?"
"I deleted them."
"Why?"
"Because they sounded like threats, and I didn't know who they were from."
"What did they say?"
She swallowed.
"Things like, 'You won't keep the boy forever.'"
I felt physically sick.
"And you never told me?"
"You already thought I was hiding an affair."
"I was wrong."
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
Saying it didn't undo the months I had spent doubting her.
But there wasn't time to repair that yet.
"We need to see what's on the flash drive."
Nia nodded.
"I know a place."
"Where?"
"My friend Camille owns a print shop downtown."
I knew Camille.
She had been one of Nia's closest friends since college.
"Does Daniel know her?"
"Probably knows her name. Doesn't know the shop."
"Good."
Noah came downstairs wearing oversized blue headphones around his neck.
I forced a smile.
"Road trip."
"Where?"
"To see Miss Camille."
He looked at Nia.
"Are you leaving?"
Her face broke.
"No, baby."
She knelt and held out her arms.
Noah hesitated.
That hesitation nearly destroyed her.
Then he walked into her embrace.
She squeezed him gently.
"I'm sorry I scared you."
"Don't make me go away from Daddy."
"I won't."
She looked at me over his shoulder.
"I promise."
We sent the taxi away.
I drove instead.
Every few blocks, I checked the rearview mirror.
No black SUV.
No Daniel.
Still, my shoulders stayed tight.
Camille's print shop sat between a bakery and a dry cleaner.
When she saw us, her smile disappeared.
"What happened?"
"We need privacy," Nia said.
Camille locked the front door.
Then she led us into a back office.
Noah sat near the printer with crayons.
I handed Camille the flash drive.
"Can you open this without connecting to the internet?"
She looked at me strangely.
"Yes."
"Do that."
The computer booted.
My heartbeat seemed louder than the fan inside the old machine.
Camille inserted the drive.
A folder appeared.
Then another.
Names.
Dates.
Scanned documents.
Nia leaned closer.
"That's what I saw."
I clicked the folder with my name.
Inside were copies of my driver's license.
Tax returns.
Bank information.
My construction company records.
And a life insurance policy.
I stared at the number.
Two million dollars.
"What the hell?"
Nia whispered, "Is that yours?"
"No."
I opened it.
The policy listed me as the insured person.
The signature looked almost identical to mine.
The beneficiary wasn't Nia.
It wasn't Noah.
It was a company.
Horizon Family Holdings LLC.
"Do you know that name?" Camille asked.
"No."
Nia pointed at another folder.
NOAH M.
I opened it.
My hands started shaking.
Inside were school schedules.
Medical records.
Photographs of Noah outside his elementary school.
Pictures of him at the park.
Pictures of him with me.
Pictures of him with Nia.
Taken from a distance.
Camille whispered, "Oh my God."
Nia grabbed my arm.
"Marcus."
I couldn't speak.
Then I saw the custody document.
PETITION FOR EMERGENCY GUARDIANSHIP.
My brother Daniel was listed as proposed temporary guardian.
The document claimed both parents were unstable.
It accused Nia of planning to flee the state.
It accused me of violent behavior.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"They're building a case against us."
Nia nodded slowly.
I opened another file.
A spreadsheet appeared.
Dates.
Payments.
Initials.
One entry was scheduled for three days from now.
Next to it were the words:
MARCUS — FINAL INCIDENT.
I stared at the screen.
Camille moved closer.
"What does that mean?"
I didn't know.
Then Nia pointed to the bottom of the spreadsheet.
There was an address.
And beside it were two words.
TRANSFER CHILD.
Noah looked up from his crayons.
"Daddy?"
I turned.
"What, buddy?"
He pointed toward the monitor.
"That's the house."
My entire body stiffened.
"The one Uncle Danny showed you?"
May you like
Noah nodded.
"The red door house."
