Chapter 2
I sat beside Noah and took his hand.
It was still cold.
“Tell me what you saw.”
He looked at Vanessa again.
She immediately stepped forward.
“Marcus, he’s seven. You know how children imagine things.”
I held up my hand.
“Don’t.”
She stopped.
“Noah,” I said, keeping my voice gentle. “Look at me.”
He did.
“You’re not in trouble.”
His lower lip trembled.
“I know.”
“Then tell me.”
He took a breath.
“This morning Vanessa was in your office.”
I glanced toward the hallway.
My office stayed locked most of the time.
It contained business documents, tax records, Noah’s school paperwork, insurance files, and documents connected to the trust my late wife had left for him.
“How did she get inside?”
Noah shrugged.
“She had a key.”
I looked at Vanessa.
She folded her arms.
“So?”
I turned back to Noah.
“What happened?”
“I went downstairs because I wanted cereal.”
He wiped his eyes.
“She didn’t hear me.”
“What was she doing?”
“She had papers on your desk.”
Vanessa interrupted.
“I was cleaning.”
Noah shook his head.
“No.”
Her expression hardened.
I squeezed his hand.
“Keep going.”
“There was a man on her phone.”
My heartbeat changed.
“What man?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did they say?”
Noah hesitated.
“I didn’t understand all of it.”
“That’s okay.”
He stared at his lap.
“She said, ‘Marcus won’t notice until it’s too late.’”
Every muscle in my body tightened.
Vanessa laughed nervously.
“Oh my God.”
I ignored her.
“What else?”
“She said my name.”
The room became silent.
My mouth went dry.
“What did she say about you?”
Noah began crying.
“She said after everything was signed, I wouldn’t matter anymore.”
I looked at Vanessa.
She was pale now.
“That’s a lie.”
Noah jumped at the sharpness in her voice.
I stood.
“Back away from him.”
“Marcus, listen to yourself.”
“I said move.”
She stepped back.
I crouched in front of Noah.
“What happened when she saw you?”
“I dropped my spoon.”
He sniffled.
“She turned around.”
“And?”
“She asked how long I had been standing there.”
I closed my eyes for one second.
I could picture it.
My son walking into a room he had every right to enter.
Vanessa realizing he had heard something she wanted hidden.
“What did you tell her?”
“I said I heard everything.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“He did not.”
Noah continued.
“She grabbed my arm.”
My eyes snapped toward Vanessa.
“You grabbed him?”
“I moved him out of the room.”
“He said you grabbed him.”
She looked irritated now.
Not ashamed.
I forced myself to remain calm.
“What happened after that?”
Noah’s voice became smaller.
“She told me I was spying.”
His fingers tightened around mine.
“I said I was telling you.”
My heart broke at the fear on his face.
“And then?”
“She took my tablet.”
“Okay.”
“She put me in the garage.”
I swallowed hard.
“She said if I stayed there long enough, maybe I would learn how to mind my own business.”
Vanessa shook her head again.
“He’s twisting everything.”
I stood so fast the coffee table shifted beneath my knee.
“He was freezing.”
“He was never in danger.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“I checked on him.”
Noah whispered, “No, you didn’t.”
Vanessa glared at him.
That was enough.
I stepped directly into her line of sight.
“Don’t look at him like that.”
“Marcus—”
“Go upstairs.”
She stared at me.
“What?”
“Pack a bag.”
“This is insane.”
“You have ten minutes.”
“You’re going to believe a frightened child over your wife?”
I almost laughed.
“My child is frightened because of my wife.”
That silenced her.
I took my phone from my pocket.
Then I called my sister.
She answered immediately.
“Marcus?”
“Imani, I need you.”
Her tone changed.
“What happened?”
“Come to my house. Now.”
“Is Noah okay?”
I looked at him.
“He’s safe. But I need you here.”
“I’m leaving now.”
I ended the call.
Vanessa watched me.
“You’re involving your sister?”
“I’m making sure Noah is never alone with you again.”
Her face twisted.
“I have raised him for two years.”
“No.”
My voice came out colder than I expected.
“You lived with him for two years.”
She looked stunned.
“You don’t mean that.”
“I absolutely do.”
I turned toward Noah.
“Buddy, I need to ask you something else.”
He nodded.
“Did Vanessa ever lock you anywhere before?”
He froze.
Vanessa immediately said, “No.”
I looked at Noah.
His silence told me everything.
My stomach dropped.
“Noah?”
His eyes stayed on his hands.
“Sometimes.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“Where?”
“The basement.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“When you worked late.”
Vanessa rushed forward.
“He was sent downstairs because he refused to do homework.”
I stepped between them again.
“How many times?”
Noah shrugged.
“Maybe five.”
Five.
I had been sleeping beside this woman.
Eating breakfast with her.
Kissing her goodbye before work.
And while I was gone, she had been terrorizing my son.
“How long?”
“Not long.”
“How long, Noah?”
“Once until you came home.”
My heart cracked.
That had been the night Vanessa told me Noah fell asleep early because he had a headache.
I remembered walking upstairs.
I remembered checking his room.
Empty.
Vanessa had told me he was sleeping in the guest room because the heater in his bedroom was making noise.
I had trusted her.
I felt sick.
The doorbell rang.
Imani had arrived faster than I expected.
I opened the door.
My sister came in wearing snow boots and a heavy coat.
The moment she saw Noah, her expression changed.
She crossed the room immediately.
“Baby.”
Noah stood and fell into her arms.
Imani hugged him tightly.
Then she looked at me.
“What happened?”
Vanessa came down the stairs carrying a suitcase.
“Your brother has lost his mind.”
Imani looked at her.
Then at the red wine staining the wall.
Then back at me.
I told her everything.
Not every detail.
Just enough.
By the time I finished, Imani’s face had gone hard.
“You locked him in the garage?”
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
“Oh, spare me.”
Imani started forward.
I caught her arm.
“Don’t.”
She pointed at Vanessa.
“You are lucky he stopped me.”
Vanessa pulled on her coat.
“This family is unbelievable.”
“No,” I said.
“You’re unbelievable.”
She grabbed the suitcase handle.
Then she looked at me.
“You want the truth?”
“I want you gone.”
“The papers Noah saw weren’t what he thinks.”
“What were they?”
She paused.
For one second, I thought she might tell me.
Instead, she smiled again.
“I guess you’ll find out.”
Then she walked outside.
I locked the door behind her.
Imani looked at me.
“What papers?”
I stared toward the hallway.
“My office.”
I walked there quickly.
The door was closed.
I reached above the frame where I kept the backup key.
It was gone.
My pulse jumped.
I tried the handle.
Unlocked.
I pushed the door open.
At first, everything looked normal.
Then I opened the bottom drawer of my desk.
The folder containing Noah’s trust documents was missing.
So were my life insurance papers.
And beneath them, sitting on the empty drawer bottom, was a photocopy of my signature.
Not on a document.
Just my signature.
Repeated across the page.
May you like
Practiced.
Again and again.
