Chapter 4
I didn't sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I heard Richard's voice.
Your father will lose everything.
Those words hadn't been spoken to me.
They had been spoken to my eight-year-old daughter.
A little girl who still slept with a stuffed rabbit named Mr. Buttons.
A little girl who believed the world was mostly good because I had spent her entire life trying to make it that way.
And someone had deliberately used her love for me to frighten her.
I sat beside her bed until sunrise.
Maya slept with one hand wrapped around my fingers.
Danielle had taken her to urgent care after the police completed their initial interviews.
The doctor documented the bruising on her shoulder and confirmed there were no serious physical injuries.
But I knew there were wounds no doctor could measure with a thermometer or photograph.
At six-thirty, Maya opened her eyes.
“Daddy?”
“I'm here.”
She looked around.
“Did I miss the show?”
My heart broke all over again.
The performance had been postponed after the incident.
Principal Bennett had called every family and promised a new date.
But Maya didn't know that.
“No, sweetheart. They moved it.”
“Because of me?”
“No. Because the adults needed to handle something important.”
She stared at her blanket.
“Is Lily mad?”
I frowned.
“Why would Lily be mad?”
“Because I didn't give her my solo.”
I sat closer.
“Baby, that solo belongs to you because you earned it.”
Maya swallowed.
“But Lily said she didn't even want it.”
I froze.
“What?”
Maya rubbed her eyes.
“Lily said her mom kept making her practice my song. She cried because she wanted to do the group dance instead.”
I thought about Lily's frightened face.
The way she had clung to Vanessa.
The way she whispered about the cameras.
Suddenly, the situation looked even uglier.
Vanessa and Richard hadn't just hurt Maya.
They had been using their own daughter too.
I brushed a curl away from Maya's forehead.
“Did Lily tell you anything else?”
Maya hesitated.
“She gave me a note.”
“A note?”
She nodded.
“Before her dad came in.”
“Where is it?”
Maya pointed toward her school backpack.
I opened the pink bag and found her dance shoes, a water bottle, and a small envelope decorated with purple stars.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
The handwriting was uneven.
I read it slowly.
Maya,
I'm sorry my mom is being mean.
I told her you should sing because you're better than me.
Please don't hate me.
Your friend,
Lily
I sat on the edge of the bed.
For a long moment, I couldn't speak.
Maya watched me anxiously.
“Am I supposed to hate her?”
I shook my head.
“No, baby.”
“Even after what happened?”
“Lily didn't hurt you.”
Maya looked relieved.
“Good. Because she's my friend.”
I hugged her.
That was when my phone rang.
My business partner, Andre Walker.
I answered quietly.
“Morning.”
“Marcus, we have a problem.”
I stood.
“What happened?”
“The city project.”
My stomach tightened.
“What about it?”
“They rejected our bid.”
I stared at the wall.
“That isn't possible. We passed every review.”
Andre exhaled.
“I know. But the finance committee withdrew its support last night.”
“Richard.”
“I think so.”
I closed my eyes.
Our company had spent nearly six months preparing for that contract.
We had hired new workers in anticipation.
Purchased equipment.
Paid for permits.
If the financing collapsed, we could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Andre lowered his voice.
“Marcus, did something happen between you and Coleman?”
I looked at Maya.
She was sitting on her bed, trying to repair a bent gold feather.
“Yes.”
“Something bad?”
“Very.”
Andre was silent.
Then he said, “Tell me what you need.”
Those five words almost made me cry.
Not because of the money.
Because they reminded me that loyalty still existed.
“I need you to keep everyone working. Don't tell the crew anything until we know what we're facing.”
“You got it.”
After the call, I found Danielle waiting in the kitchen.
She had made coffee.
She also had three folders spread across my table.
“You look terrible,” she said.
“I feel worse.”
She pushed a mug toward me.
“Then you need to hear this sitting down.”
I stared at the folders.
“What did you find?”
“Something strange about the school's scholarship fund.”
I frowned.
“What does that have to do with Maya?”
“Possibly everything.”
Danielle opened the first folder.
She showed me financial reports from the school's publicly available records.
Richard chaired the board.
Vanessa chaired the annual arts fundraiser.
Rachel's employer managed several of the school's charitable partnerships.
“Look at this,” Danielle said.
I leaned closer.
There were repeated payments to a company called Sterling Education Consulting.
The amounts were enormous.
“What is Sterling?”
“That's what I wanted to know.”
She opened another document.
“It's registered to a holding company connected to Richard.”
I looked up.
“Connected how?”
“Through a business associate. The relationship needs verification, but it's suspicious.”
My mind raced.
“Are you saying Richard was taking scholarship money?”
“I'm saying the records deserve an independent audit. We don't have proof of theft.”
I appreciated her caution.
Danielle never exaggerated.
If she said something was suspicious, it usually was.
“Why would this involve Maya?”
Danielle opened the third folder.
It contained the program for the school's annual gala.
Maya's picture was on the front.
I stared.
“What is this?”
“The fundraiser next month. Your daughter's solo was supposed to be the centerpiece.”
I remembered signing a school permission slip allowing Maya's performance photographs to be used in event materials.
I hadn't thought much about it.
Danielle pointed to a paragraph.
“The scholarship program was going to announce a major new donor during Maya's performance.”
“So?”
“So Richard's group was listed as the sponsor. But the donations appear to be moving between organizations he controls.”
I frowned.
“Meaning?”
“The performance may have been part of a presentation designed to make the fund look successful to donors.”
I looked at Maya's picture again.
Her bright smile.
Her hopeful eyes.
I suddenly felt cold.
“What did they want from her?”
“I don't know yet.”
Just then, the front door opened.
Rachel.
She had spent the night at her mother's house after I asked her not to come home until Maya felt safe.
She stood in the doorway carrying a small suitcase.
Her eyes were red.
“Marcus.”
I didn't stand.
“Why are you here?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Not in front of Maya.”
Rachel nodded.
“I know.”
Danielle gathered the documents.
But Rachel saw the gala program.
Her expression changed.
“Where did you get that?”
Danielle studied her.
“Public school records.”
Rachel set down her suitcase.
“Marcus, there are things I haven't told you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That seems obvious.”
Rachel began crying.
“Richard threatened me.”
I stared at her.
“With what?”
“My job. My promotion. Our savings.”
She glanced toward the hallway.
“And something else.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“What else?”
Rachel reached into her purse.
She removed an envelope.
Inside were photographs.
My daughter walking into school.
My mother leaving her church.
My employees unloading equipment at a construction site.
I stared at them.
“Where did these come from?”
Rachel's voice shook.
“Richard gave them to me.”
I looked up.
“He's been watching our family?”
Rachel nodded.
“He said if I didn't help Vanessa, he would destroy everything you built.”
I stood slowly.
“And you believed him?”
Rachel cried harder.
“He already knew about the construction contract.”
I stared at the photographs.
My mother.
My employees.
My daughter.
For the first time, I understood that Richard's threats weren't ordinary business pressure.
He had been preparing for this.
Rachel whispered, “There's something else.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
She pressed both hands against her stomach.
“Vanessa didn't choose Maya because she hated her.”
I went still.
“Then why?”
Rachel looked directly at me.
May you like
“Because Maya saw something she wasn't supposed to see.”
And suddenly, the entire nightmare changed.
