Chapter 3
“Tell me what you agreed to.”
My voice sounded strange.
Too calm.
Too controlled.
Marcus stood beside Lily's hospital bed, staring at the floor.
“Nia, please. Not here.”
I stepped between him and our daughter.
“Here is exactly where you're going to answer me.”
Lily was asleep now, exhausted after everything she had endured.
I kept my voice low.
But inside, I was screaming.
Marcus rubbed both hands over his face.
“Vanessa told me you were becoming unstable.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“She said you were having angry episodes.”
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because the lie was so ridiculous that my mind struggled to accept it.
“Angry episodes?”
Marcus nodded miserably.
“She said you were jealous of her pregnancy.”
I felt something twist inside my stomach.
“Why would I be jealous?”
He said nothing.
I took a step closer.
“Marcus, what aren't you telling me?”
Before he answered, my father entered.
He was accompanied by a woman in a navy blazer.
I recognized her immediately.
Attorney Denise Walker.
She had represented my father's business for more than fifteen years.
My father came directly to Lily's bedside.
He touched her hair.
“How's my girl?”
“She's stable.”
“Thank God.”
Then he turned toward Marcus.
“Sit down.”
Marcus didn't move.
“Richard—”
“Sit.”
He sat.
Denise placed a tablet on the small table.
“I've reviewed the security recording,” she said. “The original footage is preserved, and the police have been notified.”
Marcus looked toward the door.
My father noticed.
“Don't even think about leaving before you answer my daughter.”
I looked at Denise.
“What did you find?”
She hesitated.
Then she opened a file.
“Your father asked me to review several documents this afternoon because of something he overheard before the party.”
I frowned.
“What documents?”
“Papers concerning your family trust.”
The room seemed to tilt.
My grandfather had established a trust years before his death.
It provided for my father, my sister, and me.
But its largest asset was a property portfolio reserved for future generations.
Lily was one of the named beneficiaries.
I had never paid much attention to it.
My father managed everything.
“What does the trust have to do with my daughter?”
Denise looked directly at Marcus.
“That's what we'd like to know.”
Marcus stood.
“This is ridiculous.”
My father slammed his palm against the table.
“Sit down!”
Marcus obeyed.
Denise continued.
“Three weeks ago, a lawyer representing Vanessa requested copies of the trust provisions concerning guardianship and distributions for minor beneficiaries.”
My mouth went dry.
“Guardianship?”
“Yes.”
I turned toward Marcus.
He looked sick.
“Why would Vanessa care about Lily's guardianship?”
Nobody answered.
Then Denise showed me a document.
It was a draft petition.
At the top was my name.
Nia Bennett Carter.
Below it were words that made my stomach turn.
Emergency Petition Concerning Parental Fitness.
I read the first paragraph.
Then the second.
My hands began shaking.
The document claimed I had displayed dangerous behavior around my daughter.
It described emotional instability.
Poor judgment.
Episodes of uncontrolled anger.
There were references to witnesses.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Vanessa Bennett.
Another appeared below it.
Marcus Carter.
My husband.
I looked at him.
“You were going to take my daughter?”
He jumped up.
“No! That's not what this was!”
I held the document higher.
“Then why is your name here?”
“Vanessa said it was only a precaution!”
“A precaution against what?”
He swallowed.
“She said if anything happened, we needed to be ready.”
The room fell silent.
I stared at him.
“Anything?”
Marcus closed his eyes.
My father stepped closer.
“Did you know what Vanessa intended to do today?”
“No!”
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
“I swear I didn't know she'd push Lily.”
That sentence destroyed something inside me.
I stepped backward.
“You knew there was a plan.”
“No, Nia, listen—”
“You knew she wanted to make me look dangerous.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
I couldn't breathe.
“And you agreed?”
“I thought it would convince you to get help.”
“Help for a problem I don't have?”
He looked helplessly at my father.
But Daddy had no sympathy left.
“Why?” my father demanded.
Marcus lowered his head.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he whispered, “Because Vanessa said Nia was going to leave me.”
I stared.
“What?”
“She told me you'd met with a divorce attorney.”
I shook my head.
“I hadn't.”
“She showed me messages.”
“What messages?”
He pulled out his phone.
I looked at the screenshots.
They showed conversations supposedly between me and another man.
Romantic messages.
Plans to disappear.
Statements about taking Lily away forever.
My name was attached to every message.
But I had never written any of them.
“These are fake.”
Marcus looked at me.
“I know that now.”
“You knew me for ten years.”
He began crying.
I felt nothing but exhaustion.
Denise asked for copies of the screenshots.
Then my father said, “There's one more question.”
Marcus wiped his face.
“What?”
“Why did Vanessa want guardianship of Lily?”
Marcus hesitated.
Denise answered instead.
“Because the trust's next major distribution is scheduled for Lily's third birthday.”
I looked at her.
“How much?”
She paused.
“Approximately eight million dollars in assets assigned to a protected trust for Lily.”
I sank into the chair.
Eight million dollars.
Money I had never considered ours to spend.
Money intended for Lily's education, security, and future.
Marcus stared at the floor.
I understood something terrible.
Vanessa had never been interested in my parenting.
She was interested in controlling my daughter.
And my husband's signature could have helped her.
I looked at him.
“Did she promise you money?”
He remained silent.
That was answer enough.
My father took the tablet from Denise.
“Where's Vanessa now?”
“She left the estate before the officers arrived,” Denise replied.
My father frowned.
“How?”
“Through the service entrance.”
Marcus raised his head.
Suddenly, he looked frightened.
“She called me before I came upstairs.”
I turned toward him.
“What did she say?”
He swallowed.
“She told me that if anyone found out about the petition, I should remember what happened last winter.”
My father went still.
“What happened last winter?”
Marcus looked at Denise.
Then at me.
His face crumpled.
“Nia, I need you to understand something.”
I felt my heart pound.
“What?”
He whispered, “The baby Vanessa is carrying isn't her ex-boyfriend's.”
I already knew what he was going to say.
But I needed to hear him destroy the last remaining piece of our marriage.
May you like
Marcus began crying harder.
“It's mine.”
