Chapter 2
"If you don't do what I asked, I'll tell Mom you came into my room and touched me."
Maya's voice filled the living room.
Nobody moved.
For several seconds, the only sound was the recording.
I stared at the television.
My sixteen-year-old stepdaughter stood on the screen, looking directly at Malik.
My son was backing away.
His hands remained in front of him.
Clearly visible.
"Maya, stop," he said in the recording.
She stepped closer.
"I'm serious."
"I'm not doing it."
"Then you'll regret it."
I felt my stomach twist.
On the sofa beside me, Claire made a small choking sound.
"No."
Nia didn't touch the phone.
The recording continued.
Maya pointed toward the staircase.
"Mom already thinks you're trouble. She'll believe me."
Malik shook his head.
"That's messed up."
"You think Dad will choose you?"
"I'm not arguing with you."
He turned away.
Maya followed.
"Just give me the money."
"No."
"Malik!"
"I said no!"
She stepped directly into his path.
He moved around her without touching her.
Then she raised her voice.
"Fine. Watch what happens."
She ran upstairs.
Malik stood frozen for several seconds.
Then the video showed him reaching for his phone.
Nia paused the footage.
The silence afterward felt unbearable.
I looked at Malik.
He was crying.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Tears simply rolled down his face.
"Dad," he whispered.
I crossed the room and pulled him into my arms.
He held on to me like he had when he was little.
"I didn't do anything."
"I know what the recording shows, son."
His shoulders shook.
"I kept telling everybody."
I tightened my arms around him.
"I'm sorry you weren't heard."
Behind us, Claire spoke.
"Maya?"
Her voice sounded hollow.
Maya stood near the stairs.
She had stopped crying.
Her hands trembled.
"Mom..."
Claire stared at her.
"Tell me that recording isn't what it sounds like."
Maya opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
I stepped back from Malik.
"What money were you demanding?"
Maya looked at the floor.
"Nothing."
I glanced toward the television.
"Maya."
She shook her head.
"I was just angry."
"About what?"
She looked toward Claire.
"Mom, please."
Claire took a step backward.
"Don't ask me to protect a lie."
Maya's face crumpled.
"I didn't mean for everything to get this bad."
Malik gave a bitter laugh.
"You accused me of something that could've ruined my life!"
Maya began crying again.
"I'm sorry."
He shook his head.
"You didn't look sorry when you were threatening me."
I raised my hand gently.
"Malik, I understand you're angry."
"Angry?"
His voice cracked.
"Dad, she tried to make you think I hurt her!"
I nodded.
"I know."
He wiped his cheeks.
"Claire wanted me thrown out."
Claire looked down.
For the first time since the accusation, she had no answer.
I turned toward Maya.
"How much money?"
She whispered something.
"What?"
"Five thousand dollars."
I stared at her.
"Five thousand?"
She nodded.
My chest tightened.
"Why?"
She remained silent.
Nia suddenly spoke.
"Because she's been taking things."
Maya looked up sharply.
"Shut up, Nia!"
Nia didn't move.
"I thought someone was stealing from me. That's why I installed the camera."
I looked between them.
"What are you saying?"
Nia unlocked her phone.
"I checked earlier recordings."
She showed me another video.
It was from three days before.
Maya entered the living room while everyone else was away.
She walked directly to the bookshelf.
Then she opened a decorative box.
I recognized it immediately.
It belonged to Nia.
Inside were some of her late mother's keepsakes.
Maya removed a small velvet pouch.
She placed it inside her hoodie pocket.
Then she left.
Nia's eyes filled.
"That was Mom's necklace."
I looked at Maya.
"Did you take it?"
Maya started shaking.
"I was going to bring it back."
"Where is it?"
She didn't answer.
Nia's voice broke.
"Maya, where is my mother's necklace?"
I had bought that necklace for my first wife, Denise, on our tenth wedding anniversary.
After Denise died, Nia wore it to special occasions.
It was one of the few things she had left that still smelled faintly of her mother's perfume.
I felt something cold move through my chest.
"Maya, answer her."
My stepdaughter covered her face.
"I don't have it anymore."
Nia stepped backward.
"What?"
Maya began sobbing.
"I sold it."
My daughter made a sound I had never heard before.
Not a scream.
Not a cry.
Something between disbelief and heartbreak.
"You sold my mother's necklace?"
"I'm sorry!"
Nia turned away.
Her shoulders shook.
I wanted to comfort her.
But I also needed to understand what was happening.
"Who did you sell it to?" I asked.
Maya whispered, "A pawnshop."
"Which one?"
She shook her head.
"Maya."
"I don't remember."
I stared at her.
"You're going to remember."
Claire finally spoke.
"Marcus, she's a child."
I turned toward my wife.
"She is sixteen. She needs support, but she also needs accountability."
Claire looked devastated.
"I know."
Maya suddenly shouted.
"You don't understand!"
I faced her.
"Then help us understand."
She looked from me to Claire.
Then to Malik.
"I needed the money."
"For what?"
She shook her head.
"I can't tell you."
I felt my patience thinning.
"Five thousand dollars is not a small amount."
She began trembling harder.
"Please don't make me say it."
Claire stepped closer.
"Sweetheart, are you in trouble?"
Maya burst into tears.
That wasn't the angry crying from earlier.
This was different.
Her breathing became uneven.
Her face filled with genuine fear.
"I didn't want anybody hurt."
My stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
She looked toward the front door.
Then she whispered, "He said if I didn't pay, he'd come here."
The room went still.
"Who?" I asked.
Maya shook her head.
"He knows where we live."
Claire grabbed her shoulders.
"Who knows where we live?"
Maya looked at her mother.
Her voice was barely audible.
"Mom, I did something really stupid."
I felt the tension rising again.
"What did you do?"
Before she could answer, my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
It contained a photograph of our house.
Taken from the street.
Only minutes earlier.
Beneath it were five words.
"Your daughter still owes me."
May you like
I stared at the screen.
And suddenly, I realized the danger inside our family might have started somewhere outside it.
