Chapter 5 - The Marriage That Was Never an Accident
I had believed Nia was the woman who helped me learn how to love again.
Now I was sitting in my attorney's office staring at a photograph of my wife holding my brother's hand.
It felt as though someone had reached inside my chest and pulled out four years of memories.
Our first dinner.
Our first vacation.
The wedding where Jasmine walked beside me and smiled through tears.
The nights Nia held me when I missed Danielle.
Had any of it been real?
Raymond placed a hand on the photograph.
“Marcus, I know this is painful. But we need to understand what Vanessa can actually verify.”
Vanessa nodded quickly.
“I understand.”
She opened her folder.
“I met Adrian when he hired me as an administrative assistant. He said Sterling Advisory Group was a consulting company.”
“What did you do there?” Raymond asked.
“Scheduled meetings. Organized invoices. Managed travel arrangements.”
“Did you know the company was receiving money from Carter Construction?”
“Not at first.”
She swallowed.
“Then I noticed the invoices all used the same descriptions, even when there were no actual consulting projects.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Did you prepare any of those invoices?”
“I formatted them. Adrian supplied the amounts.”
“Who submitted them?”
Vanessa looked at me.
“Sometimes Adrian. Sometimes Nia.”
I felt sick.
“She visited the office?”
“Frequently.”
“How frequently?”
“At least twice a month.”
I stared at the photograph again.
Vanessa continued.
“I eventually found out they knew each other before you met her.”
I looked up sharply.
“What?”
She took a breath.
“Adrian introduced Nia to some friends as his girlfriend several years ago.”
The room seemed to tilt.
I remembered meeting Nia at a charity fundraiser.
She had approached me after hearing my company was sponsoring a scholarship program.
She said she admired men who cared about education.
We talked for nearly two hours.
I thought our connection had been spontaneous.
Now I wondered whether I had been selected.
“Did Adrian tell her to meet me?” I asked.
Vanessa hesitated.
“I never heard him say that directly.”
“Then what do you know?”
“I heard them argue about it.”
She looked toward Raymond.
“Adrian said he was tired of pretending their relationship didn't exist. Nia told him to be patient because the marriage was their best opportunity.”
I stared at her.
“When was this?”
“About three months ago.”
Silence settled over the room.
Raymond asked Vanessa whether she had preserved any messages or records supporting her account.
She nodded.
“I have copies of some business communications and calendar entries. The photograph was taken by a coworker who saw them together.”
I was grateful Raymond kept asking practical questions.
Because my mind was falling apart.
I wanted to drive straight to Adrian's house.
I wanted to demand answers from Nia.
But another part of me wanted to wake up and discover this was all a terrible dream.
Vanessa opened another envelope.
“There is one more thing.”
She handed Raymond a copy of a draft document.
It appeared to be an application for a business loan.
The borrower was a company I had never authorized.
But the proposed collateral included property associated with Carter Construction.
My throat tightened.
“How much?”
Raymond scanned the page.
“Two million dollars.”
I stared at him.
“Two million?”
Daniel looked stunned.
Vanessa nodded.
“Adrian said once the money came through, they wouldn't need you anymore.”
I gripped the edge of the table.
“Did they actually obtain the loan?”
“I don't know.”
That distinction mattered.
A draft was not a completed transaction.
But it showed an intention that terrified me.
Raymond immediately began contacting the relevant lenders and property-record offices.
He instructed Daniel to check for unauthorized filings and attempted liens.
Then he turned to me.
“Marcus, I need you to stay away from both of them until we understand what has happened.”
I nodded.
“There's something else you should know,” I said.
I explained the threats against Jasmine.
The forged university letter.
The anonymous complaint.
The attempt to interfere with her tuition transfer.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“Oh, my God.”
I watched her closely.
“Did you know?”
She shook her head.
“I knew they talked about your daughter.”
My pulse quickened.
“What did they say?”
Vanessa looked uncomfortable.
“Adrian said Jasmine was the biggest obstacle.”
“Obstacle to what?”
“To controlling your assets.”
Raymond's expression hardened.
“Explain.”
Vanessa took a breath.
“He said your daughter had protections that Nia couldn't get around.”
I remembered Danielle's estate plan.
When our daughter was little, we established a trust intended to safeguard her future.
Years later, after Danielle died, I continued funding it.
Jasmine was the beneficiary.
I remained a trustee, alongside an independent professional.
The trust had its own rules.
Neither Nia nor Adrian had any legal right to its assets.
“They couldn't access Jasmine's money,” I said slowly.
Vanessa nodded.
“And Adrian was furious about it.”
Something clicked.
Nia's resentment had never simply been about helping a college student.
Jasmine represented the part of my life Nia couldn't control.
A daughter who loved me before Nia arrived.
A legacy connected to Danielle.
A relationship that existed outside my marriage.
I stood and walked toward the window.
Below us, traffic moved through downtown Columbus.
People went to work.
Bought coffee.
Laughed.
Lived ordinary lives.
Meanwhile, my world had split in half.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Adrian.
Hey, big brother. Heard things are getting complicated. We should talk.
I showed Raymond.
He photographed the message.
Then another arrived.
Don't do anything you'll regret.
I felt anger rise.
“What does he think I'm going to regret?”
Raymond didn't answer.
He simply asked me to save the message.
That evening, I went to Jasmine's apartment.
She opened the door and immediately noticed my expression.
“Dad, what happened?”
I sat down.
For several moments, I couldn't find the words.
Finally, I said, “I think Nia and Adrian have been deceiving me.”
Jasmine stared.
“Uncle Adrian?”
I nodded.
She covered her mouth.
“But they're family.”
“I know.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Why would they do that?”
I shook my head.
“I don't know how people convince themselves this kind of betrayal is acceptable.”
She sat beside me.
“Are you going to divorce her?”
The question hurt.
Not because I still wanted to stay.
Because answering it meant accepting that another marriage was ending.
“Yes,” I said.
Jasmine cried quietly.
I reached for her hand.
“I won't let her keep hurting us.”
She leaned against my shoulder.
For a while, we sat without speaking.
Then she whispered, “Mom would have hated this.”
I looked toward the ceiling.
“Yes, she would.”
“She always said family should protect each other.”
“She did.”
Jasmine wiped her eyes.
“Dad, I have something to tell you.”
I turned.
“What is it?”
She looked frightened again.
“Last week, I saw Uncle Adrian outside my building.”
I sat upright.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I wasn't sure it was him.”
“What happened?”
“He was sitting in a car across the street.”
My heart pounded.
“For how long?”
“Almost an hour.”
I stood and moved toward the window.
“Did he approach you?”
“No.”
She hesitated.
“But yesterday, someone left an envelope under my door.”
“What envelope?”
Jasmine walked into her bedroom.
When she returned, she was holding a plain white envelope.
She handed it to me.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed Jasmine walking out of her university library.
Across the bottom, someone had written a single sentence.
Tell your father to stop looking.
I stared at the photograph.
May you like
The betrayal had just become a threat.
And this time, my daughter was the target.
