Chapter 3: The Son Who Had Been Playing Both Sides
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Daniel's voice continued through the speaker.
“Marcus? Are you there?””
Marcus stared at the phone.
“Say that again.””
“What?””
“You said I was involved. What exactly am I involved in?””
Daniel gave a nervous chuckle.
“Come on, don't play games with me.””
“I'm not playing games.””
“Listen, Vanessa told me you agreed. She said you were tired of waiting for your father to hand over the property.””
Marcus's face turned red.
“You're lying.””
“I'm not lying, buddy. We discussed this three weeks ago.””
Robert felt something heavy settle in his chest.
Three weeks.
That was the same week Marcus had visited him and asked whether he had considered updating his will.
At the time, Robert had laughed.
“I'm seventy, son. I'm not planning on going anywhere just yet.””
Marcus had smiled and said it was only sensible to organize his affairs.
Now the memory felt like a warning he should have recognized.
“Daniel,” Marcus said slowly, “who told you I agreed to this?””
“Vanessa.””
“Put her on the phone.””
Vanessa immediately shook her head.
“Marcus, don't.””
Daniel laughed again.
“She right there? Great. Put me on speaker properly. We need to talk about tomorrow.””
Marcus looked at his wife.
“Go ahead. Talk.””
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“Daniel, hang up.””
But the man continued.
“Vanessa, what are you doing? You said the old man had already been dealt with.””
Marcus slammed his palm against the dresser.
“DEALT WITH HOW?””
Daniel went silent.
Robert stepped closer.
“Son, let him talk.””
Marcus raised one hand, asking his father to wait.
Then he spoke into the phone.
“You have thirty seconds to explain what you've been doing with my wife.””
Daniel sighed.
“Fine. But don't blame me when you realize this was all her idea.””
The call disconnected.
Marcus stared at the screen.
Vanessa immediately rushed toward him.
“Baby, please listen to me.””
He stepped backward.
“Don't touch me.””
“I can explain everything.””
“Then explain it.””
She wiped her cheeks.
“I was trying to protect us.””
“From what?””
“Your father!””
Robert looked at her in disbelief.
“Protect you from me?””
Vanessa turned toward him.
“Yes! You have no idea what you've put us through!””
Robert shook his head.
“I gave you a home. I treated you like my daughter.””
“You treated me like a servant!””
Evelyn stepped forward.
“That's enough, Vanessa. Robert has done nothing but help you.””
Vanessa turned on her.
“And you! You always take his side!””
Evelyn stared at her daughter-in-law.
“Because I know the man I married.””
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“Do you? Maybe you don't know him as well as you think.””
Marcus picked up the property agreement.
“Stop changing the subject. Why is there a fake signature on this document?””
Vanessa looked at the floor.
“I didn't forge anything.””
“Then who did?””
“Daniel.””
“Why?””
She swallowed.
“He said it would make everything easier.””
“Easier for whom?””
“For us!””
Marcus shook his head.
“You keep saying us. But I don't know what you're talking about.””
Vanessa moved closer.
“Marcus, think about it. Your father is seventy. That house is worth nearly a million dollars. He's getting older, and we have a right to know what happens to the property.””
Robert's expression hardened.
“A right?””
“Yes!””
“You have no right to my house.””
Vanessa pointed at him.
“See? That's exactly the problem! Everything is his. The house is his.
The money is his. The decisions are his. Even after you got married, Marcus still had to ask permission before making decisions!””
Marcus looked at her.
“I have never asked Dad for permission to live my life.””
“Because you never needed to! He paid for everything!””
“That doesn't give you the right to steal from him.””
Vanessa's face changed.
“Steal?””
Marcus held up the property agreement.
“What else would you call this?””
She looked away.
Robert noticed her hand slipping into the pocket of her skirt.
“Vanessa,” he said carefully, “what are you holding?””
She froze.
Marcus looked down.
“Empty your pockets.””
“Don't order me around.””
“Do it.””
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Marcus took it.
It was a medical document.
Robert frowned.
“What is that?””
Marcus unfolded it.
The first page appeared to be a medical assessment bearing Robert's name.
But something was wrong.
The date was from two weeks earlier.
The document stated that Robert had been examined by a private physician and showed signs of significant memory impairment.
Robert stared at it.
“I have never seen that doctor.””
Marcus read the report twice.
“Dad, have you been having memory problems?””
“No! I went to my regular doctor last month. He said my health was excellent for my age.””
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“Your doctor doesn't know everything.””
Evelyn grabbed the paper.
“Who wrote this?””
Vanessa remained silent.
Marcus noticed a small detail at the bottom.
The doctor's signature had been copied from another document, but the clinic address was incomplete.
“Where did you get this?””
Vanessa shrugged.
“Daniel arranged it.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Why would you need a fake medical report?””
Vanessa's silence answered him.
Robert slowly sat on the edge of the bed.
The realization was becoming too painful to ignore.
They hadn't simply planned to steal his property.
They had planned to make him look incapable of protecting it.
Marcus looked at his wife.
“Were you going to have Dad declared mentally incompetent?””
Vanessa's eyes filled again.
“I was trying to make sure his assets were managed properly.””
“By you?””
“By us!””
“Without his permission?””
“He doesn't need all that money!””
Robert lifted his head.
“That's my money, Vanessa.””
“And what are you going to do with it? Take it to the grave?””
The room fell silent.
Evelyn stared at her.
Marcus looked as though someone had punched him.
Robert slowly stood.
“You know what, Vanessa? For years, I wondered why you were so interested in my finances. I thought you were simply trying to understand how our family worked.””
He walked toward the dresser and picked up an old photograph.
It showed his late wife, Margaret, holding a baby Marcus in her arms.
“Your mother and I worked for everything we have,” he said quietly.
“We went without vacations. We repaired our own cars. We saved every dollar because we wanted our son to have a better life.””
His voice cracked.
“I never imagined that one day my son would be standing in a room where someone was planning to take it all away from me.””
Marcus lowered his head.
“Dad…”
Robert held up one hand.
“Not yet, son.””
He turned toward Vanessa.
“And the accusation? Was that part of the plan too?””
Vanessa said nothing.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Answer him.””
She wiped her face.
“I didn't want things to go this far.””
Robert stared at her.
“You screamed that I attacked you. You tore your own blouse. You tried to make your husband and wife believe I was a criminal. How much farther did you intend to go?””
Vanessa suddenly raised her voice.
“I had no choice!””
Marcus stared at her.
“No choice?””
“You don't understand what Daniel knows!””
“Then tell us!””
She looked toward the closed bedroom door.
For a moment, it seemed she might finally tell the truth.
Then she whispered, “He has recordings.””
“What recordings?”” Marcus asked.
“Conversations. Things that could ruin your father.””
Robert frowned.
“I have never spoken to Daniel in my life.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Not you.””
She looked directly at Marcus.
“You.””
The room went silent.
Marcus's expression changed.
“What are you talking about?””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears again, but this time they seemed different.
She wasn't pretending to be frightened of Robert anymore.
She was frightened of something else.
“Daniel has recordings of our conversations,” she whispered.
“He knows what you told him about your father's money. He knows about the business loan. He knows about the money you transferred last month.””
Robert turned toward his son.
“Marcus?””
His son didn't answer.
“Marcus, what money?””
Marcus looked down at the floor.
Evelyn stepped toward him.
“Son, what is she talking about?””
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“It's complicated.””
Robert's voice became quieter.
“Then explain it.””
Marcus swallowed.
“Last month, I borrowed money from a private lender. My construction company was struggling. I needed cash to cover payroll and keep a major project from collapsing.””
“How much?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Two hundred thousand dollars.””
Evelyn gasped.
Robert stared at him.
“And what does that have to do with Vanessa?””
Marcus looked at his wife.
“She introduced me to Daniel.””
Vanessa began crying.
“He said he could help us!””
Robert's stomach tightened.
“Did you use my house as collateral?””
Marcus shook his head quickly.
“No! I didn't sign anything against your property.””
“Then why is Daniel discussing my house?””
Marcus opened his mouth.
Before he could answer, a loud knock came from downstairs.
Three hard knocks.
Then the doorbell rang.
Everyone turned toward the staircase.
Evelyn moved toward the hallway.
“Who could that be?””
Marcus checked his phone.
His face went white.
Robert noticed.
“Who is it, son?””
Marcus didn't answer.
The doorbell rang again.
Then a man's voice came from downstairs.
“Marcus Williams? This is Daniel Price. I think we need to finish our conversation.””
Vanessa backed away from the bedroom door.
Marcus looked at his father.
“Dad, don't go downstairs.””
Robert frowned.
“Why?””
Marcus's voice trembled.
“Because I think he's brought someone with him.””
Robert looked toward the staircase.
Then he heard Daniel speak again.
“Open the door, Marcus. I didn't come alone.””
A second voice followed.
A voice Robert recognized immediately.
It belonged to the attorney who had handled his late wife's estate.
And the man was saying something that made Robert's blood run cold.
“Mr. Williams, we have a document here with your signature. We need to discuss the transfer of your property.””
Robert stared at his son.
Marcus whispered, “Dad, I swear I didn't know he was going to do this.””
But before Robert could respond, Vanessa quietly said something from behind them.
May you like
“That's because you still don't know what you signed.””
*And for the first time that evening, Marcus looked at his wife as if he were terrified of her.*
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